Director - Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

Description

The Opportunity

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC) and the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) seek a new

Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine within the Department of Medicine and Physician-in-Chief of the

Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute (VHVI). The Department of Medicine is currently ranked #1 in NIH funding by

the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research and Vanderbilt University Medical Center is ranked among the top

cardiology and cardiac surgery programs in the country by U.S. News & World Report, attracting some of the most

talented physicians and researchers in the country. Comprised of more than 150 primary members, the Division

includes an array of physician-scientists, clinician educators, clinical practice track faculty, and PhD research

scientists.

The next Director will have programmatic oversight and responsibility for all services and will shape the strategic

priorities of this nationally recognized Division, related to advancing its clinical, research, and educational missions.

This team-based leader will develop trusted relationships with key leaders in the Department of Medicine, across the

broader health system, and within the school of medicine.

Our Client

Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)

VUMC is the largest comprehensive research, teaching and patient care health system in the Mid-South region.

Represented as "Vanderbilt Health," this growing health system includes the leading adult and children's hospitals in

the Southeast. Based in Nashville, Tennessee, the health system sees more than 3.2 million patient visits a year.

Vanderbilt Health is a resource for patients and clinicians throughout Tennessee and beyond to provide advanced

care for complex and rare conditions. Through regional hospitals and clinics, Vanderbilt Health's aim is to provide the

best, right care in the best, right setting - which may be on the 21st Avenue campus in Nashville, but increasingly is in

communities closer to home.

Vanderbilt Health is the second largest private employer in Tennessee, with 40,000 employees, and an expanding

footprint in towns and communities across the region, with more than 200 clinics and 3 community-based hospitals.

This growing health system has 1,741 licensed hospital beds across 7 hospitals:

• In Nashville, Vanderbilt University Hospital, Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt

Psychiatric Hospital and Vanderbilt Stallworth Rehabilitation Hospital

• In neighboring counties, Vanderbilt Wilson County Hospital, Vanderbilt Bedford Hospital and Vanderbilt

Tullahoma-Harton Hospital

Considered among the nation's best hospitals, the medical center is the highest-ranking hospital system in the

Southeast by U.S. News and World Report for both adults and children.

Through the Vanderbilt Health Affiliated Network, VUMC works with more than 60 hospitals and 5,000 clinicians

across Tennessee and five neighboring states to share best practices and bring value-driven and cost-effective health

care to the Mid-South.

Nationally Ranked Care and Discovery

World-leading academic departments and centers make scientific discoveries, advance clinical care and train the next

generation of health care professionals through more than 100 residency and fellowship programs. These programs

are among the most prestigious in the U.S. Each year, Vanderbilt Health trains more than 1,000 resident physicians.

VUMC's robust research enterprise ranks among the top centers in the country in grant funding from the National

Institutes of Health and other federal sources. The Vanderbilt University School of Medicine (VUSM) was ranked #10

in NIH funding by the Blue Ridge Institute for Medical Research in 2023, with $527 million in NIH awards. VUSM ranks among the 16 "Tier 1" medical schools in the U.S. News & World Report's annual ranking of top medical schools for

research in 2024, and it ranked 5th nationally in the last numerical ranking in 2023.

The Department of Medicine

The Vanderbilt Department of Medicine has over 1,000 faculty affiliated with 13 traditional divisions and several

interdisciplinary research centers. More than 150 residents and nearly 400 fellows and graduate students are currently

training within the Department. Each year, clinical faculty and trainees see more than 1 million outpatient clinic visits

and nearly 25,000 inpatients at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center University Hospital and the on-campus

Nashville Veterans Affairs Hospital. As the leading provider of indigent care in Tennessee, the institution serves a

wide-ranging group of patients from all backgrounds, including those from under-served, urban & rural communities.

Research and the advancement of science remains one of the Department of Medicine's foremost objectives. Basic,

translational and clinical research is carried out across all 13 divisions by exemplary faculty and staff. In the 2023 -

2024 year, researchers in the Department of Medicine were awarded $266 million in funding from the National

Institutes of Health (NIH). As a result, for the first time in the department's history, it was ranked No. 1 in NIH funding

by the Blue Ridge Institute, further securing the Department's position among the very best academic research

institutions in the country

The overarching goal of the Department of Medicine is to improve human health through basic biomedical research

and clinical investigation, exceptional patient care and personalized medicine, and the training of tomorrow's leaders

in internal medicine. The Department believes that the strongest foundation for impacting human health is

compassionate care coupled with cutting-edge scientific research. This is accomplished by fostering an environment

of interdisciplinary collaboration and collegiality, personal and professional responsibility, and dedication to the

wellbeing of the patients served and the community faculty call home.

Academic divisions:

• Division of Allergy, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine

• Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

• Division of Clinical Pharmacology

• Division of Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism

• Division of Epidemiology

• Division of Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition

• Division of General Internal Medicine and Public Health

• Division of Genetic Medicine

• Division of Geriatric Medicine

• Division of Hematology and Oncology

• Division of Infectious Diseases

• Division of Nephrology and Hypertension

• Division of Rheumatology and Immunology

The Division of Cardiovascular Medicine

The Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Vanderbilt University Medical Center remains focused on its mission to

promote human health through clinical excellence, compassionate care, pioneering research and outstanding

education. Through inquiry and innovation, the Division advances patient care and biomedical knowledge. We are

committed to developing cardiovascular careers and physician leaders in a culture that supports scientific curiosity,

collegiality, and continuous professional growth. The driving theme of the past three years has been growth across the

research, academic, and clinical domains, as well as through new multidisciplinary partnerships across the broader

Vanderbilt community. Comprised of 150 faculty, including a variety of physician-scientists, clinician educators, clinical practice track faculty,

and PhD research scientists, the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine continues to experience an exciting chapter of

growth across key clinical, educational, and research dimensions. 25 new MD and PhD faculty joined the Division in

2024 alone. The Division continues to innovate through the creation of new programs and the expansion of its clinical

reach. The Division aims to deliver uncompromisingly high-quality care to more and more patients in the region, while

simultaneously forging new frontiers of scientific discovery and unlocking new tools for understanding disease and

improving the lives of others. All of this is made possible by talented faculty, and the daily inspiration derived from

interaction with trainees.

The Division is organized into the following programs:

• Advanced & General Heart Failure

• Cardiomyopathies and Genetic Heart Disease

• Transplant

• Electrophysiology

• Structural Heart Disease & Coronary Revascularization

• General & Preventative Cardiology

• Women's Heart Center

• Congenital Heart Disease

• Cardio-Oncology

• Vascular Medicine

• Cardiac Imaging

• Pulmonary Hypertension and Right Ventricular Disease

Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute (VHVI)

The Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute is a multidisciplinary clinical operations group that coordinates

comprehensive services in cardiology, cardiac surgery, and vascular services across the health system. VHVI

specialists are national leaders in innovative treatments and the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute is

Tennessee's leading provider of cardiology, cardiac surgery, and vascular services. VHVI offers unique services

including world class expertise in electrophysiology, heart failure, connective tissue disorders and adult congenital

heart disease. VUMC is one of the only U.S. hospitals with an autonomic dysfunction program, and has the only

dedicated vascular medicine program in the region - including a nationally accredited vascular laboratory to ensure

accurate diagnosis. VHVI is one of the busiest heart transplantation programs in the world. VUMC is ranked the #1

adult hospital in Tennessee and metropolitan Nashville and hosts the only top-ranked cardiology and cardiac surgery

program in Tennessee.

Vanderbilt is a recognized leader regionally and nationally for heart care programs including:

• Advanced heart failure: VHVI provides comprehensive, effective care for patients with advanced heart failure.

The team offers leading-edge procedures, including heart transplant and VADs. The advanced heart failure

program is a world leader in the field and the largest heart transplant program in the world.

• Adult congenital heart disease: Vanderbilt has the only program in the region, with specialists who are board

certified in management of adults with congenital heart disease. The team works collaboratively with Monroe

Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt to provide longitudinal care for patients with congenital heart disease.

The team includes dedicated cardiologists, surgeons, and imaging specialists to address this growing

population of patients.

• Vascular medicine: Vanderbilt has the only dedicated vascular medicine program in the area. The team

focuses specifically on diagnosing and treating all types of vascular diseases in a multidisciplinary clinical

approach integrating across numerous departments.

• Aortic disease: Vanderbilt has a unique and dedicated center for the care of patients with connective tissue

disorders and works closely with the Marfan Foundation.

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Vanderbilt is a center for excellence in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and has

the only multidisciplinary team in the region to manage these complex patients from childhood to adulthood.

• Women's Heart Center: A new center developed in the last three years, the Women's Heart Center is an

important example of what VUMC does uniquely well, offering exceptional interdisciplinary care, paired with

training and research opportunities. The Center includes an NIH-funded research portfolio, post-graduate

clinical training, a growing cardio-obstetrics program, differentiated specialty clinics and a multi-state telehealth

program.

Patients receive cardiology care in dedicated and geographically defined cardiology units in the hospital, with a suite

of procedure rooms adjacent to the main operating room suites. Ambulatory care takes place in two recently

renovated campus sites. The VHVI continues to grow at VUMC, opening 37 new inpatient beds in fall of 2024 and

planning for another ~100 inpatient beds as part of the new hospital tower that will open in 2025-2026. The Division

also has a broad regional footprint, including partnerships with 7 hospitals throughout the region and an additional 9

ambulatory outreach sites.

A complete list of the programs offered in the VHVI can be found here.

Research

The Division has a robust portfolio of externally funded research, with annual research awards of approximately $43

million. Over the last several years, the Division's research achievements have exploded, as evidenced by a steady

increase in funding and publications, and the recruitment of nationally and internationally renowned cardiovascular

research faculty. In the last year alone, the Division appointed a new Director of Experimental Cardiovascular

Research, began a new genetic arrythmia center, started the VHVI Program for Cardiovascular Genetics and

Precision Medicine and recruited several new basic scientists. The Division's fellows and early career investigators

also have an excellent track record of receiving numerous grants and awards for their research efforts. A highlight of

the research program is the success rate for obtaining early career development awards and the frequent transition of

outstanding fellows to the physician-scientist faculty pathway. The research programs of the Division of

Cardiovascular Medicine occupy more than 30,000 square feet of laboratory space on the Vanderbilt campus, with

additional wet and dry lab space under development.

Education

The Division has an experienced group of physicians, program directors, advanced practice providers, and nurses

who are dedicated to educating trainees, faculty, staff and patients. Educational activities are based on the ACGME's

six core competencies as they pertain to training and lifelong learning. In addition, the Division has developed

programs that focus on important nonclinical skills such as team building, leadership and professional development.

Educators are known locally and nationally as leaders in cardiovascular medicine and are dedicated to mentoring and

coaching trainees and faculty that are interested in careers in clinical medicine, science and education. Cardiology

fellows continue to extend the division's tradition of educational excellence, with several recipients of department-wide

teaching awards over the past several years.

The Division currently trains more than 45 fellows in the following programs:

• Cardiovascular Disease

• Adult Congenital Heart Disease

• Advanced Cardiac Imaging

• Advanced Heart Failure and Transplantation

• Clinical Cardiac Electrophysiology

• Interventional Cardiology

• Structural Heart Disease

• Vascular Medicine

• Cardio-Oncology

Trainees in each fellowship program participate in clinical rotations at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC)

and the immediately adjacent Nashville Veterans Affairs (VA) Medical Center. Elective rotations and ambulatory

clinics are also available at Nashville General Hospital.

The Department's training programs also include a world-class T32 Training Program (VUCM-T32) which is designed

to foster the career development of the next generation of cardiovascular investigators through organized training and

mentorship of early career scientists from scientific and personal backgrounds.

The Role

VUMC seeks an exceptional cardiologist and leader to serve as the next Director of the Division of Cardiovascular

Medicine and Physician-in-Chief of the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute. Reporting to the Chair of the

Department of Medicine, the Division Director and Physician-in-Chief will have programmatic oversight and

responsibility for all services and programs. The Director will shape the strategic and programmatic priorities of the

Department, spanning the clinical, research, and education missions. Key to success will be talent acquisition and

retention, leadership development, professional development, and mentorship. The Director will also continue to

further philanthropic efforts in support of the Divisional mission.

Key responsibilities for the next Division Director of Cardiovascular Medicine and Physician-in-Chief of the

Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute include:

• Provide Administrative Leadership and Strategic Planning

• Identify and articulate the vision for a cutting edge, strategic direction for the overall Division and VHVI.

• Lead clinical service planning, service development, and capacity planning to meet the growing, ever-changing

needs of Vanderbilt Health's patients.

• Build and maintain effective working relationships with internal and external stakeholders and possess an

institutional approach to leadership to build trust among key constituencies, particularly other Division Chiefs,

VHVI leaders, and other health system executive leaders.

• Integrate VHVI programs to enhance patient care experience and outcomes, education and research

opportunities.

• Communicate and collaborate with key institutional leaders, while overseeing strategic planning for the Division

and jointly shaping the priorities for VHVI in alignment with enterprise-wide priorities.

• Be accountable for the financial performance of the ~$475 million Divisional annual budget, and contribute careful

oversight to budgetary planning, resource allocation, research funding, and philanthropy.

• Continue a strong tradition of philanthropy and fundraising activities to support the Division's goals and mission.

• Lead the formulation of distinctive and innovative strategies to build new programs, improve care delivery,

integrate programs, evolve the research vision, advance training programs, and achieve a sustainable competitive

advantage in the marketplace. Emphasize Faculty Engagement, Development, and Recruitment

• Provide deliberate leadership and direction to promote recruitment, retention, and recognition of world-class

faculty members, amidst a period in which the industry is faced with national workforce and labor challenges.

• Support comprehensive faculty development for all categories and faculty ranks.

• Maintain a strong commitment to the development of leaders within the Division and VHVI.

• Provide growth opportunities for leaders and faculty members at all tenures.

• Promote transparency in decision-making to ensure strong team engagement and morale.

• Foster a culture of teamwork, collaboration, and excellence, while providing visible leadership to faculty,

trainees, and staff.

Ensure Clinical Excellence, Efficient Operations, and High Quality Patient Care

• Achieve outstanding quality of care and patient satisfaction results.

• Together with the Executive Medical Director of the clinical services, address increasingly complex clinical

operations and staffing issues across a system with multiple locations of care, while rolling out new models of

care; continue to strengthen clinical role alignment for physicians and APP providers.

• Promote standards to ensure consistent quality and patient experience across Vanderbilt Health's inpatient and

outpatient sites of care, including multiple network locations of care.

• Develop and implement innovative policies and procedures that promote cost effectiveness in patient care

delivery.

• Build new and innovative clinical programs, while promoting multidisciplinary collaboration.

• Ensure that staff members and physicians provide services that are compliant with all applicable regulatory

standards.

• Maintain an active clinical practice in the specialty to maintain the Division Director's legitimacy with the clinical

faculty and trainees, and sufficient to appreciate the challenges and opportunities for effective operations, growth,

and development of the clinical program.

Advance Cutting-Edge Research Programs and Discovery

• Be actively engaged in implementing a clear and actionable research vision to enable the Division to differentiate

itself from regional, national, and international competitors.

• Embody and promote scientific excellence and a culture of discovery and innovation across the faculty and within

training programs, encouraging publication in high-impact, peer-review journals.

• Facilitate and guide both physician scientists and PhD scientists in research careers supported substantially by

extramural grant support, from peer-review federal sources, such as the NIH, as well as industry partners

• Assure the Division's research scope includes a broad array of investigation ranging from translational and

patient-oriented research to basic science research programs, developing bridges across the spectrum of

research including other divisions and departments.

• Continue to elevate the national and international reputation of the Division through leadership in relevant

academic medical and research societies within and beyond the discipline of cardiology.

Support the Education Mission and Training the Next Generation

• Provide robust support for the fellowship training programs within the Department and an effective learning

environment for trainees and faculty alike.

• Ensure fellowship Program Directors can be effective in their roles.

• Build and scale mentorship programs for trainees and learners.

• Continue to recruit and retain the highest caliber of fellows, leveraging the new T32.

• Support the evolution and modernization of education and training programs, in alignment with national trends

in graduate medical education and medical education. Demonstrate Institutional Collaboration and Leadership

• Partner closely with peer Division Chiefs and enterprise-level leadership to advance the overall goals of the

institution.

• Build collaborative relationships to advance the Division's clinical, research, and education missions across the

institution.

• Partner with Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt Health and VUSM leaders to ensure the Division has adequate

space and resources to support continued growth.

• Collaborate with VHVI leadership to shape the strategic priorities, growth agenda, and key decisions impacting

the institution, while aligning with the enterprise-level strategic objectives for the health system.

Reporting Structure and Key Relationships:

Reports To: Chair, Department of Medicine, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine

Direct Reports:

• Department Administrator

• Director, Adult Congenital Heart Disease

• Director, Arrythmia and Electrophysiology

• Director, Cardiac MRI Laboratory

• Director, Cardio-Oncology

• Director, Cardiovascular Disease Fellowship Program

• Director, Heart Failure and Transplant

• Director, Interventional & Structural Cardiology

• Director, Outreach and Regional Hospitals

• Director, Vascular Medicine

• Director, Women's Heart Center

• Medical Director, Anticoagulation and Echocardiography

• Medical Director, Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit

• Total Team: 150 primary faculty, 45 clinical fellows, and over 80 professional, administrative, and research staff

Relates Internally:

• VUMC Hospital Leadership Team

• Peer Division Chiefs (12)

• Vanderbilt Health leadership

• Vanderbilt University School of Medicine leadership

• Clinical leadership

• Operations leadership

• Research and scientific leadership

• Education leadership

• Nursing leadership

• Human resources leadership

• Finance leadership

• Medical staff, nursing staff, and other care providers

Relates Externally:

• Patients, families, and visitors

• Vanderbilt University leadership and faculty across campus

• Other hospitals, health systems and strategic partners

• Community based cardiologists

• National Institutes of Health (NIH) • Foundations supporting cardiac research

• National and international specialty and subspecialty societies

• Government and regulatory bodies

• Community stakeholders

• Donors

Location:

Vanderbilt University Medical Center is based in Nashville, Tennessee. Relocation to the Nashville area is required for

this role. On occasion, the Director may be required to visit the Division's satellite locations across the region.

Nashville, Tennessee is a thriving community of commerce, finance, healthcare, and music. It has been named the

3rd Top Meeting Destination in North America and falls among the Top 10 Best Big Cities in the United States. In

2023, Nashville ranked fifth in The South's Best Cities. The Nashville metropolitan area is estimated to be home to

over 2.04 million people and is and constantly growing. The city is a creative center, with a lively arts, music, and food

scene and it hosts a convenient international airport with direct flights to London and other international destinations.

Qualifications

Candidate Profile

In terms of the performance and personal competencies required for the position, we would highlight the following:

Ideal

Experience and Education

The next Director of the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and Physician-in-Chief will possess the following

qualifications:

• A degree of MD, MD/PhD, or an equivalent is required.

• An accomplished cardiologist and physician leader with an outstanding track record of accomplishment in care

delivery, research, and education; currently board-certified by one of the Cardiology boarding organizations.

• Nationally or internationally recognized clinician in the field of cardiology.

• At least 3 years of overall administrative leadership experience at an academic medical center environment.

• A dedicated clinician with an accomplished reputation for clinical excellence; an actively practicing cardiologist

is preferred.

• Experience in research, training, and clinical achievement, commensurate with appointment to the faculty at

the rank of Full Professor with tenure in the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine.

• Financial and business acumen, including successful budget management experience.

• Track record of faculty management experience, including experience developing and implementing faculty

retention, recruitment, and development initiatives.

• Experience overseeing clinical operations and quality performance, ideally spanning both the inpatient and

outpatient care settings.

• Experience growing research programs, promoting academic excellence, and setting a modern research

direction.

• Ability to drive philanthropic and fundraising activities for the Department.

• Excellent communication and listening skills.

• Collaborative relationship-building skills, including experience partnering and building consensus with key

internal and external stakeholders.

• Healthcare industry expertise, including an understanding of the elements that drive competitive advantage,

such as healthcare industry changes, competitor actions, legal/regulatory changes, and technological trends.

• Candidate must meet requirements for medical licensure in the state of Tennessee.

Setting Strategy

• The ability to create and articulate an inspiring vision for the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, not only for

the areas they are directly responsible for, but the enterprise as a whole.

• The inclination to seek and analyze data from a variety of sources to support decisions and to align others

with the organization's overall strategy.

• An entrepreneurial and creative approach to developing new, innovative ideas that will stretch the

organization and push the boundaries within the industry.

• The ability to effectively balance the desire/need for broad change with an understanding of how much

change the organization is capable of handling, to create realistic goals and implementation plans that are

achievable and successful.

Executing for Results

• The ability to set clear and challenging goals while committing the organization to improved performance;

tenacious and accountable in driving results.

• Comfortable with ambiguity and uncertainty; the ability to adapt nimbly and lead others through complex

situations.

• A risk-taker who seeks data and input from others to foresee possible threats or unintended circumstances

from decisions; someone who takes smart risks.

• A leader who is viewed by others as having a high degree of integrity and forethought in their approach to

making decisions; the ability to act in a transparent and consistent manner while always taking into account

what is best for the organization.

Leading Teams

• The ability to attract and recruit top talent, motivate the team, delegate effectively, and manage performance;

widely viewed as a strong developer of others.

• The ability to persevere in the face of challenges, and exhibit a steadfast resolve and relentless commitment

to higher standards, which commands respect from followers.

• A leader who is self-reflective and aware of their own limitations; leads by example and drives the

organization's performance with an attitude of continuous improvement by being open to feedback and selfimprovement.

Relationships and Influence

• Naturally connects and builds strong relationships with others, demonstrating strong emotional intelligence

and an ability to communicate clearly and persuasively.

• An ability to inspire trust and followership in others through compelling influence, powerful charisma, passion

in their beliefs, and active drive.

• Encourages others to share the spotlight and visibly celebrates and supports the success of the team.

• Creates a sense of purpose/meaning for the team that generates followership beyond their own personality

and engages others to the greater purpose for the organization as a whole.

Personal Attributes

• High level of emotional intelligence.

• Visible and inspiring advocate for VUMC, VUSM, the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine and the Vanderbilt

Heart and Vascular Institute.

• Team-based collaborator, capable of aligning the strategic agenda for Cardiovascular Medicine with the

overall system.

• Creative thinker with a modern vision for the future of Cardiovascular Medicine.

• A humble leader invested in the success of others and the overall team.

• The highest personal and professional ethics and integrity.

Application Instructions

Nomination and Application Procedure

Russell Reynolds Associates welcomes inquiries, nominations, and applications. To receive full consideration,

interested individuals should electronically submit a Curriculum Vitae and a letter of interest to Russell Reynolds

Associates. The letter of interest is a two-page cover letter detailing your experience and key achievements related to

this position and your thoughts on how you see yourself contributing to the programs and responsibilities described in

this position specification. Letters should be addressed to the VUMC-VUSM Search Committee and submitted

electronically. Materials will be reviewed immediately and will continue to be reviewed until the position is filled.

Contact

Kathy Vuturo

Russell Reynolds Associates

155 North Wacker Drive

Suite 4100

Chicago, IL 60606-1732

Mobile: +1-513-503-9573

kathy.vuturo@russellreynolds.com

Sarah Eames

Russell Reynolds Associates

277 Park Avenue, Suite 3800

New York, NY 10172

Direct: +1-212-351-2261

Mobile: +1-917-783-9661

sarah.eames@russellreynolds.com

Sarah Brooks

Russell Reynolds Associates

333 Ludlow Street, 6th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

Mobile: +1-330-447-1219

sarah.brooks@russellreynolds.com

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