- After less than two and a half years in the position
- Praise for Ordan
- Jim Swift taking over
- Ordan will remain as executive chair at Pediatrix
- Ordan said 65 words
(exechange) — Fort Lauderdale, Florida, December 16, 2022 — Mark Ordan, chief executive of Pediatrix, leaves his position. As announced by Pediatrix Medical Group Inc. in a news release published on Thursday, December 15, 2022, and in a regulatory filing published on Friday, December 16, 2022, Mark S. Ordan leaves his post as chief executive officer at the provider of health care for women, babies and children, after less than two and a half years in the role, effective December 31, 2022.
The average tenure of CEOs who announced their departure over the past 12 months was 8.2 years. Around 23% of CEOs left their posts within three years. This is according to data collected by CEO-exit research firm exechange.
exechange tracks CEO departures at the 3,000 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S., examines the reasons CEOs leave and determines the Push‑out Score™, a measure of pressure on departing chief executives on a scale of 0 to 10.
Mark Ordan’s duties as CEO will be taken over by James D. (Jim) Swift, currently chief operating officer at Pediatrix Medical Group Inc.
“Now is the right time”
Mark Ordan’s departure from the CEO post is explained as follows. Ordan said: “With such a talented team in place, a very focused strategy, along with our strong financial position, I am confident that now is the right time to transition to executive chair.”
The top three reasons cited in corporate announcements for CEO departures over the past 12 months are performance issues (26.8% of cases), implementation of a planned succession (16.5%) and the statement that the time was right for a change (8.5%), according to exechange data. Other motives given for leadership changes included the outgoing CEO’s wish to pursue other opportunities (6.4% of cases), personal reasons (3%) and conduct issues (2.4%). Rather rarely stated reasons are health problems (2.1% of cases), career change (2.1%), the desire for more time with family (0.9%), disagreement (0.6%) and death (0.6%). Sometimes, more than one reason was given. In 29.9% of cases, no reason was given.
Ordan will remain as executive chair at Pediatrix
Pediatrix stated: “[T]he Company’s board of directors has appointed James D. Swift, M.D., as chief executive officer, to succeed Mark S. Ordan, who has been named executive chair of the Company’s board of directors and has served as chief executive officer since July 2020. Guy P. Sansone, who previously served as chair of the Company’s board of directors since July 2020, has been named lead independent director. Each of these transitions will go into effect at the end of the year. ”
“Succeed”
Pediatrix said: “On December 15, 2022, the Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Pediatrix Medical Group, Inc., a Florida corporation (the “Company”), appointed James D. Swift, M.D., as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and principal executive officer to succeed Mr. Mark S. Ordan, who has been appointed as the Executive Chair of the Board, each effective January 1, 2023.”
Generally, when companies make statements that indicate rather than directly describe the CEO’s departure (e.g., “Bob succeeds Tom as CEO” or “Tom is expected to continue to serve as CEO until Bob’s accession”), analysis may be hampered because such sentences lack a verb (such as “retire” or “resign”) that describes the implied departure from the CEO position.
Share price decline since December 2021
The announcement follows a decline in Pediatrix Medical Group Inc.’s share price of 37% since December 2021.
In the position of CEO since 2020
Mark Ordan became CEO of the Company in 2020.
Mark S. Ordan has been a Director and the Chief Executive Officer of the Company since July 2020.
Ordan most recently served as the Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the board of directors of Quality Care Properties, Inc. (“QCP”), a self-managed and self-administered real estate investment trust (“REIT”) and one of the nation’s largest actively-managed real estate companies focused on post-acute/skilled nursing and memory care/assisted living properties, from October 2016 to July 2018.
Prior to joining QCP, he served as a consultant to HCP, Inc. (NYSE:PEAK), a REIT which invests primarily in real estate serving the United States healthcare industry, from March 2016 until QCP’s spin-off from HCP, Inc. in October 2016.
Ordan previously held several positions at Washington Prime Group Inc., a retail REIT, including as a director from May 2014 to May 2017, Non-Executive Chairman of the board of directors from January 2016 to June 2016, Executive Chairman from January 2015 to January 2016, and Chief Executive Officer from May 2014 until January 2015.
From January 2013 to November 2013, Ordan served as a director and as the Chief Executive Officer of Sunrise Senior Living, LLC, the successor to the management business of Sunrise Senior Living, Inc. (formerly NYSE:SZR) (“Sunrise”), which had been an operator of approximately 300 senior living communities in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom, prior to its sale in January 2013.
Ordan served as Sunrise’s Chief Executive Officer from November 2008 to January 2013, as its Chief Investment and Administrative Officer from March 2008 to November 2008 and as a director from July 2008 to January 2013.
While at Sunrise, Ordan led its restructuring and oversaw its eventual sale to Health Care REIT, Inc. Prior to Sunrise, he served as the Chief Executive Officer and President of The Mills Corporation (“Mills”) (formerly NYSE:MLS), an owner and manager of a diversified portfolio of regional shopping malls and retail entertainment centers, from October 2006 to May 2007, as its Chief Operating Officer from February 2006 to October 2006 and as a director from December 2006 until March 2007.
While at Mills, Ordan oversaw its operations and its eventual sale to Simon Property Group, Inc. and Farallon Capital Management, L.L.C. in April 2007.
Prior to Mills, he served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Balducci’s LLC, a gourmet food store chain.
He also founded and served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Fresh Fields Markets, Inc., an organic foods supermarket chain, eventually leading the merger of the company with Whole Foods Markets, Inc.
Ordan was also previously employed in the equities division of the investment banking firm of Goldman Sachs & Co.
In February 2022, Ordan was appointed to serve on the Board of Directors of The Carlyle Group, a global investment firm, effective April 1, 2022.
Since February 2019, Ordan has served on the Board of Trustees of Federal Realty Investment Trust (NYSE:FRT), a REIT specializing in the ownership, management, development, and redevelopment of high quality retail assets, where he also previously served from 1996 to 2006, including as Chairman from 2001 to 2006.
Ordan has served on the board of directors of Elli Finance (UK) plc, the parent holding company of Four Seasons Health Care, a private home care operator, since October 2018.
Previously, Ordan served on the boards of VEREIT, Inc. (f/k/a American Realty Capital Properties, Inc.), a leading, full-service real estate operating company with investment management capability, a position he held from June 2015 until his appointment as the Company’s Chief Executive Officer in July 2020, and of Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. (formerly NYSE: FCEA), a real estate company that owns, develops, manages and acquires commercial and residential real estate, from April 2018 until its acquisition by a real estate fund of Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (NYSE: BAM) in December 2018.
Ordan currently serves on the boards of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Vassar College and Holton Arms School.
Ordan received a BA from Vassar College and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
65 words by Mark Ordan
In the news release announcing his departure as CEO of Pediatrix Medical Group Inc., Mark Ordan received praise.
In the announcement of the leadership change, Mark Ordan said 65 words.
“So pleased to continue working with Dr. Swift”
Mark Ordan stated: “It has been my privilege to lead this extraordinary organization as chief executive officer. With such a talented team in place, a very focused strategy, along with our strong financial position, I am confident that now is the right time to transition to executive chair. I am so pleased to continue working with Dr. Swift, our world-class group of clinicians and our extraordinarily dedicated team.”
Over the past 12 months, 26% of all outgoing CEOs remained silent in the departure announcement, according to data compiled by exechange. Departing CEOs who did make a statement said an average of 110 words. The longest statement was 382 words. The shortest statement was 23 words. Leadership transitions in which departing CEOs provide conspicuously short, excessively long or no explanations for their move are statistically associated with elevated pressure and show an increased incidence of Push-out Scores above the critical threshold of 5. In contrast, leadership changes are statistically associated with low pressure when departing CEOs speak more about their successors than their successes.
32% of CEOs are forced out or fired
When CEO departures are announced, exechange determines the Push-out Score on a scale of 0 to 10 to assess how likely it is that the chief executive was pushed out or felt pressure to leave the position, with 0 being most likely a voluntary move and 10 being most likely a forced exit. Anything over a 5 indicates that there are valid reasons to believe an executive may have been pushed out.
Of the 328 CEO departures in the Russell 3000 Index evaluated over the past 12 months (December 16, 2021, to December 15, 2022), the average Push-out Score was 5.6, according to exechange data. References to conduct issues, disagreements and irregularities lead to the highest Push-out Scores. When time with family, performance issues or other opportunities were cited as departure reasons, the average Push-out Scores were also significantly elevated.
Around 32% of the CEO departure events from the past 12 months received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher.
In other words, in the past 12 months, three in 10 departing CEOs were forced out or fired.
Pressure in the health care sector well above the critical threshold
Some industries are under generally higher pressure than others, and CEOs are feeling the strain. In the past 12 months, the communication, consumer staples and health care sectors showed the highest average Push-out Scores. By contrast, pressure on CEOs was lowest in the real estate, industrials and financials sectors, as measured by average Push-out Scores.
In the health care sector, which includes Pediatrix Medical Group Inc., the average Push-out Score over the past 12 months was 6.6, which is well above the critical threshold of 5.
In the health care sector, 23 exiting CEOs received Push-out Scores of 8 or higher over the past 12 months, indicating that they were most likely forced out or faced strong pressure to step down.
Push-out Score for Mark Ordan’s move determined
The Push-out Score regarding Mark Ordan’s move is explained point by point in the exechange report.
exechange reached out to Pediatrix and offered the company the opportunity to comment on the score.
Read the full story in the exechange report 51.2022 ($).