chadCHAD A. ECKES
Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer
Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center

B.A. Degree – University of Wisconsin, Oshkosh
M.B.A. – University of Wisconsin, Whitewater
Master’s Certificate in Project Management, University of Wisconsin, Madison

Mr. Eckes is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center. As EVP/CFO, Chad provides overall direction for all financial functions of Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center and also oversees the divisions of Managed Care, Corporate Revenue Cycle (CRC), Information Technology Services (ITS), Enterprise Information Management (EIM), and the Enterprise Project Management Office (EPMO) in his role as EVP. Prior to his promotion as EVP/CFO, Chad was the Vice President and Chief Information Officer where he focused on ensuring quality service and enabling analytical capabilities to our clinical, research and academic enterprises. His extensive experience includes advancing health care through strategic planning, IT Technology, organizational change management, contract law, large-scale negotiations, financial structuring, business/clinical process redesign, and business turnarounds.

Prior to his employment here, he was employed by Cancer Treatment Centers of America (CTCA), a national hospital network with facilities in Illinois, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, Arizona and Georgia. At CTCA, he first served as Chief Information Officer for over seven years, and later as the Chief Strategy Officer. The turnaround at CTCA resulted in a healthcare IT architecture that was highly acclaimed in the industry and modeled for its progressiveness and innovation. Under his leadership, CTCA was ranked by Healthcare IT News among the nation’s top 10 places for “Where to Work: Best Hospital IT Department” two years in a row. In his career, he has also held senior leadership positions in insurance and consulting firms.

Mr. Eckes currently serves on multiple boards including MedCost and NC HIMSS. He has previously served on multiple IT, not for profit, and financial services boards focused on advancing technologies.

He enjoys lecturing and has addressed professional societies and other national organizations on such topics as executive leadership, organizational change management, vendor management and finance. Mr. Eckes has also been a monthly contributor to Healthcare IT News blog and written a chapter in Newt Gingrich’s book, “Paper Kills 2.0”. He has been named four times by CIO magazine to its prestigious “CIO 100” recognition and received Computerworld’s Premier 100 recognition for lifetime career achievements in IT.

Chad earned his MBA from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater and a Master’s Certificate in Project Management from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He received a BA in Marketing & Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.