AtlantiCare’s board of trustees has chosen fellow board member Michael Charlton to serve as interim CEO and president of the health system while the board conducts its search for a candidate to fill the post on a full-time basis.
Charlton will work closely with outgoing CEO and President Lori Herndon, who is retiring at the end of June as she caps a 40-year career with AtlantiCare.
Charlton is a highly experienced and successful health care thought leader and entrepreneur who served as AtlantiCare’s board chair from 2017 until earlier this year and has been on the board since 2009.
Charlton will work side-by-side with Herndon beginning May 1 until she steps down from her day-to-day role May 31. Charlton will become interim CEO and president June 1 and Herndon will continue to be available to Charlton on an as-needed basis until she formally retires at the end of June. Charlton will also work closely with the AtlantiCare board and the executive team while the search for a permanent CEO continues.
Current Chair David Goddard applauded the announcement.
“Michael is a proven leader who is very familiar with AtlantiCare, the communities we serve and the changing health care landscape,” he said. “He is also very well-known to our team members and stakeholders in our communities and is the ideal person to help lead our health system through a smooth transition while the board continues to conduct its search for AtlantiCare’s next CEO.”
Charlton has also served as a board member of the American Hospital Association and continues to work on national AHA committees. He brings a wealth of industry experience and an entrepreneurial mindset that will serve AtlantiCare well through the transition.
He attended the University of Delaware with a concentration in finance, has a B.S. in health care administration and organizational leadership from the University of Louisville and completed a master’s in health care leadership from Brown University.
