Tom Mihaljevic, MD, serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Cleveland Clinic Health System. He has led the organization and its 83,000 caregivers since January 2018. Under his guidance, Cleveland Clinic has grown substantially, with 15.7 million patient encounters annually and a yearly operating revenue of $16 billion.
The globally integrated healthcare system has 23 hospitals and 280 outpatient locations. Facilities are located in Northeast Ohio; Southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and London, United Kingdom.
Dr. Mihaljevic’s vision is to make Cleveland Clinic the best place for care anywhere and the best place to work in healthcare. He is expanding the organization’s worldwide reach to improve as many lives as possible. Dr. Mihaljevic organizes Cleveland Clinic’s responsibilities into four care priorities: care for patients, caregivers, community, and the organization.
Care for Patients: In 2024, Cleveland Clinic completed 15.7 million patient encounters, a 64% increase from 2017. During Dr. Mihaljevic’s tenure, healthcare rating organizations regularly have named Cleveland Clinic among the top providers nationally and internationally, including the No. 2 hospital in the world in Newsweek’s “World’s Best Hospitals 2024.”
Care for Caregivers: Under Dr. Mihaljevic’s leadership, the workforce has grown by 46% since 2017. He has launched a variety of initiatives to improve the caregiver experience, promote a workforce that represents our communities, advance a culture of teamwork and mutual respect, and remove barriers to hiring.
Care for Community: In 2023, Cleveland Clinic contributed $1.46 billion in community benefit. Dr. Mihaljevic is focused on protecting the most vulnerable — addressing hunger, infant and maternal health, lead poisoning in homes and mental health.
Care for Cleveland Clinic: The organization’s domestic and international footprint has increased under Dr. Mihaljevic’s leadership, with expansion to Europe through the opening of Cleveland Clinic London; the addition of cancer care to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s portfolio; and a seven-fold increase in Cleveland Clinic Florida’s hospital capacity. The organization’s operating revenue has increased from $8.3 billion in 2017 to $16 billion in 2024. A new operating model conceived by Dr. Mihaljevic simplifies Cleveland Clinic’s structure to deliver care consistently and efficiently, positioning the organization for future growth and global leadership in healthcare.
Research and Innovation: Dr. Mihaljevic is overseeing the most significant expansion of research in Cleveland Clinic’s history. Projects include the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health in the Cleveland Innovation District; the Florida Research and Innovation Center; the Discovery Accelerator, a partnership with IBM to achieve biomedical breakthroughs using advanced computing, including the world’s first quantum computer devoted to healthcare research; and the Cleveland Clinic Brain Study, which aims to develop new treatments and cures for neurological diseases. Grant funding for research has grown by 79% during Dr. Mihaljevic’s tenure, to $354 million.
Previous Experience: From 2015 to 2017 Dr. Mihaljevic served as CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, the first U.S. multispecialty hospital to be replicated outside of North America. He joined Cleveland Clinic in 2004 as a surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Dr. Mihaljevic performed almost 3,000 operations, specializing in minimally invasive and robot-assisted procedures, valve replacement and repair, image-guided surgery and cardiac transplantation. He completed medical school at the University of Zagreb in Croatia and trained in general surgery and cardiovascular surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School. A native of Croatia and a U.S. citizen, Dr. Mihaljevic speaks English, German and Croatian.
Affiliations: Dr. Mihaljevic is a member of the GE HealthCare Board of Directors; co-chair of the US-UAE Business Council; a member of the East Coast Executive Summit and the Council on Foreign Relations; and a director on the boards of OneTen, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the United Way of Greater Cleveland.
