UPMC Announces the Succession of Leslie Davies to Jeffrey Romoff as President and CEO

With 30 years of healthcare experience and leadership roles such as Executive Vice President of UPMC and President of health services division, Davis will be the new CEO of UPMC

Under Romoff's leadership since 1992, UPMC has become one of the world's leading integrated patient care systems and cutting-edge medical and scientific research.

Pittsburgh, July 29, 2021 – UPMC, the manager of several hospitals, cancer centers and healthcare facilities in Italy, announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously appointed Leslie C. Davis to succeed Jeffrey A. Romoff as president and CEO effective August 1, 2021.

"Under Jeff's leadership, UPMC has delivered world-class healthcare that is unmatched in the U.S. and internationally. Jeff has led UPMC to develop new models of care, supporting numerous advanced research that has benefited our patients," said G. Nicholas Beckwith III, Chairman of the UPMC Board of Directors. "Jeff's contributions have been multiple and critical in transforming UPMC into the world leader in healthcare that it is today. The entire Board of Directors is united in recognizing the achievements it has achieved, including laying a solid foundation for the advancement of patient care, research breakthroughs, and the development of UPMC's global vision for growth."

Romoff will be appointed President Emeritus, implementing the transfer of responsibilities and recognition of his support for Davis and UPMC through October 1, 2021.

Beckwith continued, "We are thrilled to announce Leslie as the next leader of UPMC. His extraordinary experience, built over more than thirty years of career in leadership roles in the healthcare industry, together with his background and skills, will be the foundation of a new phase of growth for UPMC. In his 17 years at UPMC, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to clinical excellence and strong relationships with our patients' families, but also with physicians, employees, leaders, and the entire community. Leslie has played a key role in UPMC's long-standing commitment to help the less well-off. We look forward to working with Leslie and are confident that he will lead UPMC to new goals of success and growth at such a sensitive time for the healthcare and insurance industry."

"I am proud to have led UPMC through a period of exceptional growth," said Romoff. "We are experiencing a well-deserved period of stability and success, having overcome challenges and having become a fully integrated healthcare system. We have a clear path ahead of us to continue UPMC's extraordinary development under the leadership of new leadership. I had long been aware that Leslie had the right skills to lead the organization. I am confident that as CEO he will continue to achieve great success for UPMC."

Davis has more than 30 years of experience in the health care industry, most recently serving as president of UPMC's Health Services Division. In these roles, she was responsible for managing the network of more than 40 UPMC hospitals with locations in Pennsylvania, Maryland and New York. He has played a critical role in establishing UPMC as a national healthcare innovator and has led the organization's efforts to improve the patient experience, provide excellent care, and enhance employee and physician engagement.

Davis was president of UPMC Magee-Womens Hospital from 2004 to 2018, before taking on the role of director of clinical activities for the Health Services Division for three years. Prior to joining UPMC, Davis was president of Graduate Hospital in Philadelphia, part of Tenet Healthcare Corp. He began his career at Mt. Sinai Medical Center in New York City and later spent 13 years at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia, holding increasingly responsible roles, including vice president of clinical affiliations and outpatient programs. He also served as director of clinical activities at the Presbyterian Medical Center and University of Pennsylvania Hospital, and director of marketing and planning for the University of Pennsylvania Health System.

"It is an honor for me to have the opportunity to lead UPMC and work with the board of directors, our talented doctors and nurses, and all employees part of the network of international providers, insurers and companies to provide citizens with the best health services," said Davis. "I am happy to continue to ensure affordable and sustainable healthcare for members of our communities, while driving innovation, employee engagement, academic excellence and research across all of our hospitals and centers. I have great confidence in the future of our organization and look forward to continuing to work for our patients, our employees and our communities, leading UPMC to even higher levels in the future."

"For nearly 50 years, Jeff's entrepreneurial approach has delivered growth and success for the UPMC-University of Pittsburgh partnership that supported cutting-edge medical innovation while transforming healthcare in our region," said Patrick Gallagher, Dean of the University of Pittsburgh. "UPMC has chosen the right person to follow in Jeff's footsteps, and I'm excited about future collaborations and innovations that will take place under Leslie's leadership, taking UPMC even higher."

Under Romoff's leadership, UPMC has grown from a major academic medical center to a $23 billion global integrated health system. Romoff turned UPMC into Pennsylvania's leading non-governmental employer and led the transformation of health care by integrating academic, proximity and specialty hospitals, physicians, medical offices, and outpatient sites, as well as a division of health insurance services that is the largest medical insurance company in western Pennsylvania. Romoff has also led UPMC's international expansion with programs on four continents with a focus in China, Italy, Ireland and Kazakhstan.

Over the course of more than two decades, UPMC in Italy has grown and currently has a staff of approximately 1,200 employees in several hospitals, cancer centers and outpatient facilities, providing a wide range of high-quality clinical services, including organ transplants at IRCCS ISMETT in Palermo, built and operated by UPMC since 1997. In collaboration with the Region of Sicily, UPMC is also developing a major biomedical research center in Carini (connected with the new ISMETT Hospital under construction), which will bring important advances in life-saving research and care to the region and Italy, as well as significant economic growth.

UPMC

UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center) is a $23 billion healthcare and insurance group headquartered in Pittsburgh, USA, specializing in the development of innovative, efficient, and reliable patient-centric care models. Working in close collaboration with the University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences, UPMC transfers its clinical, managerial, and technology expertise around the world through UPMC International and UPMC Enterprises, a division dedicated to innovation and commercialization. Thanks to significant investments in research and training, scientific, technological and medical innovation are at the heart of all UPMC activities.

UPMC has been operating in Italy since 1997, the year in which it entered into a partnership with the Region of Sicily for the construction and management of the IRCCS ISMETT in Palermo, a highly specialized center and international excellence in the field of transplants. A successful public-private partnership model expanded in 2006 with the launch of the Ri.MED Foundation, which provides for the creation of a biomedical research center and a hospital in Carini. UPMC's Italian activities include the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center San Pietro FBF in Rome and the UPMC Hillman Cancer Center Villa Maria in the Campania region, centers specialized in the latest generation of cancer treatments; the UPMC Institute for Health in Chianciano Terme; and the UPMC Salvator Mundi International Hospital in Rome. For more information: www.upmcitaly.it