50 Most Influential Physician Executives – 2016
Rank: 33
Thomas Frieden
Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
As director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Thomas Frieden, 55, deals with the world's most pressing health concerns. Appointed in 2009, Frieden has led battles against H1N1, the Ebola outbreak and most recently the spread of the Zika virus. Frieden came to the federal agency with decades of experience in public health. Before taking the helm at the CDC, Frieden was commissioner of the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene for seven years. During his tenure, the number of smokers declined by 350,000 through education programs he initiated. He also led the department in what at the time was one of the largest EHR conversion projects in the country. Frieden began his career with an interest in tuberculosis treatment. He was epidemiologic intelligence service officer at the New York City Health Department from 1990 to 1992, focusing on reducing tuberculosis cases. He also spent five years in India helping the government establish a tuberculosis-control program.