Wright L. Lassiter III, MHA is the CEO of CommonSpirit Health. Prior to joining CommonSpirit Health, he served as the President and CEO of Henry Ford Health System where he oversaw the $7.5 billion health system comprised of six hospitals, a health plan, and a wide range of ambulatory and retail and related health services consisting of more than 250 locations and 32,000 employees. He has amassed significant experience in governance, strategic planning, market expansion, health care M&A, performance improvement, and corporate turnaround.
He is a seasoned health care executive, with significant board experience across multiple corporate and non-profit sectors. In the corporate sector, he serves as Board Vice Chair for the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, chairs the Governance and Nominating Committee, and also serves on its Audit Committee. Additionally, he serves on the boards of Arsenal Capital Partners and Quest Diagnostics. In the nonprofit sector, he serves on the boards of Henry Ford Health System, America's Essential Hospitals (Chair Elect), Le Moyne College, Motown Museum, Downtown Detroit Partnership, Detroit Regional Chamber of Commerce (incoming chair), Detroit Children's Fund, Invest Detroit and Business Leaders for Michigan. He has recently completed service on the YMCA of the USA Board. and City Year-Detroit.
Mr. Lassiter joined Henry Ford in December 2014 and assumed the role of President & CEO in 2016. Since his arrival, he led the Board through a comprehensive strategic planning effort to reposition Henry Ford for the future. Under his leadership, Henry Ford top-line revenues have grown 60%; additionally, he has completed two successful acquisitions, expanding its geographic footprint and generating $1 billion in revenue. The system has significantly increased its performance, earning top honors in several publicly reported quality programs and receiving both outlook and ratings upgrades from Moody’s and S&P investor services. With a major focus on collaboration, the system has inked major partnerships with organizations, including the Detroit Pistons, General Motors, Syapse, Presbyterian Villages of Michigan and Beckman Coulter. Mr. Lassiter has driven a global focus with partnerships in Israel to drive the company’s artificial intelligence strategy, initiating healthcare operations in Saudi Arabia beginning in 2019, and developed plans to commence operations in India in 2021.
Mr. Lassiter has nearly 30 years of experience working in large, complex academic health systems in the most competitive markets across the United States, including Dallas Methodist Health System and JPS Health Network in Fort Worth, Texas. Prior to joining Henry Ford, Mr. Lassiter was CEO of Alameda Health System in Oakland, California, where he was credited with leading the expansion and turnaround of the public health system, achieving eight years of positive financial performance, The Joint Commission Top Performer status, significant increases in patient engagement and reductions in patient harm.
Mr. Lassiter’s work has received many national accolades, most notably "Minority Leader Luminary",“100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” and “Top 25 Minority Healthcare Executives in U.S. Healthcare” by Modern Healthcare; “Crain’s Detroit Top 10 Newsmakers”, “Top Blacks in U.S. Healthcare” by the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Disparities; and “20 People Who Make Healthcare Better” in the U.S” by HealthLeaders. In 2011, Fast Company prominently featured Lassiter’s work to rebuild Alameda. These efforts have garnered numerous recognitions including the Industry Award from Results Mentoring, the Corporate Leadership Award from National Medical Fellowships, and The Legacy Award from the Jobs and Housing Coalition.
Mr. Lassiter received his master’s degree in Healthcare Administration from Indiana University where he graduated number one in his class and completed his bachelor’s degree with honors in Chemistry from Le Moyne College.