Name: Dave Caspers
Previous title: Chief operating officer, Ardent Health
New title: CEO, Ardent Health
Caspers takes the reins of the Tennessee-based health system, which operates 30 hospitals and other care facilities across six states, effective immediately. He succeeds Marty Bonick, who served for more than five years as CEO, but stepped down to pursue other opportunities, the health system said Tuesday.
The appointment of Caspers, who previously served as the company’s COO, comes as the company says it’s doubling down on growth.
Ardent went public in 2024, saying the extra cash would help it acquire other businesses and technologies. It was the health system’s second attempt at going public, after it abandoned its initial effort in 2020 due to poor market conditions.
Ardent has been making good on its promise to grow. Shortly after it hit the public markets, the health system acquired 18 urgent care centers in New Mexico and Oklahoma.
Still, the health system’s stock has struggled in the wake of its initial public offering. Ardent’s stock price is down more than 50% since its debut, driven by a sell-off in late 2025 after Ardent wrote-down its revenue by $43 million due to what it said were “hindsight evaluations” and modifications to how it tracked its accounts and collections from insurers.
In an attempt to improve its margins and performance, Ardent launched a program dubbed “Impact” that Caspers oversaw since he joined the health system in March 2025, the company said.
Prior to Ardent, Caspers held leadership roles at Walmart Health, nonprofit health system Banner Health and Target.
Ardent posted $40 million of income on $1.6 billion in revenue for the first quarter of this year. It expects $129 million to $183 million in net income this year and between $6.4 billion and $6.7 billion in revenue.
