On Nov. 2, the board of directors of the Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital and Stanford Children’s Health appointed Paul King as the organization’s new president and CEO.
King will succeed Dennis Lund — who has served as interim president and CEO since March 2018 — in early 2019. King is currently executive director of the University of Michigan Health System’s C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital, where he has served since 2013.
According to Jeff Chambers, chair of the Stanford Children’s Health Board and chair of the position’s search committee, King was the optimal candidate for president and CEO. The committee sought to recruit a candidate with “outstanding achievement in hospital management … [and] academic medical experience,” Chambers said.
“We knew that we needed a leader who knew how to work collaboratively and creatively with both Stanford Medicine and Stanford Healthcare,” Chambers said. “[King] has a reputation for being [a] collaborator and great partner with the other institutions that he has worked with in academic medicine.”
In an article for Stanford Medicine, dean of the Stanford School of Medicine Lloyd Minor added that King’s vision for the hospital aligns with the overarching goal of Stanford Children’s Health to support outstanding research and care.
“Paul’s distinguished record of accomplishment and dedication to the critically important role of pediatric and obstetric care will undoubtedly help us achieve our vision of precision health at Stanford Medicine,” Minor said.
In particular, Chambers mentioned that, like at Stanford, Michigan’s Children’s Hospital and Women’s Hospital share the same building. According to Chambers, King therefore has a unique understanding of how to manage a program exclusively dedicated to pediatric and obstetric care.
In addition to his achievements within academic medicine and hospital management, King’s leadership qualities made him a strong candidate for the position. Chambers described King as respected among his peers as a strong and charismatic leader.
“[King is] good at developing teams,” Chambers said. “He is a humble guy, he deflects credit and at the same time is very focused [and] result-oriented, holding people and himself accountable … He is a very clear communicator, he is a great collaborator, he is a calm, even-keeled leader whom people enjoy working for.”
King’s transition to his new position is already underway. King has made several visits to Stanford to familiarize himself with the hospital and meet with current medical leaders and board members. Lund and former CEO Chris Dawes, who announced his medical leave in 2018, have helped guide King in the transition.
Chambers added that King is also familiar with California’s medical market and regulatory environment from his experience serving as CEO of the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles Medical Group prior to joining the University of Michigan.
In an article for Stanford Medicine, King expressed his excitement for joining Stanford Children’s Health.
“The possibilities that are within reach for the world-class Stanford Medicine academic medical institutions are truly limitless,” King said.
Contact Alex Tsai at aotsai ‘at’ stanford.edu and Yusra Arub at yusraarub19 ‘at’ mittymonarch.com.