Leadership Team

Dr. Ralph de la Torre is the Chairman and CEO of Steward Health Care Systems LLC. Prior to founding Steward, Dr. de la Torre was CEO of Caritas Christi Health Care, where he led the transformation of a six-hospital system and developed the business model for Steward, which was subsequently invested in by Cerberus Capital Management.

Previously, Dr. de la Torre was founder and CEO of the Cardiovascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and of Cardiovascular Management Associates, one of the nation's first totally integrated systems for treating cardiac patients. At the same time, Dr. de la Torre was Chief of Cardiac Surgery at BIDMC and a Harvard Medical Faculty Physician at BIDMC ‒ he was widely recognized as one of the top cardiac surgeons in the nation.

He has founded several health care-related businesses and has numerous issued or pending patents. A frequent commentator on national health care policy issues, Dr. de la Torre has bylined and/or been featured in Businessweek, Fortune, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and Fox Business, among other outlets. He was recently voted one of the 25 most powerful physician executives in the United States by Modern Healthcare magazine. Dr. de la Torre graduated from Duke University in 1988 (B.S.E.), where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi, and from a joint program between Harvard Medical School (M.D.) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.S.) in 1992.

Dr. Mark Girard, President of the Northeast Hospital Region, is a national leader in disease management, population health, accountable care, clinical integration, and alternative payment models. An architect of Steward’s ACO and community care model, he previously served as President of Steward Hospitals. Dr. Girard is a graduate of Harvard Medical School and Bowdoin College. He also holds an MBA from the Salem State College Graduate School of Business.

Dr. Michael Callum is President of Steward Medical Group & Executive Vice President for Physician Services, a network of physicians employed by Steward that includes both specialists and primary care physicians. Under his leadership, Steward Medical Group has emerged as a national leader in clinical integration, quality performance and patient outcomes-based reimbursement. Dr. Callum is a graduate of the Boston University School of Medicine, where he received his M.A. in medical science and his M.D. He also holds an M.S. in public health from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry.

Dr. Joseph Weinstein is Chief Medical Officer of Steward Health Care System. A fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Cardiology, he has since 1987 been at the forefront of providing high-quality cardiovascular care to patients of Southeastern Massachusetts. Dr. Weinstein is board certified in internal medicine and cardiovascular disease. He completed his residency in internal medicine at Boston City Hospital before a fellowship in cardiovascular disease with Boston University. He graduated summa cum laude from a six-year medical education program at Boston University and the Boston University School of Medicine.

Dr. Sanjay Shetty is Executive Vice President for Corporate and Business Development. Before this role, he served as the President of Steward Health Care Network, the second largest physician network in Massachusetts. Dr. Shetty is a practicing radiologist and an Associate Clinical Professor of Radiology at Tufts University School of Medicine. He is a graduate of Harvard College, Harvard Medical School and the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania (MBA).

Brian Carty is the Chief Marketing Officer of Steward Health Care System and a nationally recognized authority on marketing in service companies. Prior to joining Steward, he served as president of three advertising agencies, including Hill Holliday in Boston, where he acquired new clients including Verizon Wireless, Fidelity Investments and Dunkin’ Donuts. Under Governor Michael Dukakis, Mr. Carty was the CEO of MIFA, the state's investment bank, where he issued more than $1 billion in health care bonds for Massachusetts hospitals. He graduated with honors from Harvard College.

Herb Holtz is the General Counsel at Steward Health Care and a nationally distinguished health care attorney. Mr. Holtz brings three decades of legal experience to Steward spanning health care, intellectual property, and employment law. Prior to joining Steward, he spent nearly 15 years as a partner at the Boston law firm Holtz & Reed, where he served as outside counsel for Boston’s major academic medical centers, including the Harvard teaching hospitals and Massachusetts General Hospital. Named the “2014 Lawyer of the Year” by Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, Mr. Holtz has also been honored as a New England Super Lawyer and Massachusetts Super Lawyer. He is a graduate of Connecticut College and earned his J.D. from Boston College.

John Doyle is Chief Financial Officer for Steward Health Care. As CFO for IASIS Healthcare from 2010 until its merger with Steward, John oversaw tremendous growth in both acute care delivery networks and managed care risk platforms. Prior to his 15-year tenure at IASIS, John managed a variety of health care engagements for Ernst & Young. A distinguished graduate of Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, John is a CPA with over 30 years of financial experience.

John Polanowicz is the Chief Operating Officer of Steward Health Care System. Mr. Polanowicz previously served as the Secretary of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services from 2013 to 2015 and the President of Steward St. Elizabeth’s Medical Center from 2011 to 2013. He attended the United State Military Academy at West Point and served in the United States Army. After his military service, he earned an MBA from Stanford.

Julie Berry is Chief Information Officer of Steward Health Care System. She has more than 20 years of experience delivering technology solutions to support strategy in the health care system. Ms. Berry holds a B.S. from Suffolk University and is a member of the Massachusetts Health Data Consortium Technical Advisory Board.

Rubén José King-Shaw, Jr., is the Chief Strategy Officer of Steward Health Care System and President of Steward Health Care Network. Mr. King-Shaw previously held the position of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Mansa Equity Partners, Inc, and was a member of Steward Health Care System’s board of directors. Throughout his career, he has spent considerable time in public service leading both state and federal government health programs. At the state level, under Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Mr. King-Shaw was the Secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. The Agency was responsible for Florida’s State Medicaid Program, Health Quality Assurance, Survey and Certification of healthcare facilities, Managed Care and the Child Health Insurance Program (CHIP).

Mr. King-Shaw also served as Deputy Administrator and Chief Operating Officer of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) from 2001 to 2003 during the administration of President George W. Bush. He was also senior advisor to the Secretary of the U.S. Treasury, where he led the Administration's Health Coverage Tax Credit policies to finance coverage for the uninsured. In 2011, Mr. King-Shaw was appointed to the Obama Administration's Program Advisory and Oversight Committee to monitor and provide guidance to Medicare's value-based purchasing program for Durable Medical Equipment. Currently, he is an advisor to the Trump Administration in the areas of fraud, waste and abuse, and alternative payment models.

Mark Rich is the Executive Vice President of Global Operations of Steward Health Care System. He has oversight of all domestic and international strategy and services. Previously, he was Steward's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer where he oversaw all financial operations, and recapitalization of the company. During and prior to this time, Mark was Steward's Executive Vice President for Corporate Development where he led all major acquisitions culminating in quadrupling the overall size of Steward in one year. Prior to that, he was the Chief Financial Officer of Caritas Christi Health Care. He graduated from the State University of New York, Binghamton.

Laura Tortorella is the Executive Vice President of Operations of Steward Health Care System. In this role, she oversees labor management, supply chain, and hospital operational initiatives as well as the system’s predictive analytics, artificial intelligence, and operational platforms. Ms. Tortorella has over 14 years in health care business management. Before joining Steward, she held management positions overseeing the respiratory disease division at Children’s Hospital, Boston. Ms. Tortorella earned a Bachelor of Arts in biology from Harvard College and MBA from Babson College’s F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business.

Patrick Lombardo is the Executive Vice President of Human Resources of Steward Health Care System. In this role, he oversees benefit administration, compensation, labor relations, employee relations, learning and development, and serves as part of the Executive Leadership Team. Mr. Lombardo has more than 25 years in health care senior leadership positions. Prior to joining Steward, he held human resource executive positions at IASIS Health Care and Community Health Systems, which are both located in Nashville, Tennessee, and at Health Management Associates in Naples, Florida. Mr. Lombardo received a bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in human resources and a master’s in counseling from the University of Scranton.

With over 20 years of experience in health care around the world, Dr. Armin Ernst brings deep expertise in traditional and innovative delivery systems and extensive managerial experience in building integrated, high-performance systems and teams within large academic medical centers, ambulatory care systems, and for-profit and non-profit health care environments. A Harvard-trained and globally-recognized physician and teacher, Dr. Ernst emphasizes the need for fully integrated high-quality care to achieve best outcomes and create sustainable delivery systems.