Keith Vander Kolk and Zeina Khouri-Stevens Named Executives for Joint Venture with Saudi Aramco

To the Johns Hopkins Medicine community

Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce that Keith Vander Kolk, M.A., M.B.A., B.B.A., and Zeina Khouri-Stevens, R.N., Ph.D., have been named the nominees for chief executive officer and chief nursing officer for a new joint venture between Johns Hopkins Medicine International (JHI) and Saudi Aramco, a world leader in energy.

These executive nominations mark the first major milestone in the creation of a new health care organization designed to strengthen the health care delivery system and establish population health strategies for Saudi Aramco's 350,000 employees, beneficiaries and retirees.

Since the signing in June, a transition team of leaders from JHI and Saudi Aramco have focused on preparing for the launch of this new company, which will bring enhanced specialty and subspecialty services, plus many new patient safety, research and education programs to address some of the most significant health care issues in the Middle East.

As part of our deep commitment to this venture, Johns Hopkins Medicine is providing from our own ranks the nominees for several executive leadership positions, starting with Keith and Zeina. Keith brings a breadth of health care leadership experience—including hospital administration, population health and building startups—to the joint venture. He has led operations at Pender Community Hospital, Siouxland Regional Cancer Center and Sierra Military Health Services, a health care company that operates in a 13-state region. Since 2009, he has served as vice president of employer health programs for Johns Hopkins Medicine, where he has been responsible for overall management of self-funded employee health plans across all Johns Hopkins entities.

Zeina began her leadership career at Johns Hopkins as a clinical nurse specialist on the neurosciences critical care unit, and in the Departments of Neuroscience, Surgery and Emergency Medicine in 1999. She took on positions of increasing responsibility, including a 2005 appointment to director of nursing for inpatient surgery and neurosciences.

Saudi Aramco will also provide nominees for several executive positions, including the chief financial officer, Michael Turner. Michael is a certified public accountant who has worked at Saudi Aramco for more than two decades, filling many positions within its finance organizations.

Throughout our rigorous due diligence process, we were continually impressed with Saudi Aramco's deep-rooted commitment to the health of its beneficiaries. Our institution will play an integral role in shaping the future of health care for an organization whose standards of excellence have historically helped drive innovation in all areas of life across the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

This partnership also holds great promise for the Johns Hopkins Medicine community, as it will provide unparalleled clinical and research opportunities.

Keith and Zeina start initial work on-site in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, next week and will assume their official positions at the launch of the joint venture in early 2014.
We hope you share in our excitement about this partnership and in supporting Keith and Zeina as we fulfill our mission of improving the health of the community and the world by setting the standard of excellence in medical education, research and clinical care.

Sincerely,

Paul B. Rothman, M.D.
Dean of the Medical Faculty
CEO, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Ronald R. Peterson
President
The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System
EVP, Johns Hopkins Medicine

Steven J. Thompson, M.B.A.
Chief Executive Officer, Johns Hopkins Medicine International
Sr. Vice President, Johns Hopkins Medicine