Mayo Clinic names Zorn as new top administrator
Oct. 8—Mayo Clinic has named Christina Zorn to replace the retiring Jeff Bolton as its overall chief administration officer.
Zorn, who has been chief administrative officer of Mayo Clinic in Florida since 2015, will step into the clinic's top administrator role on Dec. 1.
"Her commitment to our patients and staff, and her demonstrated success empowering innovation, problem-solving and operational excellence make her the right person to partner with Gianrico to lead Mayo Clinic to cure, connect and transform health care," stated Bolton of his replacement.
Bolton has served as the chief administrative officer since 2013. He announced in August that he would be retiring in November.
He said the plan is to work with Zorn in the coming months to make the transition as smooth as possible.
In the new job, Zorn will be Mayo CEO Dr. Gianrico Farrugia's administrative partner. Her role will be to oversee the organization's administrative functions and provide financial guidance, while advancing Mayo's 2030 ambitious strategic plan.
"She is a values-driven servant leader with a strong track record of contributions to our organization. She brings unique qualifications and leadership qualities to this position, and I look forward to partnering with her to advance health care transformation at Mayo Clinic and beyond," Farrugia said in the announcement of Zorn's hiring.
The pairing of a physician leader and an administrator has long been Mayo Clinic's model. It is one that Bolton believes has been very effective.
"I think it's a model that really sets us apart. I can say working with Dr. John Noseworthy before and working with Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, that you have two lenses that you view opportunities and challenges through," said Bolton in an interview earlier this year. "The partnership for me, as an administrator, allows me to look through the lens of a world-renowned scientist's position and see patients through that lens and to understand what's required ... the types of investments we need for our staff and ... equipment and facilities."
Zorn's first title at Mayo Clinic was legal counsel, when she was hired in 2002. She was then named chair of the Florida division of Mayo Clinic's legal department in 2009. In her time at Mayo, Zorn has been in charge of information technology, information security, human resources, planning services and enterprise analytics across the sprawling health care organization..
Before joining Mayo Clinic, Zorn practiced with the Milwaukee-based law firm Foley & Lardner LLP, with a focus on health care and transactional law.
"I am honored and humbled to serve Mayo Clinic in this role and advance the transformation of health care. It is a privilege to work for an organization that puts the needs of our patients first and to support our staff in this shared mission," Zorn said in Friday's announcement.
