UI Hospital and Clinics leadership transition

Dear UIC community,

Since 2015, Michael Zenn has served in key leadership positions for the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics, most recently as its chief executive officer. On May 15, pending approval by the University of Illinois Board of Trustees, he will step down from his position as chief executive officer and transition into a new role as senior advisor for enterprise strategic initiatives within the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs. The university and its academic health enterprise are extremely grateful for Mr. Zenn’s exemplary commitment and contributions to the health of our patients and communities.

As a health care executive with exceptional financial, operational and strategic approaches, he has served UI Health with a steadfast commitment to putting patients first. We are grateful for Mike’s outstanding leadership during a time of tremendous momentum for the university’s academic health enterprise, UI Health. Managing the implementation of the Epic electronic health record system, navigating the response and recovery efforts from the COVID-19 pandemic, nurturing the evolution of the UI Health brand, launching the Specialty Care Building, opening a new hospital welcome atrium, and initiating our Quality and Safety Transformation will be part of his enduring legacy. But perhaps most profound has been his efforts to collaboratively mature the relationship between the College of Medicine and the Hospital. Any one of these accomplishments would be a significant undertaking — indeed, the compounding impact of these significant initiatives is truly transformational change.

Mike Zenn is recognized for aligning strategic direction with financial capabilities and operational improvement potential while also ensuring capital capacities are optimized. Mike has served in various capacities at UI Health. He initially served as chief financial officer, and since then has been involved in all aspects of the health enterprise. In 2017, he also served as interim chief ambulatory officer and was then selected as chief executive officer for the University of Illinois Hospital and Clinics.

As he transitions to this important advisory role in my office, I will value the expertise that Mike has developed over his more than 40-year career in health care administration. I will soon announce an interim chief executive officer for the UI Hospital and Clinics to serve until a permanent successor is named.

Please join me in congratulating Mike on his transition into this new role and in thanking him for his exceptional contributions to UI Health.

Sincerely,

Robert Barish, MD, MBA
Vice Chancellor for Health Affairs

For more information, please contact:
Margaret Moser
mlmoser@uic.edu