Healthcare Executive MBA students, Ben Davis, medical director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, and Jeff Cady, associate director of strategic accounts at Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems, were recognized on April 24 as outstanding graduating students from the Walton College Class of 2020.
Davis said there were “several brilliant, deserving students” who could have received the award, and Cady said he could name a dozen others who were “equally deserving.”
Cady was flattered and honored, but with “so many talented people in the cohort,” he did not feel deserving despite his hard work. Davis shared the same sentiment.
Due to a large focus on group work, Davis said he would not have done as well without the “very solid group that was maintained through the program.” Davis gave thanks to teammates Chelsea Sykes, Wells Tucker and Ava Whewell, and his wife, LeeAnn. “If anyone deserves an award, it’s her,” he said.
The value of effective group work was noted by Cady as well. He recognized group members Price Boney, Phil Lang, Reid Davis, Justin Butler and Marcus Iezzi as committed members dedicated to producing high quality work. Cady said, “It was always a moral boost to get on a call or have a meeting with the team. We all seemed to be on the same page from day one. We all became good friends both inside and outside the program.”
Despite their modesty, both recipients received broad support from Executive MBA faculty.
Davis received his bachelor’s degree in chemistry in 2003 from Hendrix College and received his doctorate from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences in 2008. He joined the United States Navy Reserve in 2003 and completed his general surgery residency while serving as a lieutenant in the United States Navy. Davis was promoted to lieutenant commander in 2013 and later served as a general surgeon for the Special Marine Air-Ground Task Force in Italy and Morocco.
Davis completed his Surgical Critical Care Fellowship at Oregon Health and Science University in Portland before returning to Arkansas to serve as an assistant professor of surgery at UAMS in 2017. Davis accepted a position as the medical director of the Surgical Intensive Care Unit at UAMS in August 2019.
Davis said, “The landscape in medicine is changing rapidly, and not always for the better. The current pandemic has shown that matters of economics, supply chain, finance, health policy [and] analytics have a tangible impact on the optimal delivery of healthcare.” Davis chose to pursue his EMBA because he believed “strong physician leadership can help steer change in a direction that benefits everyone.” The Walton EMBA helped prepare him for leadership roles in healthcare, and Davis said he “learned many skills in the program, but more than anything the EMBA taught the language of business and executives.” Davis said, “There is a language barrier between business and medicine that has to be overcome to make the best decisions for patients, healthcare providers and the public.”
Cady received his bachelor’s degree in business from Texas A&M in Corpus Christi in 1990. He held sales representative roles in South Texas before joining DePuy Synthes, a medical device subsidiary of Johnson and Johnson, in 2000. Cady served as the North Texas regional manager for DePuy until 2017 before he accepted a position as the associate director of strategic accounts at Johnson and Johnson Health Care Systems in April 2017.
Cady chose to pursue his Healthcare EMBA to help him relate to, understand and better communicate with healthcare professionals. He joined the program with a supply chain background and has used his time in the program to develop more effective healthcare delivery models and supply chains at Johnson and Johnson. Cady said exposure to data science and a greater depth of understanding in finance has opened up relationships, conversations and avenues in his organization and said the Walton Healthcare Executive MBA program was “worth every penny for the foundation it provided.”
When asked why he thought both nominations for the 2020 Outstanding Graduating Student were for students from the Healthcare EMBA cohort, Cady said people in healthcare, at least those that make it past the “magic mark” (typically around five years) where they decide to “stick with it” or find a different career path, are very passionate and serious about what they do — they give 110%. Cady said everyone in the Healthcare EMBA cohort knew precisely why they were getting their EMBA.
Davis and Cady have very different backgrounds and future aspirations in the healthcare field, but both claimed the program made them better communicators, providers and healthcare executives.
Congratulations Ben Davis, Jeff Cady and the graduating Executive MBA Class of 2020!
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