“We must stay relevant and be open to change. We can’t transform our industry unless we ourselves are open to being transformed.“

A passion for lifelong learning is where Timothy W. Attebery, D.Sc., MBA, FACHE places credit for many of his accomplishments. With over 30 years of experience in healthcare, with most of that focused on the cardiovascular service line, Tim was selected as the next CEO for the American College of Cardiology (ACC). He began the new role in September 2018 and after taking the time to learn the internal operations and get to know staff, he is already making strides in executing the ACC’s new five-year Strategic Plan.

Tim graduated from the Executive MBA – Healthcare Leadership program in 2015. Having a number of colleagues who had completed an MBA program at the Haslam College of Business, he was familiar with the program reputation and quality of faculty, which weighed heavily in his decision to choose the University of Tennessee. Another important factor in his decision was the ability to complete the program in 12 months and the opportunity to integrate the program with his role at the time, CEO of Holston Valley Medical Center. His Organizational Action Plan (OAP) involved the application of a variety of financial analysis tools coupled with change management concepts to aggressively pursue financial improvements within the hospital. The result was a win-win for Tim and Holston Valley Medical Center.

“The healthcare knowledge acquired through the Executive MBA – Healthcare Leadership program has enabled me to ask the right questions and to be a better leader and manager of an organization that’s going through a significant amount of change and transformation,” says Tim. “Without an MBA, I would not have been selected to lead the ACC.”

In his new role, Tim has the privilege of working with cardiovascular specialists, and organizations providing cardiovascular care from all around the world. He has embraced the opportunity to support and impact the delivery of cardiovascular care on a much wider scale beyond the walls of one organization.

Colleagues and classmates agree that perhaps one of Attebery’s best qualities is his intentional commitment to be present and fully engage in all situations. A demonstrated servant-leader and disciple of Patrick Lencioni and Simon Sinek, Tim is always looking for opportunities to grow in his profession as well as strengthen new and existing relationships.