Who we place
Why boards and PE partners choose us
- We reach the leaders who aren't looking. The best executive for your seat is running someone else's right now. We bring them to you, confidentially.
- A senior specialist runs your search. Your seat is handled by a senior consultant who focuses on exactly this specialty, under our US healthcare Sector Head. Not a junior associate and a database.
- Healthcare is all we do. We know the difference between a clinician with a title and a leader who can run a P&L and a medical staff.
- Retained means all-in. We commit the full team to one search and stay until the right person signs. Most of ours close in 30 to 90 days.
- A global bench behind a local search. ISG runs in 50-plus countries with 1,200-plus partners, so no leader is out of reach.
What a hospital CEO search really demands
- Multi-site hospital operations and genuine physician alignment
- Financial turnaround and margin improvement, proven, not promised
- Quality, safety, and patient-experience leadership
- Strategic growth and service-line expansion
- Value-based-care and payer strategy
- Board governance, succession, and M&A and system integration
Representative engagements
Representative, anonymized examples. Details and locations changed to protect client and candidate confidentiality.
- A physician-owned system was mid-turnaround with no one at the helm. We placed a nurse-executive CEO who stabilized operations and rebuilt the executive team.
- A regional provider needed to replace its CEO without anyone knowing. We ran it blind and placed a leader who restored stability, with no disruption.
- A board needed leadership yesterday. We placed an interim CEO to steady the ship, then completed the permanent search for a lasting successor.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a hospital CEO search take?
A retained hospital CEO search typically runs 30 to 90 days from launch to signed offer. Interim placements can be made far faster when a board needs stability quickly.
Can you place an interim CEO quickly?
Yes. We keep relationships with seasoned interim and turnaround executives who can step in at short notice while a permanent search runs.
How do you approach a turnaround leadership hire?
We search for leaders with a demonstrated record of stabilizing distressed operations, not just steady-state managers, and we vet for the temperament a turnaround demands.
Meet your search partner
Lee Fossey leads the US Healthcare Executive Search practice for ISG Americas, with a team of senior consultants each focused on a specialty, so your search is run by someone who lives in that corner of the market. Across nearly three decades in search, the practice has helped hospitals, health systems, and private-equity-backed platforms place the leaders who change their trajectory, and on the global ISG platform that reach extends to more than 50 countries. Lee would rather have one honest conversation about your search than send you a proposal.
Book a confidential call with Lee →Have a seat open?
Every week a leadership seat sits empty, it costs you momentum, money, and the board's confidence. One confidential call, and you will know quickly whether we are the firm for your search.
Book a confidential call