Growing up in India, Fahad Tahir, president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas, dreamed of ways he could make a meaningful impact on the world. After earning his bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Fahad went on to get a master’s degree from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and an MBA from Loyola University Chicago.
Prior to joining Ascension Saint Thomas, Fahad held leadership roles in Washington, D.C., and Milwaukee, where he oversaw medical groups and value-based care and earned three Health Care Innovation Awards from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. He joined Saint Thomas in April 2014 as the president and CEO of Saint Thomas Medical Partners. In 2018, Fahad became the president and CEO of Ascension Saint Thomas Hospital, Midtown and West, and he now oversees the system’s 16 hospitals. His greatest passion is serving others.
What did you want to be when you grew up? I was less focused on a specific career and more driven by a desire to make a meaningful impact on people’s lives. In India, I was deeply influenced by the universal aspirations we all share for our families — a safe, healthy life filled with opportunity. This desire to help others and serve the greater good naturally drew me toward health care and ultimately to Ascension Saint Thomas.
What brings you joy in your work? The future. I’m surrounded every day by passionate and energetic people. Seeing them light up and brimming with purpose brings me joy. We have incredible physicians and leaders who have such wide-eyed optimism about the future of health care and the future of Nashville. I’ve seen some incredible, awe-inspiring examples of creativity, energy and purpose. I am constantly motivated by our team’s vision for the future and our collective effort to think bigger and aim higher in what’s possible.
What’s the best advice you’ve received? The best advice I’ve ever received is to listen first and seek to understand. Trust is foundational in all relationships, and this advice has guided me to focus on building and maintaining trust in every interaction. It’s also taught me to respect the complexity of the decisions we face daily, ensuring that they are made with a deep understanding of their impact on the people we serve.
What’s surprised you most about what you do? I am a student of history. I love learning the connections and interwoven memories that have made Nashville who we are today — and seeing the interwoven connections to Ascension Saint Thomas. The women who founded Saint Thomas came to Nashville with hearts of service, and [the organization] has grown alongside the city and region over generations.
As our community has experienced milestones, so have our hospitals and health systems, whether those are industry milestones or stories of serving families. I am constantly amazed by the stories people share — whether it’s a cherished memory of the care a loved one received or the strength they found during a challenging health battle.
What changes do you hope to see in the future of health care? Modern health care has incredible bright spots of technology, innovation and life-saving care. While these bright spots are essential and we can be proud of this progress, we have more to do to make health care more accessible and affordable for everyone in our community. I hope to see a closer alignment between health care costs and outcomes in the U.S. Currently, health care consumes nearly 18% of our GDP, yet our health outcomes, like life expectancy, lag behind many developed nations. This disconnect shows we’re not getting the best value for our investment.
Health care is a community-driven process. By breaking down silos and prioritizing partnerships — especially in a health care hub like Nashville — our city can lead the way in modeling how care is delivered.
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