Witt/Kieffer Increases Florida Presence

Leading executive search firm Witt/Kieffer today announced an increased Southwest Florida presence, with a focus on serving healthcare organizations located in and around the Naples market, including Fort Myers and Port Charlotte, led by senior partners Kimberly A. Smith and Oliver B. Tomlin, III. Smith and Tomlin join Jena E. Abernathy, Managing Partner of Witt/Kieffer’s Board Practice, who has worked with healthcare and private equity businesses across Florida in the areas of board services and economic development for many years.

 

“With rapid change occurring in the healthcare industry across the country, clients know how critical the right leadership is to success and increasingly look to us to serve as trusted partners and advisors,” said Andrew P. Chastain, Managing Partner, Chair of the firm’s Healthcare Practice and incoming CEO. “Kim, Oliver and Jena are conduits to our entire firm’s healthcare resources and expertise and they deeply understand the industry’s leadership needs, both nationally and locally.”

 

Witt/Kieffer conducts more than 400 senior executive recruitments nationwide in healthcare annually, and has operated in Southwest Florida and other regions of the state throughout its 50 years in business. Smith and Tomlin each bring more than 25 years of experience in executive leadership and executive search within the healthcare field to area executives, hiring managers and boards of directors of hospitals, health systems, and health-related entities.

 

Before her career with Witt/Kieffer, Smith held several senior executive roles, including president and CEO of Jewish Memorial Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Boston. “Southwest Florida has a unique healthcare environment,” she said. “We support local systems in a variety of needs at the senior executive level, including the recruitment of top-notch executives who truly know the surrounding communities and their specific health and wellness needs.”

 

Tomlin’s background includes a tenure as president and CEO of a regional healthcare company as well as a role as a director of worldwide marketing for an international pharmaceutical company. “The right leadership can make or break a health system, and the right leader needs to be aligned with the community,” he added. “In order to recruit the kinds of executives that will make a positive difference in an organization, we cast a wide net and recruit nationally -- and even internationally.”

 

Abernathy has worked with businesses and organizations in the state for a majority of her search career and has unparalleled knowledge of the local marketplace. “Kim and Oliver will be powerful additions to the exceptional service Witt/Kieffer provides to this state’s healthcare industry,” she said. “As healthcare changes in response to a steady stream of shifting regulation, we will be able to deliver the kinds of leaders who will best navigate the dynamic landscape and deliver patients world-class care.”