New dean at Thomas Jefferson University’s medical school continues revamp of top management

New medical school dean adds to Jefferson's significant leadership turnover during the last two years.

Thomas Jefferson University has picked a new medical school dean. Its flagship hospital, shown here, is in Center City.Read moreMatt Rourke / AP

Published Aug. 23, 2023, 3:39 p.m. ET

This week’s naming of Said A. Ibrahim as dean of Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College means that in the last year Jefferson has put new executives in five top leadership positions.

Jefferson’s 18 hospitals form the largest hospital footprint in the Philadelphia region. The not-for-profit health organization now has new leaders in all of its most prominent roles:

In the CEO suite, Joseph G. Cacchione succeeded Stephen K. Klasko last September.
Baligh R. Yehia became president of Jefferson Health, which includes 18 hospitals and accounts for the vast majority of Jefferson’s revenue, in January.
Last month, Jefferson appointed board member Susan Aldridge interim university president.
In another key move, John Mordach took over as chief financial officer in March.
When he starts as medical school dean in December, Ibrahim will also serve as president of Jefferson University Physicians, a group of full-time faculty physicians.

Of the 25 senior executives listed on Jefferson’s website two years ago, only five remain in top roles on the current roster of 20 leaders.

Ibrahim will have relatively little direct responsibility for the business side of Jefferson, as it works to recover financially from the pandemic and streamline operations following a period of expansion that included the seven major acquisitions under Klasko. Those deals included four health systems, a small university, and a health insurer.

Thanks to acquisitions, Jefferson’s revenue has soared to $9.7 billion in the year ended June 30, up from $2 billion in fiscal 2014, the last year before the expansion. The organization now employs more than 40,000 people. It announced a small number of layoffs this summer.

Ibrahim will join Jefferson from Northwell Health, a large New York system with $15.6 billion in revenue last year, where he is senior vice president of its medicine service line. Northwell, also a not-for-profit, owns 21 hospitals and employs more than 85,000 people, according to its website.

Jefferson’s leadership structure

Jefferson has additional senior academic positions to fill on a permanent basis, including provost and university president, following the resignation of Mark Tykocinski this year, months after he caught criticism for liking certain tweets. Both positions report to Cacchione.

Jefferson’s structure differs from other Philadelphia-area health systems. At the University of Pennsylvania Health System, for example, university president Liz Magill sits at the top of the organizational chart. Penn’s medical school dean, J. Larry Jameson, is also a university executive vice president who oversees the health system. Kevin Mahoney is CEO of the health system.