(St. Louis) September 25, 2009 – Ascension Health has named David E. Erickson as the organization’s first Chief Investment Officer. Ascension Health’s investment performance is fundamental to its stewardship efforts, impacting its ability to acquire the capital needed to meet the organization’s commitments to associates who participate in its pension plan and achieve its mission of serving all persons with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable, according to Anthony R. Tersigni, EdD, FACHE, President and Chief Executive Officer.
“We have recognized that the increasing variety and complexity of financial markets worldwide and our investment portfolio have led to a need for Ascension Health to take a more focused and innovative approach in our investment strategies,” Tersigni said. “Healthcare organizations as a rule have been slow to adopt some of the more proven creative financing techniques available today. Our intention is to take advantage of all the opportunities available to us in a responsible, thoughtful way in order to help us achieve our Mission.”
Erickson reports to Anthony J. Speranzo, Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, and is responsible for the administration, management and coordination of the health system’s investments.
Erickson comes to Ascension Health from the University of Wisconsin Foundation, where as Chief Investment Officer he supervised an investment team that managed over $2.2 billion in assets. His previous experience includes serving as Vice President and Investment Strategist for Strong Capital Management in Wisconsin, and in leadership roles with PNC Bank/PNC Capital Markets in Pennsylvania, Chemical Bank in New York, and Firstar Bank in Wisconsin. He has a bachelor’s degree in economics from Wheaton College, west of Chicago, and is a Chartered Financial Analyst.
Ascension Health is transforming healthcare by providing the highest quality care to all, with special attention to those who are poor and vulnerable. Ascension Health, which provided $868 million in care of persons who are poor and community benefit last year, is the nation’s largest Catholic and nonprofit health system. Our Mission-focused Health Ministries consist of 113,000 associates serving in more than 500 locations in 19 states and the District of Columbia.
