More than six months after nixing plans to to become a publicly traded company, Ardent Health Services has a new top executive.
Former PhyMed Healthcare CEO Marty Bonick has been named president and CEO of Nashville-based Ardent, effective Aug. 17, according to a news release.
He replaces David Vandewater who announced in February he would retire sometime this year. He has now stepped down from the CEO position, although it is not immediately clear when he worked his last day.
Ardent Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer Paul Kappelman will serve as interim CEO until Bonick joins the company.
“Marty’s deep experience in hospital and clinic operations drives his approach to partnering with medical staff and fostering a culture of patient-centric transparency and teamwork,” Mark Sotir, chairman of Ardent’s board of directors, said in the release. “He is a proven leader with a strong track record of driving high-quality patient care, optimizing operations and growing health care organizations. We are very pleased to welcome him.”
Ardent is the region's fourth-largest firm on the Nashville Business Journal's List of privately owned companies, with $4.2 billion of revenue in 2018 — up by more than $1 billion from the previous year. Ardent generated more than $4.4 billion of revenue in 2019.
2018 revenue
| Rank | Prior Rank | Name/Address/Phone/URL |
|---|---|---|
1 | 1 | Asurion |
2 | 2 | LifePoint Health |
3 | 2 | Eco-Energy Global Biofuels |
Prior to joining PhyMed, Bonick led the operations of 36 hospitals in six states as a division president at Franklin-based Community Health Systems Inc.. He was previously CEO of Jewish Hospital in Louisville and CEO of Oklahoma State University Medical Center.
“I have long admired Ardent Health Services for its consistent focus on quality, service, culture and innovative partnerships, which has resulted in significant growth,” Bonick said in the release. “Now more than ever, I believe these fundamentals are important as health care providers embrace today’s challenges and develop new ways to deliver care. I am honored to rejoin the company at this important time and look forward to partnering with employees, medical staff, and the board to build on Ardent’s strong foundation.”
Vandewater’s retirement announcement came a little more than a month after Ardent decided not to proceed with its initial public offering, for which it had filed papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission more than a year earlier. The company was seeking to raise $100 million and would've been listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “ARDT.”
While a reason was not given for the withdrawal of its IPO, Jefferies & Co. health care services analyst Brian Tanquilut said in a December Nashville Business Journal story that Medicare for All plans proposed by potential presidential nominees had startled hospital investors.
As CEO, Vandewater doubled the size of the company, growing from 14 to 30 hospitals in six states since 2017, and signing joint venture agreements with several university health systems, including the University of Texas and the University of Kansas.
