By Bob Mitchell

Chester County Hospital parent, The University of Pennsylvania Health System (UPHS), better known as Penn Medicine, has named Kevin B. Mahoney as its next CEO, succeeding Ralph W. Muller, who served as CEO since 2003.

Mahoney, a 23-year veteran at Penn Medicine, serving in various leadership roles, currently serves as executive vice president and Chief Administrative Officer for UPHS, as well as an executive vice dean at the Perelman School of Medicine.

“Kevin has an unrivaled breadth of experience and depth of knowledge of healthcare in an integrated academic medical center, combined with personal commitment to Penn’s ambitious vision to build the academic health system of the future,” Amy Gutmann, PhD, president of the University of Pennsylvania, said.

“We are confident that Kevin will successfully lead the team-based effort to propel UPHS to even greater heights, building on its unparalleled success and enormous momentum.”

Mahoney will report to J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD, executive vice president of the University of Pennsylvania for the health system and dean of the Perelman School of Medicine. Mahoney assumes his role on July 1, 2019.

The health system has grown over the past six years from three Philadelphia-based academic medical centers, encompassing the addition of three hospitals from Lancaster, PA, to Princeton, NJ, and an outpatient network which sees more than 5.7 million patient visits annually.

“Kevin was a chief architect behind so many of the efforts for which Penn Medicine has become nationally renowned,” said Dr. Jameson. “Kevin was an early and strong contributor to our campus-wide efforts to make innovation part of Penn and Penn Medicine’s DNA. Those efforts are saving lives across the world, spurring Penn Medicine’s role in the development and commercialization of six FDA-approved therapies within 18 months. He is a champion for the ideas that will become tomorrow’s cures, supporting everything from small scale start-ups to larger commercialization agreements and industry partnerships that are mapping what the future of healthcare looks like.”

Mahoney joined the health system in 1996, and has held positions including executive director of Penn’s primary care physician network and CEO of Phoenixville Hospital.

He was a strategist for Penn Medicine’s growth, including the integration of Chester County Hospital into the health system, and the move of Penn Medicine’s Level 1 trauma center to Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, and construction of five multi-specialty ambulatory facilities.

He also oversaw the implementation of an electronic health record system across Penn’s hospitals, outpatient clinics and home care.

“Penn Medicine is a truly unique place where a collaborative spirit and teamwork builds on our rich history to lead the way forward in academic medicine,” Mahoney said.

“My appointment as the next CEO of UPHS is humbling, and I am truly excited by this opportunity. Having worked at Penn Medicine for 23 years, I have seen first-hand the miracle performed by our faculty, physicians and staff. I know our best days are ahead with even more breakthrough treatments and continued evolution of patient-centered care. I am grateful to President Gutmann and Dr. Jameson for giving me this unparalleled opportunity to continue to serve Penn, Penn Medicine and our patients.”