Bill Gassen

Bill Gassen is president and CEO of Sanford Health, a $12.5 billion integrated health system serving communities primarily across the upper Midwest. Headquartered in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, Sanford Health is dedicated to transforming the health care experience and providing access to world-class health care in America’s heartland. Since taking on the role of president and CEO in 2020, Bill has been dedicated to improving quality, sustainability and access to care for patients across the upper Midwest. In 2022, Gassen announced that Sanford Health’s strategic position and aspirational goal is to be the premier rural health system in the United States, with a commitment to ensuring the quality of care a person receives is not limited by their zip code. In 2024, Bill led Sanford Health through historic transformation with the opening of the new Sanford Health Virtual Care Center in Sioux Falls, SD. The Virtual Care Center is part of Sanford’s $350 million initiative designed to improve care for rural and underserved communities and train the next generation of clinicians. Sanford Health serves over 2 million patients and 415,000 health plan members across the upper Midwest. The integrated health system has 58 medical centers, 55,000 employees, 4,500 Sanford physicians and advanced practice providers, 500 clinical investigators and research scientists, 145 senior care communities and world clinics in 5 countries around the globe. In 2025, Gassen was elected as chair-elect designate of the American Hospital Association (AHA) Board of Trustees.

Please note that speakers provide their own biographies and headshots. Biographies represent the role of the person at the time of their engagement and are not independently verified by the Milken Institute.