Meet 5 anesthesiologists serving as CMOs

Anesthesiologists are increasingly stepping beyond the operating room and into roles at the enterprise level. 

With their expertise in perioperative medicine, patient safety and team-based care, have risen to the role of chief medical officer.

Here are five anesthesiologists currently serving as CMOs and equivalent clinical leaders across health systems and national anesthesia organizations:

1. Peter Bravos, MD. CMO and Anesthesiologist of Sutter Surgery Center Division (Sacramento, Calif.): Dr. Bravos has more than 20 years of clinical experience and serves as the physician leader in a dyad model alongside the division’s CEO. He also concurrently serves as chief medical officer for one of Sutter Health’s medical groups and holds an MBA. Before joining Sutter, he spent two decades as a surgery center medical director and has led physician and anesthesia groups.

2. Romeo Kaddoum, MD. CMO of NorthStar Anesthesia (Irving, Texas):  A cardiac anesthesiologist, Dr. Kaddoum has served NorthStar since 2015. He focuses on elevating patient care and the clinician experience, with an emphasis on team development and culture. He has also served on the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Anesthesia Care Team Committee.

3. Angela Edwards, MD. CMO of UNC Health Rockingham (Eden, N.C.): Dr. Edwards is an anesthesiologist and nationally recognized leader in perioperative medicine. Prior to joining UNC Health Rockingham, she served as vice chair for professional affairs and section head for perioperative medicine in the department of anesthesiology at Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist University School of Medicine, where she also led the preoperative assessment clinic and advanced initiatives to improve surgical outcomes and access to care.

4. Peggy McNaull, MD. System Chief Medical and Quality Officer of UNC Health (Chapel Hill, N.C.): Dr. McNaull is a pediatric anesthesiologist and serves as UNC Health’s enterprise physician leader overseeing systemwide quality, safety, care redesign and credentialing efforts. She previously served as associate chief medical officer for quality and safety at UNC Hospitals and chaired multiple anesthesiology and patient safety leadership roles. 

5. Leo Penzi, MD.Executive Vice President and CMO of North American Partners in Anesthesia (Sunrise, Fla.):  Dr. Penzi is an anesthesiologist and a member of NAPA’s board of directors. He has been with the organization since 1991 and has spent the majority of his career in clinical anesthesiology. His leadership experience includes serving as executive vice chairman at a quaternary care hospital and participating on multiple hospital and health system leadership committees, with a focus on operating room efficiency, quality improvement and patient safety.