ATLANTA – Dane C. Peterson, president and chief operating officer (COO) of Emory Healthcare, will serve as interim chief executive officer (CEO) of Emory Healthcare, effective Sept. 1, 2022. As interim CEO, he will be responsible for the overall performance of the Emory Healthcare enterprise and continue to hold the roles of president and COO.
“Dane is a dedicated and experienced leader whose many accomplishments across Emory Healthcare have prepared him to take on this critical role,” says Emory University President Gregory L. Fenves. “His knowledge and expertise will provide continuity across the health care enterprise, with a focus on our incredible physicians, care team members and staff who provide excellent, compassionate care to our patients and the communities in which we serve.”
Peterson joined Emory Healthcare in 2007 as COO of Emory Crawford Long Hospital, now known as Emory University Hospital Midtown, and was appointed CEO of the same hospital in 2012. In 2014, he was appointed Emory Healthcare Hospital Group President, and named COO of Emory Healthcare in 2018. In 2020, Peterson began his dual role of president and COO of Emory Healthcare, the most comprehensive academic health system in Georgia.
Prior to joining Emory, Peterson served in leadership roles at Medical City Dallas Hospital in Dallas, Texas, and Creighton University Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska, after receiving an MBA at Stanford University. Before that, Peterson was a product engineer at Ford Motor Company.
“I am honored and humbled to step into my new role as interim CEO of Emory Healthcare,” says Peterson. “I joined Emory Healthcare almost 15 years ago because I believe in our core purpose of improving lives and providing hope. I still have the same sense of awe when thinking about the impact we have on patients, their families, our team members and our community through excellence in clinical care, education and research.”
Peterson will report to David S. Stephens, MD, who was announced in June as Emory University’s interim executive vice president for health affairs (EVPHA), effective Sept. 1. As interim EVPHA, Stephens will be the senior executive for Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center and will oversee the Emory Healthcare system strategy. Stephens has served as vice president for research in Emory’s Woodruff Health Sciences Center since 2007 and as chair of the Department of Medicine in the Emory School of Medicine since 2013.
“I look forward to collaborating and working with Dane, a longtime colleague, in this crucial leadership role for Emory Healthcare and the entire Woodruff Health Sciences Center,” says Stephens.
The appointments for Peterson and Stephens follow the announcement by Jonathan S. Lewin, MD, that he would step down from his roles as CEO and chairman of Emory Healthcare, executive vice president for health affairs of Emory University and executive director of the Woodruff Health Sciences Center. Lewin will be joining the Emory University faculty in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences.
About Emory Healthcare
Emory Healthcare, with nearly 24,000 employees and 11 hospitals, is the most comprehensive academic health system in Georgia. System-wide, it has 2,796 licensed patient beds, more than 3,300 physicians practicing in more than 70 specialties, serving metro Atlanta with 250 locations. It also provides services to greater Georgia through a joint venture at St. Francis–Emory Healthcare Hospital in Columbus, 10 regional affiliate hospitals, and its clinically integrated physician network.