Leadership

President and Chief Executive Officer

In February 2011, C. David Huffstutler was named president and CEO of St. David's HealthCare, a $2.1-billion, eight-hospital healthcare system, with more than 132 locations throughout Central Texas. St. David's HealthCare is the third-largest private employer in the Austin area, employing more than 10,600 colleagues and supported by more than 2,500 medical staff members. Huffstutler is also the president of the HCA Central and West Texas Division, which in addition to St. David's HealthCare in Austin, also includes Las Palmas Del Sol Healthcare—a two-hospital system in El Paso.

Prior to assuming the role as president and CEO of St. David's HealthCare and president of the HCA Central and West Texas Division, Huffstutler served as CEO of St. David's Medical Center, which comprises four of the eight member hospitals of St. David's HealthCare, including St. David's Hospital, St. David's Rehabilitation Hospital, St. David's Georgetown Hospital and Heart Hospital of Austin. Before joining St. David's HealthCare in 2007, Huffstutler served for three years as CEO of Memorial Hermann Southeast Hospital in Houston, and prior to that, for seven years in various hospital operations leadership roles in the Houston market for HCA Healthcare. Before joining HCA Healthcare, he spent nearly fifteen years in management positions for The Methodist Health Care System in Houston. Huffstutler holds an undergraduate degree in healthcare management from the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and a master's degree in business administration with a concentration in healthcare from the University of Houston at Clear Lake.

Professionally, Huffstutler is a past chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Texas Hospital Association (THA), the state's hospital industry group, and also serves on the governance and nominating committees. Prior to serving on the THA board, he served as a director of the association's political action committee, HOSPAC. He is also a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Huffstutler is active in several organizations in Austin. He is a member of the Austin Area Research Organization, which is a membership organization of business and community leaders advancing the economic and social well-being of the Central Texas area. He also serves on the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce's Economic Development Corporation Board, American Heart Association Capital Area Division Board of Directors, and he previously served on the Board of Trustees for St. Andrew's Episcopal School.

In 2019, Huffstutler was honored by the Texas Hospital Association (THA) as the recipient of the 2018 Earl M. Collier Award for Distinguished Health Care Administration. The award, which is the highest honor bestowed by THA, recognizes outstanding executives who have distinguished themselves through their contributions to the health care industry and their profession, who are leaders in providing quality health care services, and who are active in THA and other industry groups.

Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Shari Collier was named chief financial officer of St. David's HealthCare in June 2019. With more than 25 years of financial management and leadership experience, 20 years spent in the healthcare industry, Collier leads the financial division of St. David's HealthCare's seven-hospital healthcare system, across 117 locations in Central Texas.

Prior to assuming this role, Collier served as chief financial officer of Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, a 680-bed acute care hospital in Denver, Colorado, where she successfully managed the facility's financial operations. Before joining Presbyterian/St. Luke's Medical Center, Collier served for 12 years as chief financial officer for Overland Park Regional Medical Center, a 343-bed facility in Overland Park, Kansas.

Collier, a certified public accountant, has served as an accountant at KPMG, LLP; Coca-Cola Enterprises; and Arthur Anderson LLP, as well as in various healthcare roles.

She earned her Bachelor of Business Administration from The University of Memphis in Tennessee.

Chief Medical Officer

Kenneth W. Mitchell, MD, is the chief medical officer for St. David's HealthCare. In this role, Dr. Mitchell leads the clinical and quality initiatives that support consistent clinical performance and practice standards across the healthcare system.

Dr. Mitchell served as the vice president of medical affairs and chief medical officer for St. David's North Austin Medical Center from 2006 to 2017. Prior to this, he held various leadership positions at the Austin Diagnostic Clinic, including Chairman and Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors.

He is also active in the American Heart Association, where he received a Distinguished Service Award. Dr. Mitchell is a Diplomate in the American Board of Internal Medicine and a Certified Professional in Utilization Review. He has also served on the Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas Physician's Advisory Committee and as a quality improvement consultant for Fortune 500 clients.

Dr. Mitchell received a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Texas at Austin, graduating cum laude, and his medical degree from the University of Texas Medical School at Houston, where he also served his residency at Hermann Hospital, St. Joseph's Hospital and M.D. Anderson Cancer Institute. Dr. Mitchell is a member of the Travis County Medical Society, Texas Medical Association, American Medical Association, American Society of Internal Medicine and the American College of Phlebology.

Chief Nursing Executive

Susan Griffin was named chief nursing executive for St. David’s HealthCare in 2022. Griffin is responsible for the overall strategic direction of nursing practices and nursing operations across the healthcare system.

Prior to joining St. David’s HealthCare, Griffin served as chief nursing executive for Methodist Healthcare System in San Antonio where she facilitated the creation of the Galen School of Nursing campus and grew academic partnerships, resulting in 500 residents and more than 70 RN interns annually. Prior to her time in San Antonio, Griffin served as chief nursing officer at St. David’s Medical Center. Griffin has more than 40 years of experience in nursing, including nearly 30 years of executive nursing leadership.

Griffin earned her Bachelor of Science in nursing from West Texas A&M University and her master of science in nursing from Bellarmine University, Kentucky. She received UT Health San Antonio’s Nursing Visionary Award in 2020, and Texas Nurses Association honored her with its Image Maker Award in 2019. Griffin previously served as a board member of Texas Organization of Nurse Leaders, and she served on Texas Hospital Association’s HOSPAC board and Council on Policy Development. She is a board member for New Hope Initiative, an organization serving children and families in East Africa, India and South America. She has led multiple medical mission trips to Tanzania, Kenya, Mexico and South America.

Senior Vice President of Business Development

Robert Nagel was named senior vice president of business development for St. David's HealthCare in November 2017. Nagel has more than 20 years of senior executive experience providing fiscal, strategic, operational and transactional leadership to organizations across multiple industries.

He most recently served for more than a decade as president and chief executive officer of Fox Service Company, a mechanical contractor and service provider in Central Texas.

Nagel earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in finance from The University of Texas at Austin. He currently sits on the board of directors for the Greater Austin Chamber of Commerce.

Senior Vice President of Clinical Innovation

William (Bill) H. Rice, M.D., is the senior vice president of clinical innovation for St. David's HealthCare. In this role, Dr. Rice supports a portfolio of informatics initiatives focused on usability, variation, analytics and modeling, and works to deploy a formalized innovation infrastructure across the St. David's HealthCare system.

Prior to joining St. David's HealthCare, Dr. Rice served as chief medical officer of Whiteglove House Call Health, a company he co-founded. Prior to that, Dr. Rice was the first full-time physician involved in the development of RevolutionHealth, a leading consumer-centric health company founded to transform how people approach their overall health and wellness.

In addition to his 14 years of experience in clinical emergency medicine, Dr. Rice has participated in the formation and initial work of a number of early-stage health care companies. As the founding chairman and chief executive officer of Stat HealthCare, Dr. Rice built one of the largest physician management companies in the United States and managed the business from inception to public offering.

Dr. Rice holds a patent for a system and method to optimize the care of chronic disease patients. He is the author of a book entitled American Health Care 2008, Opportunities for Disruptive Improvement. In 2013, Dr. Rice was appointed by Governor Perry to the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas, and served on the Oversight Committee until 2017.

Dr. Rice earned a Bachelor of Science degree with high honors from the University of Michigan. He went on to complete his Doctor of Medicine from The University of Texas Medical School at San Antonio and thereafter received postgraduate training in trauma and general surgery at the St. Joseph Medical Center in Houston.

Senior Vice President and Chief Legal Officer

Marian Wu currently holds the position of senior vice president and chief legal officer at St. David's HealthCare. Prior to joining St. David's HealthCare, Wu was senior counsel at Jackson Walker L.L.P. She is board certified in health law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization and has more than 19 years of experience representing healthcare clients.

Wu's prior private law practice consisted of advising for-profit, non-profit and governmental hospital clients and other healthcare clients on a wide range of operational and regulatory matters, healthcare and commercial litigation, professional malpractice defense, and federal and state administrative appeals.

Wu earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Managerial Studies from Rice University. She went on to complete her law degree at The University of Texas School of Law. Marian has been named a "Rising Star" (2008-2009) by Texas Monthly.

Wu serves on the Board of Directors for Ronald McDonald House® Charities of Austin and Central Texas which, through the local Ronald McDonald House and Family Rooms located in area hospitals, provides families of critically ill and hospitalized children a home-away-from-home.

Senior Vice President of Human Resources

Julie Hajek is the senior vice president of human resources for St. David's HealthCare. In this role, Hajek provides support to St. David's HealthCare's more than 9,000 employees and will be responsible for continuing to build employee engagement and maintaining strong employee relations.

Hajek joined St. David's HealthCare more than 20 years ago, working in the human resources department at St. David's South Austin Medical Center. Since then, she has served in a number of human resource positions with increasing levels of responsibility at three hospitals.

Most recently, Hajek served as a facility vice president of human resources at St. David's Medical Center. Prior to her position at St. David's Medical Center, she worked for more than 10 years as director of human resources at St. David's North Austin Medical Center.