Mr. Thomas is our President and Chief Executive Officer and serves on our Board and is a member of the Finance and Investment Committee. Mr. Thomas has been the Chief Executive Officer and Trustee of our organization since April 2013.
Mr. Thomas was the Executive Vice President-Medical Facilities Group for Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL, formerly known as Health Care REIT Inc.) from January 2009 to July 2012. Prior to Welltower, Mr. Thomas served as President, Chief Development Officer and Business Counsel of Cirrus Health from August 2005 to December 2008, where he led efforts to acquire and manage four hospitals and an endoscopy center, as well as efforts to develop other outpatient care facilities. From October 2000 to July 2005, he served as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, Texas. As General Counsel for Baylor Health Care System, he was responsible for legal and government affairs. Mr. Thomas has been recognized for his team’s advocacy work on Texas H.B. 3 and Proposition 12, the 2003 Texas legislative and constitutional amendment efforts to increase patient access to physicians and care through reforms to Texas’ medical malpractice laws. He was also co-founder and chairman of the Coalition for Affordable and Reliable Healthcare, a national coalition to reform medical malpractice laws through federal legislation. Mr. Thomas has testified before the Ways and Means Committee and Energy and Commerce Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives and a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security Committee, all related to health care policy. From April 1997 to October 2000, he served as General Counsel and Secretary for Unity Health System, a five-hospital division of the Sisters of Mercy Health System in St. Louis, MO, where he oversaw legal affairs for the health care delivery system and its operating subsidiaries.
Mr. Thomas was a member of the Board of Directors of Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: EDR) from 2016 to 2018, at which time EDR was sold to a private company. He also serves on the Board of Trustees for the Jacksonville State University Foundation.
Mr. Thomas began his career as a tax lawyer at Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCoy in New York, NY in 1990, and was elected a partner at Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal (now Dentons) in April 1997. Mr. Thomas received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his B.S. in Economics from Jacksonville State University, where he was a scholarship letterman on the football team and was a member of the Academic All-Conference Team. Mr. Thomas graduated with Distinction and Special Honors in Economics.
Governor Thompson was appointed to our Board in connection with our initial public offering (“IPO”) in July 2013 and is the non-executive chairman of our Board and a member of the compensation committee, nominating and corporate governance committee, and the finance and investment committee.
Governor Thompson is currently serving as the University of Wisconsin System interim President. Governor Thompson is the former United States Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary, serving from 2001 to 2005, and a four-term Governor of Wisconsin. Following his terms in public office, Governor Thompson built, and continues to build, on his efforts as HHS Secretary and Governor to develop innovative solutions to the health care challenges facing American families, businesses, communities, states, and the nation. These efforts focus on improving the use of information technology in hospitals, clinics, and doctors’ offices; promoting healthier lifestyles; strengthening and modernizing Medicare and Medicaid; and expanding the use of medical diplomacy around the world.
From 2005 until 2009, Governor Thompson served as a senior advisor at the consulting firm Deloitte & Touche USA LLP and was the founding independent chairman of the Deloitte Center for Health Solutions, which researches and develops solutions to some of our nation’s most pressing health care and public health-related challenges. From 2005 to early 2012, Governor Thompson served as a senior partner at the law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP. Governor Thompson served as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Logistics Health, Inc. from January 2007 to May 2011, and served as President from February 2005 to January 2011. Governor Thompson served on the Board of Directors of Centene Corporation from 2005 to 2022.
Governor Thompson currently serves on the Board of Directors of United Therapeutics Corporation (since 2010) and TherapeuticsMD, Inc. (since 2012). Governor Thompson was formerly a director of C.R. Bard, Inc., Cytori Therapeutics, Inc., Cancer Genetics, Inc., CareView Communications, Inc., and Tyme Technologies, Inc. Governor Thompson received his B.S. and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Mr. Weiss was appointed to our Board in connection with our IPO in July 2013 and is Chairman of the finance and investment committee and a member of the nominating and corporate governance committee.
Mr. Weiss retired as a partner from the law firm Foley & Lardner LLP in June 2008, where he served as managing partner of the firm’s Washington D.C. office and as a member of the firm’s management committee. Mr. Weiss concentrated his law practice in health care finance, representing hospital systems, medical practice groups, and investment banks. Mr. Weiss served for over 30 years on the boards of directors of Advocate Aurora Health and predecessor companies, including terms as finance committee chair and board chair of Aurora Health Care and Milwaukee Psychiatric Hospital until 2021. He also served on the board of trustees and as board chair of Washington Hospital Center in Washington D.C. Mr. Weiss has also been a trustee of the Medical College of Wisconsin.
In addition to his work in health care, Mr. Weiss worked in the sports industry, where he represented the Washington Nationals in connection with its baseball stadium in Washington, D.C., the Green Bay Packers in the renovation of Lambeau Field, the Milwaukee Brewers in the development and financing of Miller Park, and Major League Baseball in the financing of ballparks in San Diego and Miami.
Mr. Weiss graduated from the University of Wisconsin Law School (magna cum laude, 1971), where he was Order of the Coif and on the editorial board of the Wisconsin Law Review, and has a business degree from Northwestern University (B.S.B.A., with distinction, 1968). Mr. Weiss is a board member and audit committee chair of Ascendium Education Group, a retired member of The Economic Club of Washington D.C., a former board member and the general campaign chair for the United Way of the National Capital Area, and a former member of the board of trustees and executive committee of the Greater Washington Board of Trade.
Dr. Ebinger was appointed to our Board in connection with our IPO in July 2013 and is a member of the compensation committee and the finance and investment committee.
Dr. Ebinger was a practicing internist with Advocate Aurora Health Care, now one of the 10 largest not-for-profit integrated health systems in the nation with 28 hospitals, 8,300 physicians, and approximately $9.4 billion annual revenue, from 2008 through 2021. Dr. Ebinger served as the inaugural President of the Medical Staff at the Aurora Medical Center in Grafton, Wisconsin, from 2010 through 2013. Dr. Ebinger served as a Medical Director for the Ozaukee Region of the Aurora Advanced Healthcare Division from 2012 through 2014. Dr. Ebinger was also a member of the Board of Directors for the Aurora Medical Group upon its formation in 2008 and served as the inaugural President of the Aurora Greater Milwaukee North Market Management Committee from 2014 through 2017.
Prior to joining Aurora Health Care in 2008, Dr. Ebinger was a shareholder of Advanced Healthcare, the largest independent physician practice group in Southeastern Wisconsin with 250 physicians, and served on its Board of Directors for 12 years. In 2008, Dr. Ebinger helped Advance Healthcare arrange a strategic hospital affiliation with Aurora Health Care to create Aurora Advanced Health Care.
Dr. Ebinger graduated from Cornell College and the Pritzker School of Medicine at the University of Chicago. Dr. Ebinger completed his postgraduate training in Internal Medical at the University of Michigan, is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine, and is a member of the American College of Physicians.
Mr. Black was appointed to our Board in connection with our IPO in July 2013 and is the Chairman of the nominating and corporate governance committee and a member of the finance and investment committee.
Mr. Black founded On-Target Supplies & Logistics, Ltd. (“On-Target”), a regional logistics management firm that provides outsourced services to a diverse set of companies, in 1982. On-Target’s services include a broad range of supply chain functions. As Chairman of the company, Mr. Black’s responsibilities include the development of its executive management team and corporate strategy. On-Target’s affiliate companies are TreCo Investments and READYTOWORK®, a workforce training and development company.
Mr. Black’s professional and community experience over the years has included serving in leadership positions with several civic and educational institutions, including Baylor Scott and White Health, one of the leading health care delivery systems in the country, where he has served as a trustee for over 25 years. Mr. Black is a past Chairman of the Board of Trustees for Baylor Health Care System. Mr. Black also serves as the inaugural chairman of the Charles A. Sammons Cancer Center Board. He is also a sponsoring trustee of the BSWH Diabetes Health and Wellness Institute.
Mr. Black also has served as Chairman of the boards of Dallas Regional Chamber BSWH, PrimeSource, and the Dallas Housing Authority. Mr. Black’s college and university board experience include the St. Louis University Board of Trustees, Baylor University Regent, Texas Southern University Regent, and Paul Quinn College Regent.
Mr. Black received a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at Dallas and earned an MBA from the Cox School of Business at Southern Methodist University.
