The Memorial Health Board of Directors announced that it has selected Kerry Watson to serve as interim CEO. Watson is a proven healthcare executive with more than 20 years of experience in leading, managing, and directing major hospitals and healthcare organizations. He will join Memorial Health the week of April 17.

“We are grateful to have a leader with Kerry’s credentials joining us as interim CEO,” said J. Curtis Lewis III, Chair of the Memorial Health Board of Directors. “We are confident that he will provide outstanding leadership for Memorial.”

Watson is the president & CEO of Watson Healthcare & Management Solutions, which provides executive-level hospital management and operations. He most recently served as interim system COO and hospital president at Arnot Health and Arnot Ogden Medical Center, a 256-bed tertiary medical center in Elmira, N.Y. He previously served as president of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, an affiliate teaching hospital in the Partners Healthcare System in Boston, and as president of Duke Regional Hospital, a 369-bed teaching hospital affiliated with Duke University Health System.

Watson holds a Bachelor of Science degree in radiological sciences and health administration from George Washington University and a Master of Arts degree in organizational management from the University of Phoenix.

Watson was selected by an ad hoc search committee, which included representatives of the Memorial Health Board of Directors, the Chatham County Hospital Authority, and the President of the Medical Staff. The committee interviewed several outstanding candidates and selected Watson from a group of finalists. “We believe Kerry has the operational and financial experience necessary to help Memorial succeed in these challenging times,” said CCHA chair Frank Rossiter, M.D., who was a member of the search committee.