Membership
Buffkin / Baker Names David J. Ballard Chief Clinical Officer
Buffkin / Baker, a partner-led executive search firm, is pleased to announce the addition of Dr. David J. Ballard, MD, PhD, MBA, as chief clinical officer in its health care practice. Ballard will support the health care delivery vertical of the firm’s healthcare practice, serving health systems, AAMC institutions, not-for-profit, and for-profit hospitals and medical groups with physician executive and health care executive searches.
As a global health care executive, Ballard brings proven expertise in improving health care value and organizational financial performance, while providing international thought leadership. He was recognized by Becker’s four consecutive years as one of the top 50 experts leading the field of patient safety, is the past president of the International Society for Quality in Healthcare and received the distinguished alumnus awards from the University of North Carolina Schools of Medicine and Public Health in 2008 and 2019. Widely recognized as a global scholar in health care quality and value, his two books on health care quality leadership received Shingo awards for their contributions to operational excellence.
“David is a welcome addition to the Buffkin / Baker team. His extensive health care experience provides us with a strong foundation to provide quality service for our clients seeking today’s leading physician, nursing, and health care executives,” said Craig Buffkin, managing partner. “Dr. Ballard brings a unique set of leadership skills, and his background as a physician leader in academic health science centers such as the University of Virginia and Emory University, as well as in large health care systems such as Mayo Clinic and Baylor Scott & White Health, will add substantial depth to our team, strengthen our capabilities and allow us to serve our clients at an even higher level.”
Ballard previously served as chief quality officer of Baylor Scott & White Health, where the organization received both the Leapfrog Patient-Centered Care Award and the National Quality Forum Health Care Award under his leadership. Additionally, he has held leadership roles at Emory University, University of Virginia and Mayo Clinic, and completed five degrees with honors in economics, public health, epidemiology, medicine, and business at the University of North Carolina, where he was a John Motley Morehead Scholar. He is a board-certified internist, completing his residency training in internal medicine at the Mayo Clinic.
Ballard continues to serve as health care policy section editor for the Mayo Clinic Proceedings and associate editor for the Mayo Clinic Proceedings: Innovations, Quality & Outcomes. He also serves on the boards of several global health care companies, including as a director and audit committee member for Mentice (MNTV.ST), the world’s leading endovascular simulation performance solutions company. Ballard has several leadership roles at the University of North Carolina, where he is adjunct professor of health policy and management, a member of the UNC Chancellor’s Global Leadership Council, and a member of the UNC Center on the Business of Health Leadership Advisory Board.
“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Craig Buffkin and his colleagues,” said Ballard. “Craig and I share an extensive interconnected history through the Morehead/Morehead-Cain Foundation and the UNC baseball program, as well as both MBA graduates of the Kenan-Flagler Business School. My career has been devoted to efforts to make health care safer and more affordable while reducing health disparities. As chief clinical officer for Buffkin / Baker, I look forward to assisting health care systems, academic health science centers, and other organizations across the United States in their pursuit of these and other strategic objectives, ensuring that they have the executive talent to do so. Given our national imperative to make health care safer and more affordable, while reducing health disparities, Buffkin / Baker is a critical partner in the recruitment and successful engagement of health care executive talent. “
