New CEO Announced For Cleveland Clinic

CLEVELAND, OH — Dr. Tomislav “Tom” Mihaljevic will become the Cleveland Clinic's new CEO and president, the hospital system announced Friday. Mihaljevic will replace Toby Cosgrove on Jan. 1, 2018.

Cosgrove announced he would begin transitioning out of his role as CEO on May 1, 2017. He was the leader of the Cleveland Clinic for 13 years. Under Cosgrove's leadership, the hospital system has seen revenue grow from $3.7 billion in 2004 to $8.5 billion in 2016. The Cleveland Clinic is also Ohio's largest employer, with more than 50,000 staffers.

Mihaljevic, 53, joined the Clinic in 2004 as a cardiothoracic surgeon. As a surgeon, he specialized in minimally invasive and robotically assisted cardiac surgeries. He served as CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi starting in 2015. (To stay up to date on local stories, subscribe to the Patch Cleveland newsletter. As news breaks and the story develops, you will be the first to receive updates from Patch.)

Mihaljevic is a native Croatian and naturalized American. He received his medical degree from the University of Zagreb and moved to the U.S. in 1995.

“Dr. Mihaljevic brings a depth of experience, first as an innovative, world-class surgeon and more recently as a hospital executive focused on healthcare quality and safety, patient experience and business strategy,” Robert E. Rich Jr., chair of Cleveland Clinic’s Board of Directors, said in a statement.

The nomination committee and Rich reviewed possible successors for Cosgrove, eventually settling on Mihaljevic. The departing Cosgrove will help his successor transition into the new role throughout the rest of 2017.

On the first day of 2018, Mihaljevic will become president and CEO of the Cleveland Clinic. Cosgrove will move to an advisory role, the Cleveland Clinic said in a release.

“While I may be stepping aside as president and CEO, I will not be leaving Cleveland Clinic behind,” Cosgrove said. “No place else functions quite like Cleveland Clinic, with its physician-driven, patient-centered ethos that encourages clinical excellence, medical education, research and innovation. I look forward to working with Dr. Mihaljevic in any way that I can to further the Cleveland Clinic mission.”

Cosgrove had a politically eventful run toward the end of his tenure as CEO. He was publicly supportive of President Donald Trump, even joining a council of CEOs that advised the president. The council was disbanded after members resigned en masse following Trump's reaction to the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

The Cleveland Clinic announced shortly after the council's disbanding that it would cease hosting one of its annual fundraisers at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort.

Photo from the Cleveland Clinic