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The 2012 Central Massachusetts Signature Chefs Auction is thrilled to be honoring John O’Brien, President and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care Inc. We hope you can join us at this very special event on October 22^nd at Mechanics Hall to honor John and to support the March of Dimes.

John G. O’Brien is president and CEO of UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc., central Massachusetts’ largest not-for-profit health care delivery system with 1,700 physicians and over 15,000 employees. UMass Memorial’s comprehensive network of care includes a multi-campus academic medical center, owned and affiliated community hospitals, an acute rehabilitation hospital, community-based primary care practices, ambulatory outpatient clinics, home health agencies, hospice programs, mental health services, including the largest community mental health agency in the region and an 1,100 member faculty group practice. UMass Memorial is the clinical partner of the University of Massachusetts Medical School.

John began his career at The Cambridge Hospital in 1976 as a financial manager and worked his way through the ranks to become its chief executive officer in 1986. He also served as the commissioner of health for the City of Cambridge from 1995 to 2002. During his tenure as CEO of Cambridge Health Alliance, he led a team of people that transformed a once ailing small city hospital into a premier academic public health care system.

Since joining UMass Memorial Health Care in September 2002, John has led a significant turnaround that has brought the UMass Memorial system to be seen as one of the leading academic health care systems in the Northeast. John has recruited and led the team of clinicians and executives that, together, have transformed UMass Memorial in terms of its clinical reputation, its quality and safety record and its overall performance. Since coming to UMass Memorial, John has ensured that each year has been built upon successes of the previous year and that patient care, fiscal responsibility and margin creation have always driven the strategy of both he and his team.

John is involved in a variety of health advocacy and civic activities locally and nationally, and is the recipient of numerous awards for his work. He is a past member of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees, and past chair of both the Board of National Association of Public Hospitals and the Board of the Massachusetts Hospital Association.

John is a graduate of Harvard College where he majored in economics. He received his MBA in health care administration from Boston University.