Episode 35: Michael Bryant

W. Michael Bryant is the President and CEO of Methodist Health Service Corporation. In addition to Methodist Medical Center, Michael is responsible for other entities such as the Methodist Medical Center Foundation, Methodist's fundraising subsidiary; Methodist Services, Inc., Methodist's real estate holding arm which includes the 800,000 square foot hospital plus approximately 1,000,000 square feet of other real estate space; Methodist Physicians Services and Heartland Incorporated.

A native of Jeffersonville, Indiana, Michael passed his CPA exam before even graduating Indiana University with Bachelor's of Science in Business. He later obtained an MBA with a focus on Marketing and Health Administration from the University of Chicago. It was while he was employed as an auditor at KPMG's Chicago office that Michael realized he had an affinity for healthcare, and more specifically, the point where healthcare and business intersect.

As a self-described "finance guy" Michael appreciates the social element that is relative to his position and believes it is his role to create a compassionate environment that is "businesslike and not business." Michael believes that hiring the right people, those who possess not only technical skills but who are a good cultural and philosophical fit for the organization, is the key to Methodist's success.