Shaun E. Smith is executive vice president and chief people officer (CPO) of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc., and Kaiser Foundation Hospitals. In this role, he leads Kaiser Permanente’s enterprise-wide human resources strategy and operations, aligning people strategies with the organization’s mission of providing high-quality, affordable health care services to its members and communities. As CPO, he oversees the programs and functions that support Kaiser Permanente’s workforce and helps ensure the organization remains among the best places to work in health care.
Smith has more than 25 years of experience leading workforce and people strategies, organizational transformation, labor relations, and culture initiatives in large, complex health care organizations. He joins Kaiser Permanente from NewYork-Presbyterian, where he served as group senior vice president and chief people and culture officer. As the organization’s top human resources executive, he led people strategy for a 45,000-employee academic health system and served as a member of the CEO Cabinet and Executive Council.
During his tenure at NewYork-Presbyterian, Smith oversaw labor relations, organizational transformation, workforce integration, culture initiatives, executive succession planning, and enterprise AI transformation efforts. He also led the organization’s workforce response during the COVID-19 pandemic and played a key role in integrating the workforces of multiple hospitals and medical groups.
Prior to NewYork-Presbyterian, Smith served as vice president and chief human resources officer at CVPH Medical Center and held human resources leadership roles at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Earlier in his career, he held staffing and recruiting leadership roles in the private sector.
Smith earned a law degree and a Bachelor of Business Administration from Pace University. He serves on several nonprofit and educational boards, including Pace University and the Rogosin Institute, and has held academic leadership and teaching roles focused on health care and human resources management. He is also active in professional organizations dedicated to health care leadership and human resources excellence.