Albert L . Wright , Jr .
President & CEO , WVU Medicine West Virginia University Health System
ARIANNA WHITEHAIR
“ The most impactful leaders are those who are great at listening and can connect with and relate to people in a very genuine and authentic fashion ,” says Albert L . Wright , Jr ., president and CEO of the West Virginia University ( WVU ) Health System .
Wright is the kind of person many would consider a natural-born leader , exuding confidence , sharp communication and empathy in everything he does .
He received his bachelor ’ s degree in pharmacy from the University of Toledo , his Master of Health Administration from Ohio State University and his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Florida and now serves as the CEO of West Virginia ’ s largest employer .
While he has had many mentors that helped him rise to the level of success he enjoys today , Wright cites Cheryl Herbert and John Innocenti as some of the most influential .
“ Cheryl ’ s greatest talent was challenging her team members and the people around her to think big , even when doing so is difficult ,” Wright says . “ John taught me the importance of being a great communicator , sharing everything you know with people in the organization and always being honest and ethical .”
As president and CEO of the WVU Health System , Wright knows how
important effective communication is when it comes to running a large and complex organization .
“ The past few years have been especially challenging for health care due to the pandemic ,” he says . “ We ’ re now also managing the challenges of a widespread respiratory illness in children that is stressing our new children ’ s hospital , as well as a bad flu season . Leading a large organization like ours during such a challenging time reinforces the need to be highly communicative and transparent with team members at all levels .”
Under Wright ’ s leadership , WVU Medicine has become nationally and internationally recognized for its clinical
Photo by WVU University Relations .
achievements and is now a top performer among academic health systems across the nation in terms of quality and patient safety . Wright ’ s bold vision to build a highly integrated and comprehensive network of care and his unyielding pursuit of excellence steered the organization over the past several years and guided its decisions at all levels .
“ My job allows me to connect with West Virginians across the whole state at a very organic , grassroots level ,” he says . “ As I worked with many of the community and rural hospitals that have joined the health system since my arrival , I spent many hours with their board members and in their communities
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