Northwestern Memorial Hospital
Northwestern Memorial Healthcare will soon have a new leader as CEO Dean Harrison steps down at the end of the year.
Harrison, who has been CEO since 2006, will become executive chairman, effective Jan. 1, Northwestern Medicine spokesman Christopher King confirmed to Crain’s.
Dr. Howard Chrisman, who is currently president and chief operating officer for Northwestern Memorial HealthCare, will replace Harrison, King says.
Harrison announced the news internally in a memo on Thursday obtained by Crain’s.
“In our new roles, Dr. Chrisman will lead the health system while I support Dr. Chrisman to advance NM’s strategic goals and key health system priorities,” Harrison wrote. Prior to being CEO, Harrison served as Northwestern’s president and CEO.
Chrisman, a trained radiologist, originally joined Northwestern in 1997 as faculty. He is still a professor of radiology and surgery at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine. Prior to his current role, Chrisman served in several roles, including as executive vice president of clinical operations and president of Northwestern Medical Group.
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Dr. Howard Chrisman
Chrisman holds a Bachelor of Science from Cornell University, a medical degree from SUNY Upstate Medical University and a Master of Business in healthcare administration from the University of Colorado.
Northwestern Medicine operates 11 hospitals and employs 33,000 people, 4,400 of which are physicians, according to its website
The health system was the second-largest healthcare system in the region by 2020 revenue, according to Crain’s data. It reported more than $5.57 billion in 2020 net patient revenue and $293 million in net profits.
Harrison is among the highest-paid hospital system CEOs in Chicago. He was paid more than $7 million in 2019, according to Northwestern Memorial Healthcare's most recent available filing with the Internal Revenue Service.
This story first appeared in our sister publication, Crain's Chicago Business.
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