Gerard Colman is chief executive officer of Baptist Health, a Louisville, Kentucky- based system of more than 19,000 employees. The Baptist Health family includes nine hospitals (eight owned and one managed) in Kentucky and southern Indiana, the Baptist Health Medical Group physician network, and more than 300 points of care.

Joining Baptist Health in December 2017, Colman has been involved in healthcare for 25 years, with wide-ranging experience in operations, finance, information technology and physician engagement. He most recently served as chief operating officer of Aurora Health Care System in Milwaukee, Wisconsin’s largest private employer and healthcare system.

During his four-year tenure at Aurora, Colman led the development of clinical service lines and established outpatient centers to bring patient care closer to home. The system employs 33,000 and includes 14 hospitals, more than 150 clinics, and more than 70 pharmacy locations.

Prior to joining Aurora, Colman worked for a decade at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, a three- campus, 19,000-employee cancer care and research institute in Houston. There, he served in a number of positions of increasing responsibility, rising to senior vice president and chief of clinical operations.

Colman began his healthcare career in the U.S. Navy as a corpsman and continued his service in the reserves. He holds a doctorate in healthcare management from the University of Texas School of Public Health, a master’s degree in healthcare administration from the School of Social Research in New York, and a bachelor’s degree in healthcare administration from Southern Illinois University. He also served in senior clinical and financial management positions for Newark Beth Israel Medical Center in Newark, New Jersey, and as director of patient financial services at Mercer Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey.

Colman has been a frequent presenter at industry events, including forums sponsored by the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, American Society of Clinical Oncology, Mayo Clinic, World Congress Healthcare, Healthcare Financial Management Association, and U.S. News and World Report. In addition, he has authored articles for Hospitals and Health Networks and for the Healthcare Financial Management Association. He currently serves on a number of local boards, including the Kentucky Chamber, Greater Louisville Inc., Kentucky Health Collaborative, and the Louisville Healthcare CEO Council.

He is married with three daughters.