Cathryn Johnson Rolfe (HCB, ’88, Law, ’91) was recently named the first chief operating officer of HCA Healthcare’s Galen College of Nursing in Louisville, Kentucky. This isn’t the earliest trailblazing move of Rolfe’s successful career.

After completing a degree in finance from the Haslam College of Business, Rolfe earned a law degree from the University of Tennessee College of Law. After practicing law for several years, her career took off in a unique way when she was named the inaugural director of international initiatives for Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC).

During this time, she helped create a global nongovernmental organization for VUMC and facilitated its operations in Mozambique and Nigeria, supporting HIV-AIDS prevention and pandemic control. She would spend a month at time in rural areas of Africa, sometimes traveling in a dugout canoe to reach the most remote clinics, serving as a conduit between leadership and the people on the ground.

“It was a transformational time for me,” Rolfe says. “I was helping to change the lives of a population by applying my knowledge in business operations.”

Her role eventually expanded to include projects in several countries where she would oversee operations. She earned a reputation as a problem solver and organizer ready to tackle complex issues.

While working with the international programs, Rolfe became the first chief business officer for VUMC. She was tasked with bringing together the medical school’s independently operating educational and training units to work more effectively.

Her success in this arena brought another opportunity. HCA Healthcare was building a focus on training physicians and hired Rolfe as its first COO. She jumped in, working with the Graduate Medical Education service line and helping to build the largest physician residency training system in the United States.

“There was no roadmap,” says Rolfe of her COO role. “I was the first.”

Rolfe attributes much of her success to her talent for problem solving, which she built from skills learned both as a student at UT and from her father, Bill Johnson, who is also a Haslam alum.

“Business administration, operations and marketing skills – all of this I learned at UT,” Rolfe says.

She encourages students today to graduate with not only content expertise but also the ability to think and create solutions. She especially urges women to foster these skills as they enter or continue their careers.

Her own experiences as a woman in corporate roles motivated her to advocate for the visibility of women in business. Rolfe hopes to see more women at the C-Suite executive level or involved in corporate boards, like she is. To encourage this, she mentors other women in business, making herself part of the solution.

“It is a great joy to see someone I’ve mentored advancing beyond me,” Rolfe says. “We must support each other.”