David Zaas, M.D., MBA, has been named the next chief executive officer of Duke University Health System (DUHS), according to a Mar. 25 announcement. Zaas will begin his new role on May 1 after serving as president and CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and executive vice president of Health Affairs for Wake Forest University.
The appointment comes at a time when DUHS is expanding its clinical services across North Carolina, including projects such as Duke Health Cary and a planned children’s hospital in Apex. The health system recently acquired Duke Health Lake Norman Hospital and employs more than 26,000 full-time staff across four hospitals and numerous outpatient facilities.
Duke President Vincent E. Price said, “I am delighted to welcome Dr. David Zaas back to Duke to serve as CEO of Duke University Health System. As a physician and executive, David has demonstrated a deep commitment to advancing and delivering world-class patient care along with an exceptional ability to lead complex, people-centered organizations.” Price also thanked Dr. Thomas Owens and the DUHS leadership team for their service during the transition period.
Zaas brings experience from previous roles at both Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist—where he oversaw an academic health system with eight hospitals—and the Medical University of South Carolina Health. He spent nearly two decades at Duke between 2001 and 2020 in various leadership positions including leading the lung transplant program and serving as president of Duke Raleigh Hospital.
Nancy Schlichting, chair of the DUHS Board of Directors, said: “David is an outstanding leader with a proven record of advancing excellence in health care at all levels… David is the right person to lead DUHS and I look forward to working with him to build on our longstanding tradition of excellence.”
Zaas said he was honored by his return: “It is a privilege to work alongside such outstanding team members as we expand our impact, strengthen our academic mission, and continue to set the standard for academic health systems nationally.”
Located in Durham since its founding in 1925, Duke University Hospital admitted over 41,000 patients in one year according to their 2022 annual report.
