About Us

Cory D. Shaw serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer of UC Health, the only adult academic health system in the Cincinnati Tri-State region and a nationally recognized system for advanced clinical care, research and education. As an experienced leader with nearly 30 years of successful leadership in one of the nation’s leading academic health systems, he became UC Health’s chief executive on January 9, 2023.

As President and CEO of UC Health, Mr. Shaw will lead the overall health system, reporting directly to the UC Health Board of Directors. He will be responsible for advancing the tripartite mission together with the University of Cincinnati College of Medicine and UC Physicians, LLC.

Mr. Shaw comes to UC Health from Nebraska Medicine, where he most recently served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer with accountability for all healthcare operations of the $2.2B academic health system. This included three clinical campuses, 60+ ambulatory clinic locations, and an 800+ member medical group affiliated with UNMC College of Medicine.

With diverse business experience, Mr. Shaw has exemplified tremendous leadership in his executive roles within ambulatory settings, the University of Nebraska Medical Center faculty practice and payor relations. Additionally, he led the establishment and implementation of Nebraska Medicine’s integrated health system strategic planning process, which formalized service line strategies for Cancer, Neurosciences, Heart & Vascular, Orthopedics, Transplant, Women’s Health, Behavioral Health and Primary Care. These service line strategies catalyzed performance improvement across quality, safety and patient experience domains resulting in market share growth for the health system.

Serving on academic, professional, industry, and community boards and committee engagements have been a hallmark of his career. Those diverse assignments have included the United Way, Institute for Diversity in Health Management Preceptor Program, National Conference on Community and Justice, National Comprehensive Cancer Network, Nebraska Health Information Network, Nebraska Coalition on Access to Health Insurance, and as a Gubernatorial Appointee, Nebraska Medicaid Reform Advisory Committee.

Mr. Shaw holds a Bachelor of Arts in Communication from the University of Nebraska and a Master of Arts in Health Care Administration from the University of Missouri.

Rick Hinds has been with UC Health and its predecessor companies for 27 years, and has served as Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer since 2008. In this role, he has executive responsibility for the overall financial leadership of the system, including revenue cycle, payer contracting, information technology, facilities, supply chain and business planning.

Rick’s career includes more than three and a half decades of healthcare experience, both in hospital organizations and private insurance. Importantly, he was part of a core team that established UC Health’s corporate organization and governance structure.

A lifelong Cincinnati resident, Rick received his Bachelor of Business Administration with a major in accounting from the University of Cincinnati and became a certified public accountant. In 2011, Rick was named CFO of the Year by the Cincinnati Business Courier in recognition of his leadership during the transition from the Health Alliance to UC Health, and his overall contribution to healthcare in Cincinnati.  In 2021, Rick was named a CFO of the Year finalist by the Cincinnati Business Courier in recognition of his leadership and guidance during the COVID pandemic.

Active in the community, over the years he has been a member of a number of organizations, including, but not limited to: United Way, University of Cincinnati Business Honors Program Mentor, Hamilton Chamber of Commerce (board member), Children’s Law Center of Northern Kentucky, YMCA, Hamilton Rotary, Ohio Society of CPAs, Lindner Center of HOPE Board and Finance Committee, Greater Cincinnati Hospital Council and the Ohio Hospital Association’s Finance Committee, where he currently serves as its incoming Chairperson.  Rick has presented at a number of meetings and for organizations seeking to learn more about healthcare and healthcare finance.

Robert J. Wiehe serves as the Executive Vice President, Chief Operations Officer for hospital operations at UC Health. Mr. Wiehe joined UC Health in March 2015 leading all supply chain and pharmacy operations across the system. In September 2020, Mr. Wiehe became the Chief Administrative Officer at UC Medical Center in addition to his other operations responsibilities. In March 2021, he assumed responsibility for all UC Health hospital operations.

Mr. Wiehe received his undergraduate degree in manufacturing engineering from Miami University and his master’s in business administration from The University of Cincinnati.

Being certified in change management and as a Lean Six-Sigma Black Belt, he advanced his career through various leadership positions in the consumer goods industry, primarily focused on operations and supply chain management.

In addition, Mr. Wiehe has managed global supply chains and numerous manufacturing facilities, serving as a supplier to companies such as Procter & Gamble and Wal-Mart. He has also served on national boards of directors for different industry organizations and previously served as an adjunct professor at Miami University, teaching operations and supply chain management.

During his tenure as Chief Administrative Officer role at UC Medical Center, Mr. Wiehe helped achieve an additional star ranking from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) with great support from his leadership teams and employees throughout the system, who continuously drive UC Health on its journey to become a 5-Star Health System.

Jay Brown, Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer (CIO) of UC Health, is responsible for the overall system strategy and objectives. With executive oversight of information technology, telecommunication and corporate transcription services across UC Health, he ensures that information system resources are deployed to enhance the quality, safety and effectiveness of the care to UC Health patients and communities.

Mr. Brown joined UC Health in 2001 as the information technology director responsible for all enterprise applications at The Health Alliance. Mr. Brown came to UC Health from Ernst & Young (E&Y) where he was a Senior Manager in the Healthcare IT practice based in Cincinnati and Chicago. He spent seven years with E&Y leading client engagements in large hospital systems. Prior to his time with E&Y, he worked for Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital in Milwaukee, Miller Brewing Company in Milwaukee and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture) in Chicago.

Mr. Brown earned his Master of Business Administration from Xavier University and Bachelor of Science in Industrial Engineering from Purdue University.

Katrina English joined UC Health in May 2019 as Senior Vice President and Chief Legal

Officer, bringing more than two decades of healthcare law experience to Greater Cincinnati’s academic health system.

In her career, English has had legal responsibility and oversight for inpatient hospitals, outpatient facilities, freestanding emergency rooms, integrated health systems, surgery centers, cancer centers, clinical integrated networks, physician practices and more. Her commitment to a patient-first mindset coupled with her healthcare-specific legal experience make her a valuable member to UC Health’s legal team and executive leadership team.

Before joining UC Health, English served as vice president/senior deputy general counsel and interim general counsel for Dayton, Ohio-based CareSource, one of the nation’s largest Medicaid managed care plans.

For nearly a decade, English represented the Mercy Health System (now Bon Secours Mercy Health), serving five years as system vice president and network general counsel for Mercy Health North, which includes the Toledo, Lima and Lorain markets. She was a member of the executive leadership team responsible for managing more than 20 attorneys and 50 employees reporting up through the legal structure. Before this, she served as vice president and general counsel for Community Mercy Health Partners in Springfield, Ohio.

English holds a Juris Doctor from The Ohio State University’s Moritz College of Law and a bachelor’s degree in telecommunications from Kent State University. She is a member, author and presenter for the American Health Lawyers Association and an adjunct professor of Health Law & Policy and Health Law & Ethics for Mercy College of Ohio.

Kristen H. Wevers joined UC Health in June 2016 as the Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing & Communications Officer, a position created to serve on the executive leadership team and to distinguish UC Health as the preferred academic health system in the Midwest.

Wevers was recruited by The Procter & Gamble Company upon graduation from college and served for 17 years in leadership roles including global media relations, internal communications and consumer relations, and in positions across the United States in pharmaceuticals, chemicals, and consumer marketing & sales. She served as company spokesperson for Procter & Gamble’s North American Marketing and Sales functions.

Most recently, Wevers served six years at Mercy Health as the Chief Brand, Marketing & Communications officer where she unified seven individual local health systems and ancillary services across Ohio and Kentucky under a singular brand by aligning the CEO, executives and physicians under one brand: one name, mission, values, promise and experience as an integrated delivery system.

Prior to joining Mercy Health, Wevers spent six years as Officer and Vice President for Messer Construction Co. During her tenure with Messer, Wevers was responsible for service line business strategy and market growth, corporate brand, sales/business development, customer and community relations strategy, and corporate reputation management.

Wevers earned her Master’s degree from Xavier University and her Bachelor’s degree from Denison University. She completed strategic marketing coursework at the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, as well as numerous advanced leadership training courses.

Stewart W. Wright, MD, serves as Senior Vice President and Chief Medical Officer at UC Health, in addition to his long-standing roles as an emergency medicine physician.

Dr. Wright oversees clinical performance in terms of quality, safety, clinical outcomes and overall proficiency — advocating for patients and an environment that advances healing and reduces suffering. His responsibilities include: UC Medical Center, West Chester Hospital, Daniel Drake Center for Post-Acute Care and ambulatory services.

Dr. Wright is also the lead doctor for Ohio’s COVID-19 Zone 3 (Miami Valley and Southwest Ohio), UC Health’s COVID-19 Core Team Commander and a professor at the UC College of Medicine. For the past 30 years, he has been a practicing and attending physician for the UC Department of Emergency Medicine.

As an internationally-renowned advocate for local and global health, Dr. Wright is a board member of the Village Life Outreach Project, supporting medical groups that promote healthcare and well-being for communities in East Africa.

Dr. Wright completed his residency at the UC College of Medicine’s Department of Emergency Medicine, where he served as chief resident. He is a graduate of the Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, Missouri — and received his master’s degree in medical education from the University of Cincinnati.

Chad A. Zender, MD, FACS, serves as Senior Vice President and Chief of Physician Practices. In this role, Dr. Zender works closely with clinical department chairs and other leaders to align and drive the overall strategic direction and performance of physician practices in an environment dedicated to exceptional clinical care, educating future generations of physicians and the advancing medical research.

In addition, Dr. Zender leads the overall management of UC Health’s ambulatory sites and is a practicing physician, a professor and program director for the Head and Neck Surgery Department within the Otolaryngology division at the UC College of Medicine. Dr. Zender also serves as the Center of Excellence Co-Leader for Head and Neck Cancer at the University of Cincinnati Cancer Center.

Dr. Zender completed his medical training at the Wright State University School of Medicine, residency at Loyola University Medical Center and fellowship at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He holds board certification with the American Board of Otolaryngology and maintains clinical expertise within the following fields of medicine: cancer, oncology, head and neck cancer, head and neck surgery, reconstructive surgery, robotic surgery, thyroid disorders, otolaryngology, ear, nose and throat, plastic surgery, transoral laser surgery and advanced skin cancer.

His clinical research interests involve national and international clinical trials utilizing the non-surgical treatment of HPV-related head and neck cancer, targeted therapies such as adjuvant therapy after surgery and identifying diagnostic biomarkers for the early identification of cancerous and precancerous lesions in the head and neck. To date, Dr. Zender has contributed to nearly 100 medical publications.