Steering an academic medical center through a global health crisis demands remarkable humility, a relentless commitment to partnership, and true collaboration. However, what it perhaps doesn’t demand is a one-size-fits-all, traditional healthcare background. On that note, when Alan Kaplan, MD, first began his role as Chief Executive Officer at UW Health in Wisconsin five years ago, this was his first foray into academic healthcare – his prior academic experience limited to his experience as a student attending school. Alan, who’d been a senior healthcare executive for 25 years, learned he was actually the only candidate for the job without an academic background and was chosen for his know-how as a physician leader who understood how to run a business. To share his journey, Alan’s here on our podcast in a conversation hosted by Oliver Wyman partner, Deirdre Baggot, PhD, RN, to discuss physician leadership, provider-sponsored health plans, the importance of having a living strategic plan, what defines an effective partnership strategy, and why diversity of perspective and background among C-suite healthcare leaders serves as a competitive advantage.