Serving as Chair of ACHE during the past year has been one of the top highlights of my professional journey. It has been a privilege to support our more than 50,000 members, who are deeply committed to advancing healthcare leadership. As I reflect on my term, I am grateful for so many things.
High on the list is the opportunity to partner with some incredible professionals. My talented colleagues on ACHE’s Board of Governors, as well as ACHE President/CEO Deborah Bowen, FACHE, CAE, and her world-class leadership team, have been extraordinary. In addition, the nearly 1,900 volunteers who share their talents with members of our 76 Chapters have my sincere gratitude. Every time I visited with one of our Chapters, I was inspired by their tireless efforts to offer outstanding education, networking and recognition events at the local level.
I also am grateful for the tremendous amount I’ve learned during the past 12 months. For example, I had the opportunity to attend the International Hospital Federation’s 47th annual World Hospital Congress in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The Congress was an awesome venue to meet and share ideas with healthcare leaders from around the globe. We all face many of the same challenges as we endeavor to improve the health status of the patients and communities we are privileged to serve. Interacting with healthcare leaders from Europe, Asia and South America helped widen my aperture. We have so much to learn from our global colleagues.
Additionally, leading the Board of Governors’ work to develop ACHE’s 2025–2027 Strategic Plan has been greatly rewarding, and I’m very proud of where we have landed as well as our process for getting there. Working with the Chartis Group LLC, we took feedback from you—our members—and other thought leaders across the country and the continuum of care to establish a clear path forward for ACHE. The result is a new Strategic Plan that positions us to best support you and our field in our shared commitment to advance health for all.
It has been an honor to be part of several major accomplishments and initiatives that ACHE achieved during the past year, including the following:
- Hosting a 2024 Congress on Healthcare Leadership that was ACHE’s largest and most successful ever, and positioning our 2025 Congress for even greater success in Houston.
- Strengthening partnerships with our chapters, as evidenced by the offering of a pilot program to support 10 Chapters this year with administrative compliance services.
- Leveraging new technologies, including a customer engagement platform and refreshed website that will be unveiled later this year, to improve your experience with us.
- Significantly growing interest in ACHE online, reaching more than 200,000 followers on LinkedIn.
Thank you for this incredible opportunity to help lead the very best healthcare leadership development organization in the world. It has been an honor and a privilege.
William “Bill” P. Santulli, FACHE, is ACHE’s 2025–26 Immediate Past Chair and operating partner, Water Street Healthcare Partners, Chicago. (bill.santulli@waterstreet.com)