Gwen MacKenzie is Of Counsel to Quick Leonard Kieffer focusing her executive search and leadership consulting work on hospital, academic medical center and health system clients. Gwen brings more than 30 years of experience in leading complex healthcare organizations that are undergoing transformation, strategic repositioning, and new service innovation to her consulting. She most recently served as a senior executive with the Ascension health system, overseeing its Michigan market of 15 hospitals and health systems, 26,000 associates, and 5,300 physicians in over 130 sites of care.  During her tenure in this role, Gwen pioneered the development of the first statewide clinically integrated network addressing population health, and experienced success in merger and acquisition activities including the competitive acquisition of Crittenton Hospital and Medical Center.  Gwen’s innovative leadership at Ascension helped transform the market and governance from an acute care hospital model to one of statewide integration and population health.

Prior to joining Ascension, Gwen served as the CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, a regional medical center consisting of an 806-bed hospital, physician practices, and a network of specialized medical campuses and clinics.  Trained as an oncology nurse, Gwen also spent 25 years at Detroit Medical Center, where she progressed from the role of advanced practice nurse practitioner through clinical management to chief operating officer, as well as serving as the president of a number of DMC hospitals and, for a time, as the interim CEO of the system.

Gwen has had board experience in several states on public, elected, and not-for-profit boards, including University of Michigan Griffith Leadership Center, the joint venture Ascension at Home, and the clinically integrated population health network Together Health Network; she has also served as the secretary-treasurer of the Michigan Health and Hospital Association, and was appointed by Governor Rick Scott of Florida to the Medicaid Low-Income Pool Council.

Gwen earned both a Bachelor of Science and Master of Health Services Administration degree from the University of Michigan, as well as a master’s degree in nursing from the University of California, Los Angeles.   She is currently consulting, coaching, and teaching at the University of Michigan and University of Florida.  Gwen and her husband reside in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.