Stanford Hospital & Clinics names new CEO

Martha H. Marsh

STANFORD, Calif. – Martha H. Marsh, a veteran leader in the health care field, has been named President and Chief Executive Officer of Stanford Hospital & Clinics, officials announced today.  Her appointment will become effective in April. Marsh most recently served as the Director of Hospital and Clinics and the Chief Operating Officer at the University of California Davis Health System in Sacramento.

“Martha Marsh is a very experienced and dedicated individual who can ensure that Stanford Hospital & Clinics continues to lead the way in quality patient care while supporting medical education and biomedical research,” said Denise O’Leary, chair of the hospital’s Board of Directors.

Philip Pizzo, MD, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine, said Marsh is a “strong and thoughtful leader who is committed to excellence in patient care. Moreover, she understands the importance of a research-intensive medical school in further improving health care through discoveries and innovation in education, patient care, and biomedical and clinical research.”

“These are challenging times for all academic medical centers,” said University President John Hennessy.  “Martha Marsh is a skilled leader with the ability to make the critical decisions that will help the medical center continue to provide excellent patient care while achieving financial stability.” 

Marsh was selected by an eight-member committee that included O’Leary and Pizzo, as well as a faculty chair, two members of the hospital’s board of directors, the vice president for the medical center, a university vice president, and the CEO of Packard Children’s Hospital.

Marsh has more than 23 years of experience as a leader in health care, devoting much of that time to work at university-affiliated centers. For the past three years, she has directed the UC Davis Health Care System, a major academic medical center with more than $800 million in annual revenues and 17 affiliated hospitals.  She came to Davis from the University of Pennsylvania Health System in Philadelphia, where she served from 1994 to 1998 as senior vice president for professional services and managed care and as vice president for managed care.

From 1986 to 1994, Marsh was president and chief executive officer of the Matthew Thornton Health Plan, a multi-state health maintenance organization affiliated with the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center in New Hampshire.  Her other health care experience includes seven years in various managerial positions at Elliot Hospital in New Hampshire and experience as a senior health care analyst with Arthur Anderson & Co. in New York.          

Marsh is a graduate of the University of Rochester and received her MPH and MBA degrees from Columbia University.

She replaces Malinda Mitchell, who retired in May 2001 after serving the hospital in various capacities for 26 years.  Michael Peterson, a veteran health care administrator, has been serving as interim President and Chief Executive Officer at Stanford since June.