Thomas M. Priselac

Thomas M. Priselac, President and CEO Emeritus of Cedars-Sinai, is an advocate for improving quality and access in healthcare, He has developed strategic and operational innovations to foster high‑quality, safe and efficient care for patients. Under his leadership, Cedars-Sinai has earned an international reputation for quality care, community service, research and education, while evolving from a community hospital to a major health system that continues to expand to better serve patients. 

Priselac holds the Warschaw/Law Endowed Chair in Healthcare Leadership at Cedars‑Sinai. He joined Cedars-Sinai in 1979 and, until his retirement in 2024, served as President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Medical Center beginning in 1994, and also as President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai Health System from its formation in 2017. Before being appointed to his current role, he was executive vice president of Cedars‑Sinai from 1988 to 1993. Earlier in his career, he served on the executive staff of Montefiore Hospital in Pittsburgh.

Active in policy discussions regarding the delivery and financing of health care, Priselac is past Chair of the American Hospital Association Board of Trustees, serving as Chair during the development of the Affordable Care Act. He is also a past Chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges and formerly chaired the California Hospital Association and the Hospital Association of Southern California Board of Trustees. He currently serves on the USC Leonard D. Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics Advisory Board and the RAND Social and Economic Policy Advisory Board. He is also an Adjunct Professor at the UCLA School of Public Health.

Priselac has received numerous awards for his leadership in healthcare and his commitment to improving the health of the underserved, including the American Hospital Association’s Distinguished Service Award, B’nai B’rith International’s National Healthcare Leadership Award, the Special Needs Network’s Distinguished Community Champion Corporate Leadership Award and the Charles R. Drew University Board of Trustees Medal of Honor.

Priselac earned a bachelor’s degree in biology from Washington and Jefferson College and a master's in public health, health services administration and planning from the University of Pittsburgh.