The chief administrative officer at the Cleveland Clinic will take the reins of Allegheny Health Network next month from CEO John Paul, who is stepping down.
At Cleveland Clinic, Cynthia Hundorfean oversaw the clinical operations of a network that included 16 family health centers and eight regional hospitals. She has an executive MBA from Case Western Reserve University and a bachelor of science degree in health care management from Robert Meyers College.
“I’m passionate about creating a system that functions better for everyone and look forward to working with the highly skilled, caring employees of the Allegheny Health Network to do so,” Ms. Hundorfean said in a prepared statement.
The 65-year-old Mr. Paul will continue as an adviser to Highmark Health President and CEO David Holmberg. Relations between the two men were described as tense, as the hospital system played catch-up with crosstown rival UPMC in recent years, according to two people familiar with the situation but not authorized to talk about it publicly.
At Cleveland Clinic, Ms. Hundorfean oversaw a budget of $5.5 billion in net revenue, which compares with $678 million in total revenue for the third quarter of 2015 at AHN, the most recent financials available.
Mr. Paul was the architect of AHN, lending Highmark Health the hospital management experience necessary to begin turning around a financially strapped health care system. He joined Highmark as a consultant in 2011 and was named AHN’s CEO in 2013 after Highmark’s acquisition of the West Penn Allegheny Health System received regulatory approval.
Mr. Paul was also a longtime partner of UPMC President and CEO Jeffrey Romoff during UPMC’s rapid growth in the 1990s. In mid-2003, Mr. Paul announced he was taking a six-month leave from his role as CFO, but three months later, Mr. Romoff issued a statement that Mr. Paul’s return “would not serve his best interests or those of UPMC.” No reason was given for his departure.
Date: January 27, 2016