June 9, 2023
(Austin) — Central Health, Travis County’s hospital district, has begun to seek search firms as potential partners in a community-informed process this summer and fall to recruit a successor for President and CEO Mike Geeslin.
An invitation for proposals was sent to selected executive search firms last week, with responses due this Friday, June 16. This marks the beginning of several months of community engagement as Central Health gathers feedback on how to fill this important role.
“Transparency and engagement are critical to this process,” said Manager Ann Kitchen, chair of the Central Health Board of Managers ad hoc Succession Committee. “To serve the community we need to understand what the community is thinking and what they’d like to see happen.”
At a meeting of the Succession Committee Monday, June 12, staff laid out a timeline for the next steps in this process:
- June 2023: Issue Invitations for Bid (IFB); review proposals
- July 2023: Announce search firm
- July 2023: Launch research and engagement for Community CEO Profile
- Aug./Sept. 2023: Finalize and release Community CEO Profile; announce shortlist/finalists
- September 2023: Announce Acting/Interim CEO (if applicable)
- Sept./Oct. 2023: Community Conversation with finalists
- Fall 2023: Announce new President/CEO
Developing, with input from stakeholders throughout Travis County including the patients we serve, a Community CEO Profile that will lay out key qualities sought in the next Central Health leader. Research and outreach will take place this summer, including a community survey and phone and intercept interviews with Central Health clinical patients and Medical Access Program members in multiple languages.
By September, the district expects to identify a shortlist of candidates. A Central Health Community Conversation with finalists is planned for late September or early October, depending on schedules. This moderated forum will be a follow-up opportunity for members of the public to ask questions and provide input before the Board of Managers makes its final decision.
Also in the September/October timeframe, the Board of Managers will decide whether, and if so whom, to appoint an acting or interim CEO of the hospital district. Central Health currently expects to have Geeslin’s successor on board by the end of 2023.