Michael O. Ugwueke, FACHE, Installed as Chair-Elect of ACHE

For Immediate Release

CHICAGO, Feb. 28, 2026-Michael O. Ugwueke, DHA, FACHE, president/CEO, Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare, Memphis, Tenn., has been elected the 2026-2027 Chair-Elect of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

As Chair-Elect, Dr. Ugwueke begins the first part of a three-year term followed by serving as Chair and Immediate Past Chair.

Board certified in healthcare management as an ACHE Fellow, Dr. Ugwueke served as an ACHE Governor from 2021 to 2024 and as ACHE Regent-at-Large for District 4 from 2015 to 2018. He has also served on various ACHE committees.

Ugwueke joined Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare in 2007 as system senior vice president/CEO, Methodist South Hospital, a role he held until 2009. Afterward, he was system senior vice president/CEO, Methodist North and South Hospitals, from 2009 to 2013, president/COO from 2013 to 2017, and in 2017, he assumed his current roles.

Previously, Dr. Ugwueke was vice president, operations, Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center, Joliet, Ill, from 2004 to 2007, and regional vice president, Strategy and Business Development, Provena Health, Corporate Office, Aurora, Ill., from 2003 to 2004; vice president, Support Services & Strategic Planning, Washington Hospital Center (MedStar Health), Washington, D.C., from 2001 to 2003; executive director, Corporate Strategic Services, Sarasota (Fla.) Memorial Hospital, from 1997 to 2001; and director, Strategic Planning/Government Relations, South Fulton Medical Center, East Point, Ga., from 1994 to 1997.

In addition to his service to ACHE, Dr. Ugwueke serves on the boards of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, the National Civil Rights Museum and the American Hospital Association. He also serves as immediate past chair of the Tennessee Hospital Association.

Dr. Ugwueke received the Distinguished Service Award (2022) and the Service Award (2016) through ACHE's Recognition Program. He also received the Senior-Level Regent Award in 2012 from ACHE. Additionally, he was on Savoy magazine's list of "Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America" in 2022. He also received the Baldrige Foundation's "Harry S. Hertz Leadership Award" and the Tennessee Hospital Association's "CEO of Distinction" in 2021. In 2020, he was listed on Modern Healthcare's "Top 25 Minority Executives in the Nation."

About the American College of Healthcare Executives

The American College of Healthcare Executives is an international professional society of 53,000 healthcare executives who lead hospitals, healthcare systems and other healthcare organizations. ACHE's mission is to advance our members and healthcare management excellence. ACHE offers its prestigious FACHE^® credential, signifying board certification in healthcare management. ACHE's established network of 75 chapters provides access to networking, education and career development at the local level. In addition, ACHE is known for its magazine, Healthcare Executive, and its career development and public policy programs. Through such efforts, ACHE works toward its vision of being the preeminent professional society for leaders dedicated to improving health. The Foundation of the American College of Healthcare Executives was established to further advance healthcare management excellence through education and research. The Foundation of ACHE is known for its educational programs-including the annual Congress on Healthcare Leadership, which draws nearly 7,000 participants-and groundbreaking research. Its publishing division, ACHE Learn, is one of the largest publishers of books and journals on health services management, including textbooks for college and university courses.

Contact:

Randy Liss
Director of Communications
American College of Healthcare Executives
300 S. Riverside Plaza, Suite 1900
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 424-9417
[email protected]