It will be a job that comes with the huge responsibility of managing an organization that is charged with distributing millions of dollars in grants each year to other nonprofits and government agencies with the common goal of improving the health and wellbeing of people in Western North Carolina.

Dogwood Health Trust, which recently began operating following the sale of Mission Health to for-profit HCA Healthcare, recently hired Witt/Kieffer, one of the world’s foremost recruitment firms in the health care and not-for-profit sectors, to assist the board of directors and its search committee in selecting the organization’s first chief executive officer.

“We are very fortunate to have a team with the expertise and resources of Witt/Kieffer guiding our CEO search,” said Dr. John Ball, who chairs the CEO search committee for the Dogwood Trust Board and also served as the chairman of the Mission Health Board of Directors. “Their work with some of the world’s best-known and respected healthcare and not-for-profit organizations will be invaluable in helping us identify the perfect individual to lead Dogwood Trust through its initial stages into a long and sustainable future.”

The recruitment process, which will consider candidates from around the country and include input from community leaders throughout the region, is expected to take several months. The CEO search is part of the work being led by the all-volunteer Dogwood Trust Board to build a strong organization that will partner with regional nonprofits and other organizations to address social determinants of health — underlying factors that impact health and well-being throughout the 18-county region.

Based in Oak Brook, Illinois, Witt/Kieffer recruits C-suite executives, physician leaders, presidents, and other professionals for hospitals and other health-related organizations; colleges and universities; and not-for-profit community service organizations and foundations. The 50-year-old firm ranked third on Modern Healthcare’s 2018 list of the largest healthcare executive search firms, and No. 18 on Forbes’ 2018 list of best recruiting firms overall.

“Dogwood Health Trust is positioned to be a dynamic, life-changing organization for the people of Western North Carolina, and it’s a privilege for us to be entrusted with assisting in the recruitment of their first CEO,” said Julie Rosen, who leads the Not-for-Profit Practice at Witt/Kieffer. “Their work addressing the social determinants of health will be transformational for communities throughout this region, and we’re eager to identify a dynamic individual to lead those efforts.”