Robert J. Henkel, FACHE, is the President and CEO of Ascension Health. He also serves as an Executive Vice President of Ascension Health Alliance. Before being named President and CEO, he served as the President, Healthcare Operations and Chief Operating Officer at Ascension Health. Prior to 2004, he served as President of the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic States Operating Group at Ascension Health.

Mr. Henkel has held executive positions with numerous other healthcare organizations, including the Daughters of Charity National Health System, St. Louis; Mount Sinai Medical Center, Miami Beach, Fla.; SSM Health Care in St. Louis; and Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, New York.

He currently serves as a Board member of the Marian Middle School Board of Directors in St. Louis; Board member of the United Way of Greater St. Louis; Board member with the Coalition to Protect America’s Health Care; Advisory Board member with the Ascension Health Alliance Leadership Academy; Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives; and member of the Healthcare Executives Network. He is a University of Pittsburgh Legacy Laureate.

Mr. Henkel received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Union College, Schenectady, N.Y., and a master’s degree in public health from the University of Pittsburgh, where he now serves as an Adjunct Professor in the Graduate School of Public Health.