By Sadie Hunter
On March 29, Riverview Health announced its new president and CEO, Seth Warren, appointed by the Riverview Health Board of Trustees. Warren will fill the shoes of current retiring President and CEO Pat Fox. He will assume his role April 25.
Current in Noblesville caught up with Warren to learn more about his background and hopes for the future of Riverview Health.
Age: 49. “Eleven months out from the half-century mark.”
Family: Wife Maureen. Married 22 years this June. “We are atypical high school sweethearts. We dated for a year in high school (attending my junior prom), broke up and then started dating again almost 10 years later after meeting back up at a local pub on Thanksgiving eve.” Three sons, Hunter, 18, Christian, 16, and Quinn, 10.
High school: Graduated in 1985 from Moorestown High School in Moorestown, N.J.
College: “I attended college at the University of Richmond in Richmond, Va. The Spiders are known in the Indiana market from when they upset defending national champions and #4 seed IU in the 1988 NCAA basketball tournament. It was my junior year, and I had the good fortune of being at that game in Hartford, Conn. I ended up going back to graduate school in the late ’90s at Syracuse University in Syracuse, N.Y. I graduated from the University of Richmond in 1989 and received my graduate degree from Syracuse in 1999. I received my Bachelor of Arts in Sociology from Richmond and a Masters of Business Administration from Syracuse.”
Where did you grow up?
“As I child I moved around a lot living in Pennsylvania, New York and North Carolina but attended middle school and high school in Moorestown, New Jersey, so I consider that home.”
When did you move to Noblesville/Hamilton Co.?
“Our first stint here was from 1998-2002. My wife Maureen, our then one-year old son and I lived in Carmel when I was working for St. Francis Hospitals in Beech Grove, Indianapolis and Mooresville. Our second son was born in Indianapolis. We then moved to Chesterton in Northwest Indiana. We are in the process of moving back but will be doing so in full-force as soon as my oldest son graduates high school in June.”
What’s your favorite place in the area so far?
“While we have not moved back yet, my middle son is extremely excited about all the stores to buy sneakers. My youngest is a sports nut and was entranced by Grand Park when he played in a basketball tournament there recently. My wife looks forward to being closer to her baby going off to college, and I am happy that they are all so excited about the move.”
What is your favorite movie, and what’s the last movie you saw?
“Growing up outside Philadelphia in the late ’70s, I have to go with ‘Rocky.’ I loved the underdog story and the gritty side of the city. Coincidentally, I think the last movie I saw in the theater was ‘Creed’ so it goes full-circle.”
What is the last book you read?
“I just finished Harlan Coben’s new book ‘Fool Me Once.’ I read for escapism, so I read a lot of fiction. Coben is from New Jersey, and most of his books take place there, so I enjoy the references to places I know. I have also been reading the Harry Potter series for the first time. My older two sons were not interested in the series, but my 10-year-old is, so Quinn, my wife and I have been reading each book then watching the movie before moving onto the next book.”
What’s your favorite sports team?
“The Tampa Bay Buccaneers. We lived in Florida when my oldest son was a toddler and Tony Dungy had this young up-and-coming team, so we started rooting for them and have done so ever since. I do have a soft spot for the Colts too though. I have great respect for Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck. But I will root for the Bucs if they play each other. Sorry.”
What are your other hobbies and interests?
“With my sons’ activities, most of my free time is spent centered around their sports and other events. I also enjoy fishing. I love to fish in Florida with my stepfather, brother-in-law and sons.”
Are you affiliated with any local organizations, clubs, groups, etc.?
“Up in Chesterton, my wife and I were involved in our children’s schools, our church and I served on several boards, so we likely will be doing the same in the Noblesville area once we get settled.”
What was your first-ever job (outside of the healthcare industry)?
“I did a number of jobs in high school and college working summers and Christmas breaks. My first job was doing landscaping, but I have also sold sneakers. I drove an ice cream truck at the Jersey Shore; I’d ring the bells on the beach and kids would come running up the sand dunes to the street. I delivered pizzas, worked on assembly lines canning coffee and filling Freon tanks, cooked at a restaurant, worked security at a gated community guardhouse, was a substitute teacher and security guard at a high school.”
How did you start your career in the medical field and what jobs came after?
“In 1990, I began my healthcare career in Human Resources as a recruiter for non-nursing positions at a hospital in New Jersey. After three months, they asked me to take on a newly created role of compensation specialist. I did that for a couple of years before going to work for a hospital in Philadelphia as benefits and compensation coordinator. I did that role for about three years. Wanting to get into hospital operations, I took a job as assistant vice president with The Hunter Group, a healthcare turnaround firm where I did consulting all over the country. After nearly three years there, I was recruited to Franciscan St. Francis Health in Beech Grove, Indianapolis and Mooresville, part of Franciscan Alliance. There, I served in a variety of roles including manager of operations and director of operations before becoming executive director of the Mooresville campus in 2000. From there, I went to other Franciscan Alliance facilities including Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Michigan City, (Ind.), as chief operating officer for two years, Franciscan St. Anthony Health in Crown Point, (Ind.), as president for four years, and Franciscan St. James Health in Olympia Fields and Chicago Heights, (Ill.), as regional CEO for six years. More recently I did consulting for a year and a half as president of HQConsulting in Chesterton, (Ind.), and most recently served as CEO of LRGHealthcare in Laconia and Franklin, N.H., for six months.”
How are you preparing for your new role at Riverview Health and in the Noblesville/Hamilton County community?
“Fortunately I have some knowledge of the healthcare market having worked here for a number of years and remaining close to it by working with my peers at Franciscan St. Francis Health and the other healthcare providers in the market. Personally, we have continued to visit and remain close to friends in the market, so I have witnessed the explosive growth in the northern suburbs of Indianapolis. We are in the house-hunting mode now and are exploring the area and schools. Pat Fox has been great about working with me, and I look forward to working with her as we overlap for awhile.”
How do you plan continue to implement the vision laid out by the Riverview Health organization and retiring President and CEO Pat Fox?
“I do not believe in change for change’s sake. I benefit from the vision the organization has had, and I fully intend to pick up right where Pat left off and continue the growth plans she, the board, administrative team and medical staff leadership have laid out. I am psyched about the new outpatient facility in Westfield and look forward to growing the hospital campus in Noblesville.”
Anything else you’d like to add?
“This opportunity at Riverview Health is an ideal fit for both me and the Riverview Health organization and on a personal level we are thrilled with being able to move to Hamilton County!”
