Benjamin K. Chu, MD

Benjamin K. Chu, M.D., MPH, MACP, was appointed president and CEO of Memorial Hermann Health System, effective May 9, 2016.  In his role, Dr. Chu is responsible for leading and overseeing the System’s 16 hospitals and more than 230 diagnostic and specialty centers with more than 25,000 employees and 5,500 affiliated physicians in the greater Houston area.
 
The first-ever physician to be CEO of Memorial Hermann, Dr. Chu brings more than four decades of healthcare experience as a clinician, administrator and policy advocate. Dr. Chu passionately believes that the quality of patient care and patient safety are of the highest importance. He also places a strong emphasis on physician integration and population health.
 
Prior to joining Memorial Hermann, he served as group president for Kaiser Permanente’s Southern California and Georgia regions where he directed health plan and hospital operations for 14 hospitals and 237 medical offices to serve more than four million members. Dr. Chu achieved several notable accomplishments while at Kaiser, including effective implementation of a fully-integrated electronic health record system and population health management tools for improving outcomes for patient care.
 
He also previously served as president of New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the largest public hospital system in the country. He was also senior vice president for Medical and Professional Affairs for HHC in New York and served as acting commissioner of health for the New York City Department of Health.
 
Dr. Chu also has experience as an academic health center leader, serving as senior associate dean at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. At New York University School of Medicine and Medical Center, Dr. Chu was associate dean and vice president for Clinical Affairs. As a policy advocate, Dr. Chu was a Robert Wood Johnson Policy Fellow, working as the legislative assistant for health for New Jersey Sen. Bill Bradley.
 
Dr. Chu has been recognized nationwide for his innovative thought leadership in the healthcare industry. In 2015 he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine, which is considered to be one of the highest honors in the fields of health and medicine. He was also recognized as one of Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Physician Executives and Leaders in 2015 and in previous years, as one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare, also by Modern Healthcare.
 
He currently plays an active role in the advancement and progress of the medical community serving as the chair of the board of directors for the Commonwealth Fund in New York, a member of the Advisory Committee to the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and previously as a chair of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees which gained him a national profile in health policy.
 
Dr. Chu earned his medical degree at New York University and began his career as a primary care internist in Brooklyn, New York. He earned his master’s degree in public health from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Yale University.
 
He is married to artist Donna Moylan and has three adult children.