Northwell Health’s longtime CEO plans to retire, and a new leader is named

After leading Northwell Health for more than two decades, Michael Dowling is planning to step down as president and CEO of the New York health system.

Michael Dowling, left, is stepping down as president and CEO of Northwell Health in October. John D’Angelo, an executive vice president at Northwell, has been named the system's next CEO.

Northwell said that Dowling is retiring Oct. 1, making the announcement in a press release early Wednesday morning. Dowling will remain with Northwell as CEO Emeritus and will serve in an advisory capacity. He plans to focus on teaching and writing.

John D’Angelo, an executive vice president at Northwell, has been named as the system’s new president and chief executive officer and will step into his new role in October. D’Angelo has been with Northwell for more than 25 years and Northwell said he was chosen after a national search.

Based in Long Island, Northwell has grown into one of the 10 largest nonprofit hospital systems in America under Dowling’s leadership. Just last week, Northwell completed the acquisition of Nuvance Health, a system serving Connecticut and New York’s Hudson Valley. With the merger, Northwell now operates 28 hospitals and more than 1,000 healthcare locations, and the system boasts $22.6 billion in revenue.

“It has been an extraordinary privilege to lead Northwell through a period of unprecedented growth and clinical transformation that has enabled our team members to make a meaningful difference and improve the lives of the tens of millions of patients and families who we’ve cared for over the last 25 years,” Dowling said in a statement.

Dowling helped expand Northwell’s medical education programs with the opening of the Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine in 2008 and the Hofstra-Northwell School of Nursing.

Northwell has expanded its research capacity during Dowling’s tenure, notably with the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, which engages in research of cancer, autoimmune disorders and a host of other diseases.

Northwell has collaborated with Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on cancer research for a decade, and they recently extended their affiliation for another decade. Northwell is committing $150 million over the next 10 years to accelerate cancer research.

Richard Barakat, MD, physician-in-chief and executive director of the Northwell Health Cancer Institute, called Dowling a “visionary leader.”

Dowling has emerged as an outspoken leader in fighting gun violence, and he has urged fellow hospital leaders to take a larger role in tackling the nation’s leading cause of death in children. Northwell hosts an annual forum on gun violence, and at this year’s event, he acknowledged growing headwinds in curbing firearm-related deaths but also said that it’s a time for leadership.

“Nostalgia is not a strategy,” he said in February. “We want to go forward, not back.”

Dowling helped form the National Health Care CEO Council on Gun Violence Prevention and Safety, and he said he’s been encouraged that more hospital executives are speaking out on the issue. Over 60 health systems have joined the council.

“It should never be a partisan issue when it comes to the lives and the future of our kids, when it comes to the well-being of families, when it comes to building solid, decent communities, when it comes to safety on the streets, safety in the schools, safety in places of worship, safety in our hospitals,” he said.

In a 2023 interview with Chief Healthcare Executive®, Dowling talked about the importance of continuing to strive for excellence and overcoming a key obstacle.

“The status quo is your biggest competitor,” he said in 2023. “Complacency is the biggest danger.”

“Leadership is about aiming high,” Dowling explained. “And when you get to your target, raise the bar. That's what leadership is about: constantly raising the bar. You'll inspire people to go above and beyond what they think is possible.”

D’Angelo, who will be Northwell’s next president and CEO, serves as executive vice president of the system’s central region. He began his career at Northwell as an emergency medicine doctor at Glen Cove Hospital.

Northwell’s board of trustees appointed D’Angelo in a unanimous vote.

Dowling hailed D’Angelo as “a tremendous leader who will lead Northwell to greater heights.”

“John is someone who understands and champions Northwell’s unique and differentiated culture and his clinical and operational acumen coupled with skills as a decisive and collaborative leader will enable Northwell to raise the bar on the quality of care we deliver to the communities we serve in New York and Connecticut,” Dowling said in a statement.