New president and CEO for Stanford Children’s Health

Paul King has been selected as the new president and CEO of Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford and Stanford Children’s Health.

King began his new duties on Jan. 28. He succeeds Dennis Lund, MD, who served as interim president and CEO of Stanford Children’s Health since last March.

“With more than 35 years in health care, including 22 years in executive roles leading pediatric health care enterprises, Paul brings a wealth of experiences and leadership expertise to Stanford Children’s Health,” said Jeff Chambers, chair of the board of Stanford Children’s Health.

King previously served as executive director of the University of Michigan health system’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, where his management efforts helped the organization achieve the highest patient satisfaction and employee engagement levels in the entire University of Michigan health system. Prior to that, he served as president and CEO of the Pediatric Management Group, a 550-physician academic pediatric subspecialty group practice affiliated with Children’s Hospital Los Angeles.

“As we plan for the continued growth of Stanford Children’s Health and expansion of innovation across the entire continuum of care, Paul’s distinguished record of accomplishment and dedication to the critically important role of pediatric and obstetric care will undoubtedly help us achieve our vision of precision health at Stanford Medicine,” said Lloyd Minor, MD, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine.

“I am thrilled to be joining Stanford Children’s Health at a time of flourishing innovation in pediatric health care,” King said. “The possibilities that are within reach for the world-class Stanford Medicine academic medical institutions are truly limitless. I look forward to working with the board and executive leadership, the physicians and staff, as well as with partners at the School of Medicine and Stanford Health Care, to continue to advance pediatric care and research and raise the bar for patient experience and outcomes not just for our patients, but for children and expectant mothers everywhere.”

King earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and economics from the University of Nebraska, and a master’s degree in health care administration from the University of Iowa. He serves on several boards, including those of the Children’s Hospital Association and the American Hospital Association Maternal & Child Health Council.

Lund, the chief medical officer for Stanford Children’s Health, stepped into the interim CEO role in March when Christopher Dawes announced his retirement and medical leave of absence. Dawes had served as president and CEO since 2000.

In a joint statement, Minor and Chambers said that Lund “demonstrated exceptional leadership during this challenging time while also successfully spearheading the opening of the new, state-of-the-art Bonnie Uytengsu and Family Surgery and Interventional Center. We also thank Chris for his extraordinary contributions to Packard, Stanford and children’s health nationwide over his remarkable career.”