DALLAS, TX — Steward Health Care, the nation’s largest private, for profit physician led health care network, today named corporate communications veteran Jim Olson as Chief Communications Officer. Olson brings 25 years of strategic communications experience spanning some of the world’s best-known consumer brands, including United Airlines, Starbucks, US Airways, and Nissan.
“We are excited to welcome Jim to the Steward family at this transformative time for our company and country’s health care system. Over the course of his impressive career, Jim has distinguished himself as a world class leader and communicator,” said Brian Carty, Chief Marketing Officer of Steward Health Care. “Jim’s forward-thinking mindset, global perspective, and winning attitude will make him an impactful addition to our team.”
Olson will serve as Steward’s chief spokesperson and be responsible for leading the company’s public image, global communications strategy, employee engagement, and digital storytelling.
Most recently Olson was Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications at United Airlines, where he led global public relations, employee advocacy, social media, and creative services for the world’s third-largest carrier. Prior to United, he served as the Vice President of Corporate Communications at Starbucks, US Airways (now American Airlines), and Overture (the commercial web search subsidiary of Yahoo!). Olson has also worked for some of the world’s most innovative and admired public relations and advertising agencies, including WE Communications, Porter Novelli, and TBWA Chiat/Day, where he advised clients including Nissan, Infiniti, Boeing, HTC, and DHL.
“This is a defining moment for Steward and for health care in America — which is why I’m so energized about the game-changing impact we are poised to make in the U.S. and beyond,” said Olson. “I’m looking forward to helping write the next exciting chapter in Steward’s mission to create a healthier world, community by community.”
Olson earned his BS in Public Relations from Syracuse University and his MBA from the University of Southern California (USC). He serves on the Board of Directors of the USC Center for Public Relations and on the Senior Advisory Board of Proof Analytics. He has also served twice on the Board of Directors of The LAGRANT Foundation, which is dedicated to improving diversity in the advertising and public relations industries. In 2016, Olson was recognized as one of The World’s 100 Most Influential In-House Communicators by The Holmes Report, and in 2015 was honored by Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications as one of the school’s 50 most influential graduates over the past 50 years.
Olson’s appointment is effective September 1, 2018.
About Steward Health Care
Steward Health Care is the nation’s largest private, for profit physician led health care network in the United States. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, Steward operates 37 hospitals in the United States and the country of Malta that regularly receive top awards for quality and safety. The company employs approximately 40,000 health care professionals. The Steward network includes multiple urgent care centers and skilled nursing facilities, substantial behavioral health services, over 7,900 beds under management, and approximately 2.2 million full risk covered lives through the company's managed care and health insurance services. The total number of paneled lives within Steward's integrated care network is projected to reach three million in 2018.
The Steward Health Care Network includes five thousand physicians across 800 communities who help to provide more than 12 million patient encounters per year. Steward Medical Group, the company's employed physician group, provides more than six million patient encounters per year. The Steward Hospital Group operates hospitals in Malta and nine states across the U.S., including Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Utah.