Wayne T. Smith, Chairman of the Board of Directors
Wayne Smith serves as the Chairman of our Board of Directors. He has been a member of our Board of Directors since April 1997 and has served as Chairman since 2001. Mr. Smith joined Community Health Systems in January 1997 as President, a position he held until January 2014. From April 1997 through December 2020, he served as Chief Executive Officer. In January 2021, Mr. Smith was named Executive Chairman of the Board, a position he held until he retired as an executive of Community Health Systems effective January 2023.
At the time of his retirement, Mr. Smith was one of the most tenured executives in the healthcare industry. Over the years, he garnered professional recognition from his peers, investors, and the business community. He was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare in Modern Healthcare’s peer-voted list for 19 consecutive years. Institutional Investor magazine named Mr. Smith a Top CEO for the healthcare facilities sector multiple times.
Mr. Smith is the past-chair of the board of the Federation of American Hospitals. He is also the past-chair and a former board member of both the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Nashville Health Care Council and serves on the board of trustees of Auburn University. In addition, his past experience serving on other companies’ boards of directors provides him with insight and experiences to support his leadership of the Company’s Board. He served on the board of directors of Praxair, Inc., a supplier of industrial gases and coatings and related healthcare services and technologies, from July 2001 until its merger with Linde AG in October 2018, with service initially on Praxair’s audit committee and later on its compensation committee (former chair).
Prior to joining Community Health Systems, Mr. Smith was President and Chief Operating Officer of Humana, Inc., where he served in various management positions during his 23 years with that company. Mr. Smith holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Auburn University and a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Trinity University.