Henry Ford Health has named its interim President and CEO Robert Riney to the job on a permanent basis, the Detroit-based health system said Thursday.
Riney, 63, has decades of experience with the $6.6 billion organization, starting in 1978 and working in almost every operating unit at Henry Ford. He has been chief operating officer since 2003.
He succeeds Wright Lassiter III, who left Henry Ford in August to take the top job at Chicago-based CommonSpirit Health.
"Henry Ford is home," Riney said in a news release. "Home to incredible innovation, cutting-edge science, and an unwavering commitment to our colleagues and to the communities we serve. It's a place where, despite even the most daunting of challenges, making the impossible possible happens every day. I am energized and excited to lead this special organization. I look forward to Team Henry Ford continuing to innovate, excel and grow in serving our patients, members, communities and each other."
Board Chair David Breen said Riney's experience was key to his selection.
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"With Bob at the helm, Henry Ford Health is under the guidance of a leader who has seen our organization through some of its greatest challenges, and for whom a lifetime commitment to team members, patients and our communities has been his calling and his mission," Breen said in the release. "His strategic insights and ability to foster meaningful business partnerships and drive advancement of our clinical, research and academic distinctions are noteworthy. Additionally, he is very skilled and focused on fostering a culture of belonging between team members, patients and members, and our communities."
Among items on Riney's agenda will be executing on a major 30-year partnership with Michigan State University that will bring a medical school and a $150 million research institute to downtown Detroit. Groundbreaking is expected on that project in the next year.
Henry Ford Health is Michigan's second-largest health system, with six hospitals including its flagship Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit. It also owns the managed care company Health Alliance Plan.
Riney, a Wayne State University graduate, is also a fixture in the metro Michigan and metro Detroit community, serving as a trustee of the Alfred I. duPont Charitable Trust, board member and past-chair of the Michigan Health & Hospital Association, board chair of The Parade Co. and Caymich Insurance Co., and board member of the Detroit Zoological Society, M1 Rail Transit Authority, Hudson-Webber Foundation and Business Leaders for Michigan.
This story first appeared in our sister publication,Crain's Detroit Business.
