Angela Lalas

37 Senior vice president for finance Loma Linda (Calif.) University Health

For Angela Lalas, finding the right career was a matter of faith. “Growing up as a Seventh- day Adventist, it’s almost like you’re expected to go into healthcare” Lalas said. “My family encouraged me to become a medical doctor, but God led me to be in healthcare administration instead, especially here at Loma Linda.” Since January 2015, Lalas has provided oversight of financial operations for the four licensed hospitals of Loma Linda University Health, a $2 billion, 1,071-bed academic health system. She has also served as chief financial officer for the organization’s shared services corporation and provided strategic direction and oversight for data governance, business intelligence and analytics, and unified administrative systems. Under her leadership, the hospitals have improved financial performance for two consecutive years, achieved financial targets and maintained their corporate credit rating after consecutive downgrades prior to her tenure. The system’s hospitals have improved combined net operating income from $14.4 million in 2014, for a 0.9% margin, to $104.7 million in 2016, for a 5.9% margin. “I love that while I am not directly involved in the provision of care, I have an impact on it,” she said. “I help support our providers in delivering top-quality care through faithful fiscal stewardship. I could have done finance in another industry, but I wanted to do something of meaning and significance, and it is in the healthcare industry that I am able to positively impact the most lives.”

“It is in the healthcare industry that I am able to positively impact the most lives.”