Pfizer, Moderna CEOs top Modern Healthcare's Most Influential list
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Albert Bourla Chairman and CEO Pfizer
COVID-19 vaccines teased hope of a return to
normal while igniting a fierce debate concerning the government’s and private employers’ authority to mandate measures aimed at ending a generational public health crisis.
Pfizer, Moderna and BioNTech produced vaccines for the deadliest global outbreak in the last century, which is why Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and Moderna CEO Stephane Bancel top Modern Healthcare’s Most Influential People in Healthcare in 2021. Pfizer’s influence and scope gave Bourla an advantage over Bancel.
Meanwhile, vaccine mandates exacerbated underlying political tensions, evoking rancorous opposition.
While a relatively small numbers of healthcare employees are giving up their jobs over vaccine directives, the situation has worsened underlying staffing issues related to compensation and safety.
Healthcare workers are exhausted after treating a
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Stéphane Bancel CEO Moderna
seemingly endless stream of COVID-19 patients and experiencing nearly two years of consistent trauma. Nurses, who tend to be the most hesitant regarding vaccination, have called for more staff, higher pay and better working conditions. These perennial complaints have gotten louder as the pandemic persisted.
But the issue is bigger than COVID-19. Hospitals are paying more for contract labor and boosting salaries and benefits, a trend many expect to continue after the pandemic. This could to lead a permanent restructuring of the healthcare workforce, experts predict.
As much of the general public hopes that vaccines will continue to limit the loss of life caused by COVID-19, industry observers are optimistic that the pandemic will shape a safer and more effective healthcare delivery system. And given the evolution of the virus, it’s likely COVID vaccines, just like flu shots, will continue to be a part of our lives for the long term.
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Michael Dowling President and CEO Northwell Health
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Eugene Woods President and CEO Atrium Health
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Rosalind “Roz” Brewer CEO Walgreens Boots Alliance
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Karen Lynch President and CEO CVS Health
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David Fialkow Co-founder and managing director General Catalyst
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Andrew Witty CEO UnitedHealth Group
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Judith Faulkner Founder and CEO Epic Systems Corp.
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Annie Lamont Co-founder and managing partner Oak HC/FT
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Dr. Marc Harrison President and CEO Intermountain Healthcare
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Greg Adams Chair and CEO Kaiser Permanente
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Samuel Hazen CEO HCA Healthcare
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Gail McGovern President and CEO American Red Cross
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Bonnie Castillo Executive director National Nurses United
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Ernest Grant President American Nurses Association
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Beverly Malone CEO National League for Nursing
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Mary Kay Henry International president SEIU
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U.S. Rep. Nancy Pelosi House Speaker U.S. House of Representatives
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Dr. Anthony Fauci Director, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases; chief medical advisor to the president
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Alex Gorsky Chair and CEO Johnson & Johnson
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Stephen Ubl President and CEO Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America
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Brian Thompson CEO UnitedHealthcare
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Andy Slavitt Co-founder and general partner Town Hall Ventures
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Dr. Rod Hochman President and CEO Providence
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Dr. Tomislav Mihaljevic President and CEO Cleveland Clinic
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Dr. Gianrico Farrugia President and CEO Mayo Clinic
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Joseph Impicciche President and CEO Ascension
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Madeline Bell President and CEO Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
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Tim Cook CEO Apple
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Jason Gorevic CEO Teladoc Health
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Mike Pykosz Co-founder and CEO Oak Street Health
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Dr. Richard Isaacs CEO and executive director, Permanente Medical Group; president and CEO, Mid-Atlantic Permanente Group
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Joe Biden President of the United States
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Elizabeth Fowler Director Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation
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Diane Holder President and CEO UPMC Health Plan
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Dirk McMahon President and chief operating officer UnitedHealth Group
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Susan Salka CEO AMN Healthcare
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Laura Kaiser President and CEO SSM Health
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Lloyd Dean CEO CommonSpirit Health
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Randy Oostra President and CEO ProMedica
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Dr. Rochelle Walensky Director
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
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Dr. Clive Fields Co-founder and chief medical officer VillageMD
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Dr. David Rhew Chief medical officer and vice president of healthcare Microsoft
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Wright Lassiter III President and CEO Henry Ford Health System
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Amir Dan Rubin Chair, president and CEO One Medical
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Ernie Sadau President and CEO Christus Health
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Andy/Charlie Mills President/CEO Medline Industries
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G. Mike Mikan Vice chairman, president and CEO Bright Health Group
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Dr. Kenneth Davis CEO Mount Sinai Health System
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Andrea Walsh President and CEO HealthPartners
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Matt Eyles President and CEO America’s Health Insurance Plans
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Dr. Jonathan Perlin Incoming president and CEO The Joint Commission
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Dr. Scott Gottlieb Senior fellow American Enterprise Institute
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Leif Murphy President and CEO TeamHealth
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Chiquita Brooks-LaSure Administrator Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services
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Dr. Omar Lateef CEO Rush University Medical Center
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Dr. Marcella Nunez-Smith Chair White House COVID-19 Health Equity Task Force
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Xavier Becerra Secretary
Health and Human Services
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Jim Hinton CEO
Baylor Scott & White Health
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Ram Jagannath Global head of healthcare Blackstone
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Dr. Jaewon Ryu President and CEO Geisinger Health
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Rick Pollack President and CEO American Hospital Association
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Chip Kahn President and CEO Federation of American Hospitals
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Peter Fine CEO Banner Health
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Dr. Philip Ozuah President and CEO Montefiore Medicine
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Joseph Zubretsky President and CEO Molina Healthcare
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Gregory Deavens President and CEO Independence Health Group/ Independence Blue Cross
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Dr. Rhonda Medows President of population health management, Providence; CEO, Ayin Health Solutions
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Dr. Farzad Mostashari Co-founder and CEO Aledade
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Dr. Oliver Kharraz Founder and CEO Zocdoc
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Debbie Osteen CEO Acadia Healthcare
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Dr. Leana Wen Emergency physician and professor of health policy and management GWU Milken Institute School of Public Health
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Dr. Ido/Dr. Roy Schoenberg Chairman and CEO/President and CEO Amwell
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James Mathews Executive director Medicare Payment Advisory Commission
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Dr. Karen DeSalvo Chief health officer Google
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Javier Rodriquez CEO DaVita
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Jeff Zients Coronavirus response coordinator White House
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Ramzi Musallam CEO and managing partner Veritas Capital
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Dr. Cheryl Pegus Executive vice president of health and wellness Walmart
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Phoebe Yang General manager, healthcare Amazon Web Services
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Mario Schlosser Co-founder and CEO Oscar Health
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Mark Parkinson President and CEO American Health Care Association/ National Center for Assisted Living
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Ketul Patel Dyad CEO Virginia Mason Franciscan Health; president, Pacific Northwest Division of CommonSpirit Health
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Dr. Vivian Lee President of health platforms Verily Life Sciences
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Dr. Imamu Tomlinson CEO Vituity
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Dan Liljenquist Senior vice president and chief strategy officer Intermountain Healthcare
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Dr. Ralph de la Torre Chair and CEO Steward Health
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Mary Pittman President and CEO Public Health Institute
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Martin VanTrieste President and CEO Civica Rx
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Michael Alkire President and CEO Premier
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Maurice Smith President and CEO Health Care Service Corp.
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Merrick Garland Attorney general U.S. Justice Department
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Michael Neidorff Chairman and CEO Centene Corp.
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Micky Tripathi National coordinator for health information technology Health and Human Services
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Dr. Kimberlydawn Wisdom Senior vice president of community health and equity, and chief wellness and diversity officer Henry Ford Health System
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Byron Jobe President and CEO Vizient
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Barclay Berdan CEO Texas Health Resources
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Dr. Tejal Gandhi Chief safety officer Press Ganey
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Odette Bolano President and CEO St. Alphonsus Health System