Statement by Jo-Anne Poirier on behalf of the CHEO Board of Directors

June 27, 2024 - After 13 years of exceptional leadership, Alex Munter will be moving on from his role as President and CEO at CHEO in October 2024 to become CEO of the Canadian Medical Association and the CMA’s group of companies. Thanks to his innovative approach, we have been able to grow CHEO to better meet the needs of a growing population of children, youth and families. Alex is the longest serving children’s hospital CEO in the country and longest serving hospital CEO in Ottawa. His thoughtful, effective leadership shepherded the organization through periods of financial austerity and a global pandemic. He will be leaving at an exciting juncture as CHEO transforms its programs and campus to right-size pediatric care in our region, the result of years of advocacy.

While we are sad to lose such an exemplary leader, we can only extend our deepest thanks for all we have accomplished together during this time. The CHEO Board of Directors will be actively recruiting a successor in the coming months. We want to wish Alex the best in his new role in helping to build a strong health system for everyone, something he was born to do.

- Jo-Anne Poirier, Chair, CHEO Board of Directors

Alex’s letter to Team CHEO

Dear CHEO colleagues,

It is with mixed emotions that I write to let you know that, after 13 amazing years here, I will leave CHEO this fall to become CEO of the Canadian Medical Association and the CMA’s group of companies.

I have been part of Team CHEO longer than I have ever worked in any organization in my life. Being here has changed me as a person, helped me develop skills I never knew I had and inspired me in ways I will never, ever forget. I will take that experience with me to my next role but a part of my heart will remain with CHEO forever.

I am very honoured to have been chosen, by a board of leading physicians from every corner of Canada, to head the administration of the CMA and its subsidiaries. Founded the same year Canada became a country, the CMA has a storied history and has helped create much of the framework for healthcare in Canada – from the first public health regulations and launch of Canada’s leading medical journal over a century ago to more recent progress on healthcare funding, Covid response and combatting disinformation.

In that same spirit, the CMA has set some pretty ambitious goals – for itself and for the future of healthcare. A healthcare workforce plan, including portable licenses. Improving physician wellness by reducing administrative burdens. Net-zero health systems. Indigenous-led health transformation. And much more. I am excited about working with doctors, medical learners, patients and caregivers, other healthcare professionals and governments to help advance these goals.

When I joined CHEO in 2011, we had an annual operating budget of just under $200 million. This year, we will exceed $500 million, deliver a broader reach of programs and services to more kids and families than ever before, we’ve gone fully digital, our research and philanthropic missions have never been stronger and our campus will be redeveloped and modernized in coming years. At 50, CHEO’s future never looked better.

In my new role, I will still work closely with pediatric physicians, CHEO and many other healthcare organizations. And, of course, I am the parent of a six-year-old. So like every other parent and caregiver in our region, I am deeply invested in CHEO’s success. I will always have CHEO’s back.

I’ll be here until October. So there’ll be plenty of time to say “au revoir”. And there’s still lots to do – so let’s all get back to work.

Alex