Comhar Partners Seeks CFO for DHR Health

September 15, 2023 – Executive search firm Comhar Partners has been enlisted to find a chief financial officer for DHR Health, a physician-owned health system in Edinburg, TX. Leading the assignment are managing director Marion Spears Karr and director Morgan Layton. “Reporting to the president, the chief financial officer will examine how to enhance growth, profitability, and value creation by evaluating internal operations, cash management strategy, the effective use of corporate assets, and by understanding the financial and operational needs of a growing business,” said the search firm. “In addition, the CFO will have accountability for building and leading a skilled finance staff, increasing the overall financial acumen of the company, and assuring that the finance function remains fundamentally excellent and attracts and retains top professional talent.”

DHR Health’s CFO will be responsible for the preparation of financial reports for the finance committee, chief executive officer, senior vice president – corporate finance, and the board of directors; ensuring that all appropriate laws and regulations governing healthcare finances are followed; budgetary development; and providing analysis and financial leadership to all levels of management, said Comhar Partners.

Administering the general accounting, patient business services, including third party reimbursement, financial, and statistical reporting functions of the hospital in accordance with established policies and accounting procedures, will be essential to this position. This individual will be expected to work collaboratively with the CEO and governing board in the development of long and short range hospital operations plans and capital budgets as supported by the hospital’s long and short range objectives.

The CFO will also monitor the hospital’s fiscal performance on realizing its established plans and objectives and identify and report undesirable trends with remedial action recommendations to the governing board for final review and approval, said Comhar Partners.

Key Qualifications

Candidates must have a bachelor’s degree in accounting; a CPA and/or FHFMA is preferred. A minimum of three to five years of significant hospital financial experience as a hospital CFO or assistant CFO is critical, as is knowledge of state, federal, and JCAHO regulations.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills are required for this position. Prospects should have strong leadership, communication, and strategic skills. Bilingual skill are also required, with a preference for English/Spanish.

“This individual must be intellectually sharp and clearly capable of thinking on their feet while demonstrating outstanding business judgment,” said Comhar Partners. “The chief financial officer will possess the analytical skills to drive costs from the business, improve overall productivity, and elevate the company’s technology advances as points of differentiation in the marketplace.”

Related: How Talent is Driving Private Equity Success

Founded in 1997, DHR Health is the largest physician-owned hospital and offers some of the most comprehensive medical care on the U.S. Southern Border. This multi-hospital healthcare system has a total of 590 beds, including the only level 1 trauma center in South Texas. DHR Health’s 700-plus physicians and more than 1,200 nurses dedicate themselves to offering a full continuum of care in over 70 different sub-specialties.

Respected Recruiters

Headquartered in Naples, FL, Comhar Partners’ offerings include executive search, professional recruiting, and talent advisory services. The firm has specialized recruiting consultants based in six offices across the country. Comhar Partners’ markets include consumer products and services; financial services; healthcare and life sciences; industrial; private equity; professional services; sports management, education, and non-profit; and technology.

Mr. Karr has over 30 years of experience in healthcare executive recruiting and talent acquisition. He leads recruitment teams that specialize in nursing leadership, C-level, vice president, and senior director-level searches. Prior to joining Comhar Partners, Mr. Karr was vice president of Tyler & Company, the executive search branch of Jackson Healthcare. Before that, he was president of Avery Executive Search, a talent and solutions company specializing in healthcare. In 1999, Mr. Karr founded ExecQuest, a boutique retained executive search firm focused on healthcare.

Mr. Layton, who is based in Chicago, is responsible for the full cycle search execution of every project deployed on. He is actively involved in candidate and client relationship management, research, candidate development, and manages the initial search strategy. Mr. Layton has played a role in searches across a variety of industries, including non-profit, financial services, industrial, consumer products, and hospitality practice groups. Previous to Comhar Partners, he was a senior associate at Stanton Chase where he started as a data research associate.

In another assignment, Comhar Partners is also helping the DHR Health Institute for Research & Development in its search for chief executive officer. This individual will be expected to bring expertise in the marketing and business of clinical research, said the search firm. The successful candidate will take the current clinical research program and develop it consistent with the rapid growth of the clinical and education missions. Mr. Karr and director Dakotah Brown are leading this assignment.

Related: Opportunities and Challenges in Private Equity Recruiting

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; and Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media