Chad Eckes, M.B.A., will join Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center as its new vice president and chief information officer (CIO) during the first week of March.
In his new position at Wake Forest Baptist, Eckes will provide strategic leadership and vision to guide the future direction of information technology (IT). He will be responsible for offering clarity and alignment through leveraging the IT infrastructure and empowering health system leadership and staff to use information and data via various tools and technology. In addition, Eckes will ensure quality service and enable analytical capabilities to the clinical, research and academic missions of the Medical Center.
“During our extensive national search, we were looking for an accomplished information technology executive with a proven track record in leading complex organizations, and that is what we have found in Chad,” said John D. McConnell, M.D., chief executive officer of Wake Forest Baptist.
Eckes comes from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA) where he is currently chief strategy officer for the national hospital network with facilities in Illinois, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, Arizona and Georgia. He started at CTCA as its CIO in 2005, serving in that capacity until 2013.
As head of CTCA’s strategy and innovation services, Eckes developed and managed a five-year strategic plan focused on establishing leadership in precision medicine and continued growth domestically and internationally. Other career highlights include a successful turnaround strategy to ensure on-time implementation of Wisconsin’s first all-digital hospital at St. Clare’s hospital which is part of Ministry Healthcare in Weston, Wis.
“Not only does he bring significant experience in advancing health care through IT strategy, his strengths include organizational change management, strategic planning, contract law, large-scale negotiations and business turnarounds,” said Terry G. Williams, executive vice president of strategy and network development at Wake Forest Baptist. “Chad is a proven leader to join our team and catalyze our progressive use of information to transform and integrate care across the continuum, conduct research using large data, educate tomorrow’s clinicians, and build our clinically integrated network with clinicians and organizations across the region."
Eckes earned his M.B.A. from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and holds a master’s certificate in project management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
He has been named four times by CIO magazine to its prestigious “CIO 100” and was named to Computerworld’s 100 Premier IT Leader list in 2013.
Media Relations
Mac Ingraham: mingraha@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-3487
Paula Faria: pfaria@wakehealth.edu, 336-716-1279