Lassiter, 52, was named president of the Detroit-based system in December 2014. He will take over as CEO of the five-hospital, $5 billion system upon the retirement of longtime leader Nancy Schlichting this year. Before joining Henry Ford, Lassiter was CEO at Alameda County Medical Center in Oakland, Calif. He is credited with leading the expansion and financial turnaround of the publicly funded safety-net system. Lassiter has also held leadership positions at Methodist Health System in Dallas and JPS Health System in Fort Worth, Texas. This is his second time on the list of the Top 25 Minority Executives in Healthcare.

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"In a rapidly changing industry that may require different things of us, some days I worry about the complacency that could spring from so many years of excellence."

Read the complete Furst Group interview with Wright Lassiter.