Big businesses are hiring chief medical officers
CEOs of hospitals and health systems may find they need to compete more aggressively to hold onto their CMOs, as industries that never employed medical officers in the past are needing them now.
The Wall Street Journal looks at the development in an article posted Aug. 10.
Among the companies that recently hired CMOs are Tyson Foods and Royal Caribbean Cruises, the newspaper reports. Both say they made room for the appointments after the COVID crisis created a need for medical expertise on two fronts—customer confidence and employee safety.
For other business concerns, the CMO addition came earlier. The NFL, for example, has had an executive physician since 2017, after player concussions had shaken the sport of football at all levels.
“Every company is thinking of the health and wellness of their employees,” Salesforce CMO Ashwini Zenooz, MD, tells the WSJ. “The role of a chief medical officer is becoming a lot more prevalent and a lot more powerful in the business world.”
Dave P. has worked in journalism, marketing and public relations for more than 30 years, frequently concentrating on hospitals, healthcare technology and Catholic communications. He has also specialized in fundraising communications, ghostwriting for CEOs of local, national and global charities, nonprofits and foundations.