Karen Hackett

Karen Hackett is Of Counsel to Quick Leonard Kieffer assisting with executive search as well as board and leadership consulting with special emphasis in the health care association, professional society and medical/surgical device sectors. She most recently served for 14 years as the chief executive officer of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the American Association of Orthopaedic Surgeons (collectively referred to as AAOS), retiring in April 2017. The Academy is the preeminent provider of musculoskeletal education to orthopaedic surgeons and others, developing clinical practice guidelines and presenting world-renowned annual meetings, as well as CME courses, with the goal of enhancing quality orthopaedic care; the Association is a source for health policy and advocacy on behalf of orthopaedic surgeons and their patients.

Prior to joining the AAOS, Karen held the position of executive vice president and chief operating officer of the American College of Healthcare Executives for eight years. She has also served as the vice president of the Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council, and has previous hospital and healthcare operational and financial experience, as well as senior management consulting experience with Ernst & Young focused on hospital operations.

Karen has been the recipient of number of prestigious awards and recognitions, including the 2009 Samuel B. Shapiro Award, presented by Association Forum of Chicagoland to a chief executive officer for outstanding service and accomplishment in association management. In addition, she was honored in 2011 by both of her alma maters when she was inducted into the University of Central Florida’s College of Business Hall of Fame and presented with Lewis University’s Alumni Achievement Award in the field of business. In 2017, Karen received the Medical Society Executive Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Medical Association.

Karen is board-certified in healthcare management and is a Life Fellow of ACHE. She is also a Fellow of the American Society of Association Executives, for which she served a term as chairman, and is a Certified Association Executive. She serves on the University of Central Florida College of Business Dean’s Advisory Board and its Integrated Business Degree Board; on the board of directors of Baptist Medical Center Nassau in Florida (where she also volunteers); and on the board of trustees of the Orthopaedic Research and Education Foundation in Rosemont, Illinois. Karen holds an MBA from Lewis University and a BSBA from the University of Central Florida.