HCA's Milton Johnson to retire, next CEO revealed

Milton Johnson will retire as CEO of HCA Healthcare Inc. at the end of the year.

HCA Healthcare Inc. Chairman and CEO Milton Johnson, a 36-year veteran of the nation’s largest hospital operator, will retire at the end of the year.

HCA President and Chief Operating Officer Sam Hazen will replace Johnson as CEO, effective Jan. 1, according to a news release. Hazen has also been appointed as a member of the board of directors, effective today.

HCA (NYSE: HCA) is Nashville’s largest publicly traded company, with $43.6 billion of revenue in 2017, according to Nashville Business Journal research.

A Nashville native, Johnson started at HCA as a 25-year-old tax accountant and climbed the ranks to chief financial officer before being named CEO in 2014, replacing Richard Bracken. Thomas F. Frist III, son of HCA co-founder Thomas Frist Jr., will replace Johnson as chairman of the board, according to the release.

“Since Jan. 1, 2014, it has been my privilege to be CEO of this great company. In that time, we have enhanced the company’s commitment to patients," Johnson said in the release. "We have done this by advancing our clinical agenda, which focuses on the delivery of high-quality patient care and improving patient satisfaction. At the same time, we have grown revenues from $34.2 billion in 2013 to $43.6 billion in 2017; invested approximately $13 billion in capital expenditures; returned more than $10 billion in cash to shareholders through share repurchases and dividends; and increased our stock price over 275 percent. I remain excited about the company’s future and have strongly endorsed Sam as the right person to lead the company; his leadership has greatly contributed to our success."

Hazen has been with HCA for almost 36 years, working as HCA president-operations, Western Group president and Western Group CFO prior to being named president and COO, according to the release.

"I am honored to succeed Milton as the company’s CEO and join HCA Healthcare’s board of directors. I want to thank Milton for his strong leadership during his many years with the company. We are committed to providing our patients with the best possible care. As head of the company’s operations for over seven years, I have worked with all our stakeholders — including patients, physicians, employees, shareholders and the board — to fulfill that commitment. In this transition and beyond, I pledge to use my leadership role to continue our focus on providing the best possible care for patients, as well as building on our successes for all our stakeholders,” Hazen said in the release.