Karen Thompson
HCA Healthcare
Karen Thompson is Assistant Vice President in the Strategy & Innovation Group at HCA Healthcare. She joined the company in 2006. In her current role, one of Karen’s key responsibilities is co-chair of a Gate Review Committee charged with vetting the enterprise portfolio of strategic IT initiatives totaling nearly $100M annually, in support of HCA’s growth strategy. Over the years, she has served as the corporate business lead responsible for incubating and developing emerging enterprise strategies such as rural outreach, telehealth, consumer engagement and digital services.
Within HCA she is a much sought after strategist and facilitator, leading strategic planning sessions for Supply Chain Services, Centralized Pharmacy, Corporate Marketing, Outpatient Services, Health Trust Purchasing Group, HR, and the Corporate Data Science team.
Karen is actively involved in several community initiatives including the boards of the HCA Corporate Foundation and Nashville Public Television. She was instrumental in securing pro-bono consulting services for numerous HCA sponsored community partnership programs. She co-created and co-chairs the company’s Hack for the Community program, which was recognized by Nashville’s Mayor as an example of the city’s innovative approach to solving community challenges. Her commitment to the community was recently recognized by being selected as 1 of 9 leaders representing Nashville in the Harvard Business School’s 2018 Young American Leaders Program.
Prior to joining HCA, Karen held a number of mid to senior management level positions with such industry leading companies as Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts, PwC, and Bank of America.
With an MBA from Simmons University, and a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from Bentley University, Karen is committed to continuing education and professional development for herself and for the people she serves. She is a mentor to start-ups and entrepreneurs, and she is an award winning author.