Gerald "J.P." Gallagher
President and Chief Executive Officer
Gerald “J.P.” Gallagher was appointed President and Chief Executive Officer of NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health (‘NSEEH’), a newly formed, integrated health system, serving the greater Chicagoland metropolitan area in 2022. As the third largest health system in Illinois, NSEEH serves 1.5 million patients with 25,000 team members across 300+ sites.
Prior to assuming the helm at NHEEH, Gallagher served as President and CEO of NorthShore University HealthSystem since 2017. Under his leadership, NorthShore continued to grow through the addition of new hospital partners, aggressive expansion of ambulatory sites, and the creation of Chicagoland’s only freestanding orthopaedic and spine hospital.
The system has received national recognition for consistently strong performance across numerous quality and performance domains, including U.S. News & World Report, Leapfrog, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, the Magnet Nursing Recognition Program, Fortune/IBM Watson Health, Planetree, and Healthgrades.
Prior to leading NorthShore, Gallagher served as Chief Operating Officer, responsible for overall system operations, clinical quality results, and financial performance. Previously, Gallagher served as President of Evanston Hospital, the flagship teaching hospital for the system. Before joining NorthShore, Gallagher served in a variety of hospital leadership roles with Advocate Health Care at its Christ Medical Center campus. He began his career as an Analyst at The Lewin Group, a health care consulting firm in Washington, DC.
Gallagher is a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, a member of the Commercial Club of Chicago, the Healthcare Leadership Council, and the Young Presidents Organization. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of the Illinois Hospital Association, the Business Leadership Council for Chicago Public Media, the Healthcare Advisory Roundtable at Madison Dearborn Partners, is active with the Illinois Chapter of JDRF, and is Assistant Scoutmaster with BSA Troup Five in Wilmette.
Gallagher received his Master of Business Administration from The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania on a scholarship from the Kaiser Family Foundation. He received his bachelor’s degree magna cum laude from Princeton University, majoring in history. A native of Minnesota, he is married and has three children.
Joe Dant
President, South Region
Joe Dant is the president of the South Region for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health, which includes Edward and Elmhurst Hospitals and Linden Oaks Behavioral Health. In this role, Joe leads operational functions for the South Region to ensure clinical, quality, experience and administrative services meet the healthcare needs of patients and the communities throughout the region.
Joe was most recently President of Edward Hospital and South Institutes following the merger of NorthShore and Edward-Elmhurst Health (EEH). He joined EEH in 2017 to lead the employed and affiliated medical group and has overseen Physician Recruitment and Relations, Real Estate Development and Property Management and IT.
In his more than 27 years in healthcare, Joe has served in numerous hospital system leadership roles and has held positions in the health insurance and pharmaceutical industries, as well as served as a U.S. Navy officer.
Joe earned his bachelor’s degree in Government and International Relations from the University of Notre Dame and holds an MBA from Benedictine University.
Anthony Guaccio
President and CEO, Swedish Hospital
Anthony Guaccio is the President and Chief Executive Officer for Swedish Hospital. Since Anthony joined the hospital’s executive staff in 1996, Swedish has evolved from the largest and most successful independent community hospital on Chicago’s north side to a comprehensive health care system with a well-deserved reputation of technological and teaching excellence, compassion, and growth.
Anthony has 35 years of innovative healthcare management experience. He served in the role of Chief Operating Officer at Swedish for 10 years prior to becoming President and Chief Executive Officer in 2016 and successfully leading Swedish through a partnership with NorthShore in 2019.
Anthony earned his master’s in business from North Park University and completed his bachelor’s in business administration and management from Eastern Illinois University.
Lakshmi Halasyamani, MD
Chief Clinical Officer
Lakshmi Halasyamani, MD, is the Chief Clinical Officer for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and oversees the strategy and development of clinical quality and safety to ensure excellent patient outcomes and experiences. She promotes evidence-based medical care by guiding and overseeing clinical quality improvement and risk management initiatives. She also leads the system’s Health Equity Strategy to provide quality, consumer-centric care that improves patient accessibility and overall public health.
Dr. Halasyamani joined NorthShore in 2016 and has previously served as Chief Quality and Transformation Officer and Chief Medical Officer. Prior to NorthShore, she held a range of physician executive roles.
Dr. Halasyamani earned her medical degree with honors from Harvard Medical School. She completed her residency and chief residency in internal medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.
Michael Hartke
President, Northwest Community Healthcare
Michael Hartke serves as President of Northwest Community Healthcare (NCH). He is a key executive leader in NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health’s North Region, partnering with members of the Executive Leadership Team to help drive NCH, regional and system strategies. Hartke also serves as Executive Sponsor of the Cardiovascular Institute for the North Region.
Hartke joined NCH from Affinity Health Care in 2010 as Executive Vice President and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in 2013, a position he held for 10 years before beginning his new role as President in January 2023.
Hartke received a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biological science from Northern Illinois University.
Annette Kenney
Chief Strategy Officer
Annette Kenney is the Chief Strategy Officer for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health. She is responsible for setting a vision and driving strategies for transformational growth and community-connected care, positioning the organization for the future and as a leader in the healthcare industry.
Prior to this role, Annette served as System Executive Vice President/Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer for Edward-Elmhurst Health. She has more than 25 years of healthcare experience in the areas of strategy, ambulatory and physician network and service line development.
Annette received her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree in Public Health/Health Services Administration and Epidemiology from Yale University.
Sanjeeb Khatua, MD
Chief Physician Executive
Sanjeeb Khatua, MD, MBA, MPH is the Chief Physician Executive for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health. Dr. Khatua is responsible for promoting clinical excellence, creating an innovative delivery model across the continuum of care and establishing the foundation and path for a system-wide medical group strategy. Dr. Khatua also collaborates with System Chief Clinical Officer Dr. Lakshmi Halasyamani to support the continued advancement of a clinically integrated network and the organization’s value-based care strategy.
Dr. Khatua is a board-certified family medicine physician and practiced with Edward Medical Group prior to ascending to multiple leadership roles within Edward-Elmhurst Health (EEH). He previously served as Executive Vice President and Chief Physician Executive for EEH until 2021 when he became President and CEO of Unity Point Clinic, a division of the UnityPoint Health System in Iowa.
He is a Fellow in the American Academy of Family Physicians and member of the American Association for Physician Leadership, and sits on the American Hospital Association Committee for Clinical Leadership.
Dr. Khatua earned his Master’s degree in Public Health from Loma Linda University, MBA in Healthcare Management from Loyola University Chicago and medical degree from the Medical University of Silesia.
Anne Martino
Chief Marketing Officer
Anne Martino is the Chief Marketing Officer for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and is responsible for setting strategic direction and leading marketing and corporate communications, including brand and marketing, digital strategy, internal communications, and public relations.
Anne joined NorthShore as Chief Marketing Officer in 2020 and has more than 25 years of consumer brand-building and communications experience including holding numerous leadership positions at advertising agencies Leo Burnett, FCB Global and J. Walter Thompson.
Prior to NorthShore, Martino served as System Vice President of Consumer Insights and Strategy at Advocate Aurora Health.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism/advertising at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and a master’s degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.
Chris Mollet
Chief Legal Officer
Chris Mollet serves as Chief Legal Officer for NorthShore – Edward–Elmhurst Health and is responsible for advancing the health system’s overall strategic mission, values, ethics, and legal compliance standards.
Prior to the merger with NorthShore, Chris served as System Executive Vice President and General Counsel at Edward-Elmhurst Health. In his thirty-plus year career, he has represented clients in all segments of the healthcare industry, both in private practice and as in-house counsel.
He earned his bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Wisconsin and is licensed to practice law in Illinois and Wisconsin.
Kristen Murtos
Chief Innovation & Transformation Officer
Kristen Murtos is the Chief Innovation & Transformation Officer for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and is responsible for driving innovation and growth to enable peak organizational performance and sustainable differentiation through systematic business and care transformation.
Kristen joined NorthShore in 1998 and most recently served as Chief Administrative and Strategy Officer. Kristen also served as President of NorthShore’s Skokie Hospital.
Prior to NorthShore she worked at Deloitte Consulting where she advised clients in operational improvement and market strategy.
Kristen holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Illinois and masters’ degrees in business administration and public policy from the University of Chicago.
Sean O’Grady
President, North Region and Institutes
Sean O’Grady serves as President of the North Region and Institutes for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health which includes Evanston Hospital, Glenbrook Hospital, Highland Park Hospital, Northwest Community Healthcare, Skokie Hospital, and Swedish Hospital. In this role, Sean leads operational functions for the North Region to ensure clinical, quality, experience and administrative services meet the health care needs of patients and communities throughout the region.
Sean began his NorthShore career in 2007 as Vice President, Specialty Practices for NorthShore Medical Group. He has also served as President of Glenbrook Hospital.
Prior to joining NorthShore, Sean worked at the Shirley Ryan Ability Lab as Vice President of Operations and at Barnes-Jewish Hospital and the BJC Health system in St. Louis in various administrative positions. Sean earned his bachelor’s degree from Bradley University and his master’s degree in Hospital and Health Administration from the University of Iowa.
Steve Smith
Chief Information Officer
Steve Smith is the Chief Information Officer for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and is responsible for enterprise-wide information technology (IT) solutions.
Previously, Steve served as NorthShore’s Chief Information Officer.
Prior to joining NorthShore, Smith worked for McKesson Corporation. Smith holds bachelor's degrees in information systems and business management from Northeastern Illinois University.
Dianna Sparacino
Chief People Officer
Dianna Sparacino serves as Chief People Officer for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and is responsible for defining and advancing a vision for a superior and innovative team member experience that results in excellent service for the patients and communities we are privileged to serve.
Dianna previously served as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for NorthShore. Prior to joining NorthShore in 2018, Dianna served as Vice President, Global Human Resources at Univar and held a variety of leadership positions at Molex, Inc.
Dianna holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Notre Dame and an MBA from Northwestern University.
John Tressa
Chief Nursing Executive
John Tressa is the System Chief Nursing Executive for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and is responsible for driving nursing excellence across the entire system. Prior to assuming his current role in January 2023, he served in progressive leadership roles since joining NorthShore University HealthSystem in 2018.
Prior to joining NorthShore, Tressa served as the System Senior Vice President for the Heart and Vascular, as well as Trauma Service Lines for the Memorial Hermann Healthcare System in Houston, TX. Prior to that, he served in CNO, COO and CEO roles at large healthcare organizations in Houston. Tressa spent the majority of his clinical career as a Flight Nurse/Chief Flight Nurse in academic medical centers.
Tressa received a Diploma in Nursing from Ravenswood Hospital Medical Center School of Nursing, and holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of St. Francis, a Master of Business Administration from Olivet Nazarene University and a Master of Science in Nursing Administration from American Sentinel University. Tressa is currently enrolled in the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Northern Kentucky University. He is also Board Certified as a Nurse Executive Advanced.
Doug Welday
Chief Financial Officer
Doug Welday serves as Chief Financial Officer for NorthShore – Edward-Elmhurst Health and is responsible for setting the system’s financial strategy, priorities and direction to ensure the long-term financial viability of the system and identify continued opportunities for growth.
Doug joined NorthShore in 2018 as Chief Financial Officer, overseeing all financial operations for NorthShore hospitals and the NorthShore Medical Group.
Prior to NorthShore, Doug served as Senior Vice President of Finance for Spectrum Health in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Doug is a Certified Public Accountant and earned his MBA from the University of Michigan and his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Michigan State University.