The newly hired President and CEO at Chatham-Kent Health Alliance (CKHA) comes with some controversy because of his sudden departure from his last job, but CKHA seems fine with it.
A CBC report out of Manitoba shows that Adam Topp left Manitoba Shared Health in April 2023 after only having served as its CEO for four months.
The reporting also noted Topp's compensation increased by 83 per cent last year, while other executives received the same pay bumps as unionized staff.
Topp earned $603,604 in 2023, according to public compensation disclosures, and his exit from the provincial healthcare organization was described as unexpected. Shared Health Manitoba announced Topp's resignation in a two-sentence statement.
CKHA announced his hiring late last week and on Tuesday Board Chair Deb Crawford maintained she is delighted to have Topp as their new leader.
"CKHA retained Miriam Beckers who held a robust, transparent and thorough selection process for the recruitment of the new President and CEO at CKHA. The CKHA Board is pleased with the decision and very much look forward to welcoming Adam to the organization and our community in the Fall," wrote Crawford in a statement to CK News Today.
Crawford didn't say whether the board knew about Topp's sudden departure or if the board members still have confidence in the vetting process to hire someone new.
Topp officially assumes his role on October 1, 2024.
He also brings leadership experience in hospital clinical and financial operations, as well as consulting, government and entrepreneurship, according to CKHA. And has experience in health system ownership transfers and amalgamations, post-transformation change management, governance and priority setting, and facilities planning and redevelopment, CKHA said.