DURHAM, N.C. (WPTF) – A familiar name is returning to lead Duke University Health System.
In an announcement Wednesday (March 25), Duke announced that Dr. David Zaas has been named chief executive officer of Duke University Health System (DUHS), effective May 1. Zaas returns to Duke after serving as president and CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and executive vice president of Health Affairs for Wake Forest University,
“I am delighted to welcome Dr. David Zaas back to Duke to serve as CEO of Duke University Health System,” said Vincent E. Price, president of Duke University. “As a physician and executive, David has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing and delivering world-class patient care along with an exceptional ability to lead complex, people-centered organizations.”
At Atrium-Wake Forest, Zaas oversaw a $6.5 billion growing academic health system that includes eight hospitals, an expanding medical school with two campuses, and more than 27,000 team members across Northwest North Carolina, where the system functions as the academic core for Advocate Health. His return to Duke coincides with a time of growth for DUHS, which is expanding clinical services and access to world-class academic care across North Carolina.
As CEO, Zaas will be responsible for strategic and operational oversight of DUHS and its senior leadership team. He will report jointly to the DUHS Board of Directors and to President Price. Zaas will work in close partnership with Mary Klotman, M.D., the executive vice president for health affairs and chief academic officer of Duke Health and dean of the School of Medicine, who also reports to Price.
“David is an outstanding leader with a proven record of advancing excellence in health care at all levels,” said Nancy Schlichting, chair of the DUHS Board of Directors. “During this challenging time for health care organizations, David is the right person to lead DUHS and I look forward to working with him to build on our longstanding tradition of excellence.”
Zaas spent nearly 20 years with Duke Health between 2001 and 2020, where he held progressive leadership roles including leading the world’s largest lung transplant program, serving as vice chair for the Department of Medicine, chief medical officer of the Duke Private Diagnostic Clinic, and president of Duke Raleigh Hospital from 2014 to 2020. Prior to returning to Duke, he held senior leadership roles at the Medical University of South Carolina Health, including CEO for the Charleston Division and system chief clinical officer.
“I am honored to return to Duke and energized to lead Duke University Health System during this next phase of growth,” Zaas said. “It is a privilege to work alongside such outstanding team members as we expand our impact, strengthen our academic mission, and continue to set the standard for academic health systems nationally.”
Zaas is a graduate of Yale College and received his medical degree from Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine. He completed his internship and residency at Johns Hopkins Hospital, where he also served as assistant chief of service of the Osler Medical Service, and completed his fellowship training in pulmonary and critical care medicine at Duke University Medical Center before joining the Duke faculty. He also holds a Master of Business Administration from Duke’s Fuqua School of Business.