Issue link: https://beckershealthcare.uberflip.com/i/1519468
20 CEO / STRATEGY The healthcare CEO nixing bosses By Mackenzie Bean B ayer CEO Bill Anderson is tossing out the corporate management playbook in favor of a looser structure with fewer rules — and fewer bosses, e Wall Street Journal reported March 22. Mr. Anderson has developed a unique turnaround strategy for Bayer, whose stock price is down 50% from the year prior. Under the plan, Mr. Anderson aims to cut costs by 2 billion euros — or $2.17 billion — and lay off an undisclosed number of managers. Over the next few years, the company will transition to operating with 5,000 to 6,000 self-directed teams, according to the report. e teams will consist of employees from various departments who will identify and collaborate on projects for 90-day cycles. Aer each cycle, teams will reconfigure and shi focus to new projects. "We don't have to be that good to beat the current system," he told the Journal, citing the inefficiencies of modern management structures. Mr. Anderson said he believes large companies will study Bayer's strategy and implement their own versions in the future. n A big year for CEO pay By Molly Gamble C EO compensation surged at many S&P 500 companies in 2023, marking a significant rebound from the prior year's tepid growth, according to early findings from e Wall Street Journal. e Journal is set to release its full annual analysis and ranking of S&P 500 CEO pay this spring. e outlet shared early findings that the median CEO compensation at 187 of those large companies hit $15.6 million in 2023, up from about $14.1 million for the same companies in 2022. About 130 CEOs in the analysis received bigger pay packages in 2023 than the year prior; about 55 CEOs saw smaller payouts. e pay lis are attributed in large part to a healthy stock market, with the S&P 500 index cinching a 24% gain for 2023. Or, as the Journal put it: "Driving that growth: awards of restricted stock and stock options that rose with their companies' share prices — and faster, in some cases." Of the 20 top-paid CEOs so far, eight lead tech companies and seven head financial companies, though the Journal did not further specify them by name. n Kansas hospital CEO resigns, successor named By Kelly Gooch F rank Safrit, PhD, MSN, RN, is the new CEO of Grisell Memorial Hospital, a 25-bed critical access hospital in Ransom, Kan. Dr. Safrit joined the facility on March 18 from Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare, where he served as director of trauma services in Indiana, according to his LinkedIn page. He succeeds Rayna Bittel, who resigned. Bridget Tillitson, administrative assistant to the CEO and human resource director at Grisell Memorial, confirmed the resignation and Dr. Safrit's appointment to Becker's but did not comment further. Ms. Bittel, who was previously the hospital's CFO, was selected in 2020 to serve as a co-CEO with former director of nursing Joni Pfaff, according to a hospital Facebook post. Ms. Bittel's LinkedIn page shows she became the sole CEO of Grisell Memorial in late 2022. Jill Stade is the current CFO of the hospital, and the director of nursing position was recently filled by Makenzie Henman, RN. n West Virginia hospital promotes CFO to CEO By Alexis Kayser S tephen Kuhn is the new CEO of River Park Hospital in Huntington, W.Va., The Herald Dispatch reported March 22. Mr. Kuhn has served as CFO of the 187-bed psychiatric hospital since 2009, according to his LinkedIn profile. He was named interim CEO in November and assumed the helm permanently in January. n