Dr. Craig T. Albanese is a distinguished pediatric surgeon and accomplished healthcare executive with over twenty-five years of leadership experience across premier academic medical institutions. He currently serves as President of Integrated Care and Coverage at Kaiser Permanente, a position he assumed in September 2025 following his tenure as Chief Executive Officer of Duke University Health System. Prior to leading Duke, Dr. Albanese held the roles of Group Senior Vice President and System Chief Medical Officer at NewYork-Presbyterian Hospital, a $9.2 billion academic health system comprising ten hospitals. His earlier career included significant leadership positions at Stanford University where he served as Vice President of Quality and Performance Improvement at Stanford Children's Health and as Director of Pediatric Surgical Services at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Dr. Albanese received his medical degree from the State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn and complemented his clinical training with an MBA from Santa Clara University's Leavey School of Business.
Dr. Albanese has demonstrated exceptional expertise in healthcare operations and clinical integration, successfully guiding major academic medical centers through periods of significant expansion and transformation. During his leadership at NewYork-Presbyterian, he served as Chief Operating Officer for the organization's women's and children's hospitals, implementing strategic initiatives that enhanced patient care delivery across multiple service lines. His background as a practicing pediatric surgeon provided valuable clinical perspective to his administrative roles, particularly in developing quality improvement frameworks for surgical services during his time at Stanford Children's Health. Dr. Albanese's work has emphasized the critical connection between clinical excellence and operational efficiency, establishing him as a thought leader in integrated healthcare delivery models. His dual expertise in medicine and business administration has enabled him to develop innovative approaches that bridge the gap between clinical practice and healthcare management.
Dr. Albanese's leadership has been consistently recognized by major healthcare institutions, with his appointment to lead Kaiser Permanente's Integrated Care and Coverage division representing the latest acknowledgment of his transformative impact on healthcare delivery systems. Throughout his career, he has championed initiatives that prioritize patient-centered care while emphasizing compassion, innovation, and medical excellence, as noted by colleagues across multiple institutions. His strategic vision has helped shape the direction of academic medical centers through integrated service models that improve quality metrics and operational performance across complex healthcare systems. In his current role at Kaiser Permanente, Dr. Albanese oversees all market operations, hospital services, continuum care, pharmacy, and consumer experience, driving strategy and performance across the integrated healthcare system. His ongoing work continues to strengthen the foundation for value-based care approaches that meet evolving patient needs while maintaining the highest standards of clinical excellence.
