System Chief Financial Officer
MemorialCare Health System | Southern California
Transforming Healthcare Through Financial Leadership
MemorialCare Health System is conducting a national search for an exceptional System Chief Financial Officer (CFO) to help lead one of California's premier nonprofit integrated health systems through its next phase of growth, innovation, and transformation.
Reporting directly to the President and Chief Executive Officer and serving as a key member of the executive leadership team, the System CFO will provide enterprise-wide financial leadership and strategic direction across MemorialCare's diverse portfolio of businesses and services. The CFO will be responsible for advancing long-term financial sustainability, supporting strategic growth, strengthening operational performance, and ensuring disciplined stewardship of the organization's financial resources in alignment with its mission and values.
More than a just traditional finance executive, the successful candidate will serve as a trusted strategic advisor and thought partner to the President and executive team. This leader will help reimagine and modernize MemorialCare's finance operating model, ensuring the organization remains agile, resilient, and positioned for success amid the ongoing transformation of healthcare.
Position Overview
As MemorialCare's senior financial executive, the System CFO will lead financial strategy, capital planning, forecasting, and enterprise performance management while serving as a trusted advisor to the CEO, Board of Directors, Finance Committee, and executive leadership team. The CFO will drive informed decision-making through sophisticated financial analytics, scenario planning, and data-driven insights that support growth, innovation, and organizational transformation.
The CFO will oversee all major finance functions, including accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, treasury, reimbursement, revenue cycle, capital planning, internal audit, tax, insurance, investment management, and financial controls. This executive will ensure the integrity of financial operations, maintain compliance with regulatory and nonprofit reporting requirements, and safeguard MemorialCare's financial strength and tax-exempt mission.
Working closely with operational, clinical, strategy, managed care, philanthropy, and population health leaders, the CFO will evaluate financial performance across the enterprise, identify opportunities for growth and margin improvement, optimize capital allocation, and proactively mitigate financial risk. The successful candidate will also champion finance transformation initiatives, advancing automation, analytics, technology, and process improvement capabilities to enhance transparency, efficiency, and enterprise decision support.
In addition, the CFO will build and inspire a high-performing finance organization, fostering a culture of accountability, collaboration, innovation, and service excellence while developing the next generation of financial leadership.
The Ideal Candidate
The successful candidate will be a strategic and operational financial executive with demonstrated success leading complex, multi-entity healthcare organizations. They will bring exceptional business acumen, executive presence, and the ability to translate financial complexity into actionable business strategies. An appreciation for the unique dynamics of California's healthcare landscape, including delegated care models and reimbursement structures, will be important. While direct California experience is not required, the ideal candidate will demonstrate the curiosity, adaptability, and learning agility necessary to effectively navigate these complexities and apply insights from other markets to this environment. Most importantly, they will embrace MemorialCare's commitment to delivering high-quality, excellent healthcare while supporting sustainable growth and strong community impact.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
- Serves as the enterprise finance leader for the health system, providing strategic direction, financial oversight, and disciplined stewardship across all operating entities, corporate functions, and affiliated organizations.
Strategic:
- Leads enterprise financial strategy, multi-year financial planning, scenario modeling, and capital allocation in alignment with the system strategic plan, mission, and long-term sustainability goals.
- Partners with the CEO, executive leadership team, finance committee, audit committee, and board of directors to translate financial information into clear strategic insights and actionable recommendations.
- Establishes systemwide financial performance standards, reporting disciplines, benchmarking practices, and decision-support capabilities to drive operating improvement and informed decision making.
- Develops enterprise fiscal objectives, operating targets, and financial policies that support system integration, disciplined growth, affordability, quality, and community benefit obligations.
- Attracts, develops, and retains a high-performing finance leadership team with strong customer orientation, enterprise mindset, technical depth, and commitment to service excellence.
- Advances finance transformation, automation, analytics, and digital capabilities to improve transparency, speed, accuracy, and usefulness of financial information.
Operations:
- Provides executive oversight for accounting, financial reporting, budgeting, forecasting, treasury, reimbursement, revenue cycle, supply chain finance, capital planning, tax, insurance, audit, and internal controls.
- Ensures timely, accurate, and transparent financial reporting for the health system, its operating entities, foundations, committees, and board governance structures.
- Maintains a strong internal control environment and ensures compliance with GAAP, FASB nonprofit accounting standards, bond covenants, tax-exempt financing requirements, regulatory reporting, and applicable federal, state, and local requirements.
- Leads the development of annual operating and capital budgets, long-range financial plans, liquidity strategies, debt strategies, investment policies, and reserve frameworks for the system.
- Partners with operational, clinical, strategy, managed care, philanthropy, and population health leaders to evaluate service line performance, reimbursement trends, payer strategy, growth opportunities, and margin improvement initiatives.
- Anticipates financial risks, communicates emerging issues proactively, and leads mitigation strategies that protect the organization’s assets, reputation, tax-exempt status, and mission capacity.
IDEAL EXPERIENCE
- Education/Licensure: Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business, health administration, or related field required. Master’s degree in business, finance, accounting, healthcare administration, or related field strongly preferred; CPA or equivalent credential preferred.
- Minimum of 10 years of progressive senior financial leadership experience in a complex healthcare organization, with significant experience in a nonprofit, integrated delivery system strongly preferred.
This role presents a unique opportunity to influence the future of a nationally recognized health system while serving as a key architect of MemorialCare's long-term financial and strategic success.
Confidential Search Process
MemorialCare's Executive Recruitment team will conduct this search. All inquiries, nominations, and expressions of interest will be handled with the utmost confidentiality.
Individuals interested in learning more about this opportunity, or those wishing to nominate qualified candidates, are encouraged to contact:
Gus Palmos
Manager, Executive Recruitment
MemorialCare Health System
gpalmos@memorialcare.org
