Cleveland Clinic CEO stepping down

Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove said he’s stepping down from the role he’s held for nearly 13 years.

Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove announced May 1 that he’s stepping down from the role he’s held for nearly 13 years.

In a news release, Cosgrove said he’s decided to begin a “succession process to transition out of the top executive role later this year.”

The Clinic’s Governance Committee has asked Cosgrove to continue on in an advisory role.

“It is an honor and a privilege to be a part of an extraordinary and forwardthinking organization that puts patients at the center of everything we do,” Cosgrove said in a statement. “Cleveland Clinic’s world-class reputation of clinical excellence, innovation, medical education and research was created and will be maintained by the truly dedicated caregivers who work tirelessly to provide the best care to our patients.”

Cosgrove’s successor will be jointly selected by the Clinic’s Board of Directors and Board of Governors. That process is expected to be completed by the end of the year. In the release, the Clinic said in keeping with its model as a physician-led institution, the next president and CEO will be a practicing physician.

Before becoming CEO in 2004, Cosgrove served as a cardiac surgeon for nearly 30 years. He joined the Cleveland Clinic in 1975.

Cosgrove was ranked 14th in the 2016 Fortune Business Person of the Year. In his time as CEO, the healthcare system’s revenue have grown from $3.7 billion in 2004 to $8.5 billion in 2016, according to the release.

Cleveland Clinic was ranked the nation’s number two hospital by U.S. News and World Report in August.

“The goal of any leader is to leave an institution better than you found it,” Cleveland Clinic Board Chairman Bob Rich said. “Without a doubt, Toby has done that. Our world-class reputation has only grown over the past 13 years, as he has led Cleveland Clinic through a period of dramatic growth and worldwide expansion.”

Cosgrove