The University of California, San Francisco Medical Center has chosen Suresh Gunasekaran as its new president and CEO, the academic health system announced Wednesday.
As the head of UCSF Health, Gunasekaran will oversee UCSF Medical Center, two UCSF Benioff Children’s Hospitals, Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics, UCSF Benioff Children’s Physicians, and additional affiliated entities. Gunasekaran currently is CEO of Iowa City-based University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics and senior associate vice president for University of Iowa Health Care.
Gunasekaran will succeed Mark Laret, who retired Dec. 31 after more than two decades leading UCSF, on March 1.
“We have a truly unique opportunity to change the way care is delivered in the Bay Area and beyond by delivering the latest advances and supporting our people in delivering high-quality care,” Gunasekaran said in a news release. “At the heart of this system will be an unwavering commitment to overcome systemic barriers to health equity.”
Gunasekaran oversaw the creation of University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics’ diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives.
Before joining the Iowa health system in 2018, Gunasekaran held leadership positions at the University of Texas Southwestern Health System in Dallas and Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville, Tennessee. He also worked as an analyst for Gartner and IBM.
Gunasekaran has an “impressive track record”, UCSF Chancellor Sam Hawgood said in a news release. “His long standing dedication to health equity and compassion for the most vulnerable families in our communities, alongside his expertise in transforming healthcare operations, will guide UCSF Health well in the next stage of its growth,” he said.
UCSF Health will pay Gunasekaran $1,850,000 a year, which is in the 90th percentile of salaries for academic medical center CEOs.