[January 17, 2013; Philadelphia, PA] – On November 14, 2012, Mark “Bo” Connell assumed the position of Executive Director for Penn Vet’s Matthew J. Ryan Veterinary Hospital for companion animals at Penn Vet’s Philadelphia campus.
Mr. Connell comes to Penn Vet with years of experience in leadership, finance, planning, and healthcare administration. In the past, he served as the Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Savannah College of Art and Design where he led the planning, development, and start-up of SCAD Hong Kong, the first US degree-granting institution to open in Hong Kong, and assisted with a $380-million operating and capital budget.
Prior to working at SCAD, Mr. Connell served as Director and Administrative Manager for Memorial Health University Medical Center in Savannah, GA, where he developed business and financial plans, managed an ambulatory surgery expansion, increased outpatient surgical volumes by 35 percent, and established a ten-year strategic vision with measurable annual operating plans to meet objectives. Earlier in his career Mr. Connell served as the Director of Marketing for the New Hanover Health Network in North Carolina.
Mr. Connell has directed due diligence teams to evaluate acquisition opportunities valued at more than $152 million; facilitated hospital-physician joint venture partnership, resulting in revenue growth of $9 million; and created and managed an inpatient medicine program to reduce hospital operating costs by $1.5 million.
In addition to strategic planning experience, Mr. Connell brings extensive knowledge of academic teaching hospitals. His peers and colleagues uniformly describe him as an outstanding leader of great integrity.
Mr. Connell earned his Master of Business Administration from the University of Florida, and a Master of Health Services Administration degree from the University of Central Florida.