UChicago Medicine appoints Amir Ghaferi as Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer

The University of Chicago Medicine has appointed Amir A. Ghaferi, MD, MSc, MBA, as its Executive Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer, effective Nov. 16, 2026.

Ghaferi will serve as the inaugural leader in this enterprise-wide role, working across UChicago Medicine’s academic healthcare mission to advance clinical strategy, strengthen physician leadership and engagement, and better integrate physician practices and ambulatory operations across the clinical enterprise. The role will foster collaboration among faculty and employed and community physicians to advance clinical innovation, ambulatory growth, value-based care and integrated models of care.

He currently serves as President and CEO of the Physician Enterprise and Senior Associate Dean for Clinical Affairs at Froedtert & the Medical College of Wisconsin, where he also is a Professor of Surgery. In these roles, he leads strategy for a large academic and community physician enterprise and advances patient-centered care models focused on quality, safety, value and experience.

Previously, he served as Chief Clinical Officer of the University of Michigan Medical Group, where he oversaw clinical operations, quality, strategy and finance. He also served as Vice Chair for Strategy and Finance in the University of Michigan Department of Surgery and as Director of the Michigan Bariatric Surgery Collaborative, a multi-hospital collaborative focused on improving the safety and quality of bariatric surgery.

"Physician leadership is essential to the continued success of UChicago Medicine, and this new role reflects our commitment to ensuring that physicians have a strong voice in shaping the future of our clinical enterprise," said Mark Anderson, MD, PhD, Dean of the Biological Sciences Division, Dean of the Pritzker School of Medicine and Executive Vice President for Medical Affairs. "Dr. Ghaferi brings an exceptional combination of clinical expertise, academic distinction and health system leadership.”

In his new role, Ghaferi will work closely with department chairs, physician and academic leaders, and health system executives to strengthen alignment across UChicago Medicine's physician practices and medical groups, advance clinical innovation and new models of care, improve operational performance, support growth, and enhance patient and clinician experience.

“Dr. Ghaferi understands how to bring physicians and operational leaders together around a shared vision and translate that collaboration into meaningful improvements in care, access, quality and value," said Tom Jackiewicz, President of the University of Chicago Health System. “His experience will be an important asset as we continue to build an integrated, high-performing clinical enterprise."

An accomplished surgeon, Ghaferi's research focuses on the relationship between organizational systems and design and quality and efficiency, with the goal of developing interventions that improve care locally, regionally and nationally. His NIH- and AHRQ-funded research has examined safety culture, organizational resilience and the systems and practices that influence patient outcomes. His clinical practice is focused on advanced laparoscopic surgery, including gastroesophageal reflux surgery, bariatric surgery, and abdominal wall and groin hernia surgery.

Ghaferi earned his bachelor's degree from the University of California, Los Angeles, his medical degree from the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, a master's degree from the University of Michigan Rackham Graduate School, and an MBA from the University of Michigan Stephen M. Ross School of Business. He completed his general surgery training at the University of Michigan, including a research fellowship in health services research.

He has held numerous leadership positions in academic surgery and healthcare, including serving as president of the Association for Academic Surgery and the Surgical Outcomes Club. His national and international activities have focused on surgical quality and safety, health services research, physician leadership and the advancement of academic surgery.

“UChicago Medicine has an extraordinary foundation of world-class physicians and scientists, an ambitious academic mission, and a deep commitment to the patients and communities it serves,” said Ghaferi. “I look forward to listening and learning from colleagues across the organization, strengthening the physician voice in how we lead, and working together to build an even more integrated clinical enterprise that expands access and delivers exceptional care for every patient