Tom Cigarran

Tom Cigarran received his Bachelor of Science degree from Villanova University and his M.B.A. from New York University’s Stern School of Business. He began his career in health care in the occupational and preventive health fields in New York, first with a wholly owned subsidiary of Dun and Bradstreet and then with a private company. In 1977, he joined Hospital Affiliates, International in Nashville as a corporate officer. In 1981, upon the sale of Hospital Affiliates to HCA, he co-founded American Healthcorp, Inc. where he served as President and CEO.

In its early years American Healthcorp was active in general hospital management, substance abuse treatment for adolescents through its subsidiary Koala Centers, and hospital-based diabetes care centers of excellence in over 100 hospitals nationwide. After changing its corporate name to Healthways, it pioneered in the field of chronic disease management primarily in diabetes, cardiac and pulmonary diseases. It also pioneered in the wellness and wellbeing fields becoming the largest company in both areas.

Within Healthways he co-founded and served as chairman and CEO of AmSurg Corp, which became the largest single specialty outpatient Surgery Center company in the U.S. with over 275 centers nationwide and became a separate public company. He has served on the boards of several public and private health care organizations including Vanderbilt University Medical Center,
Alive Hospice, the Mental Health Association of Middle Tennessee and the Nashville Health Care Council.

Tom has been an active supporter of education in Nashville for the last 20 years. He has served on the board of Harpeth Hall School and chaired the advisory board of Vanderbilt’s Owen School’s Healthcare MBA program. He has also been active for decades in working to develop the future leaders of Haiti, through sponsoring schools, college students and emerging businesses in Haiti.

For two years in a row, Cigarran was named in Nashville’s Business Journal “Power 100” for his impact on the region’s business scene. From 2009 to 2019, he also served as chairman of the ownership group of the Nashville Predators NHL team. In whatever he does he believes in setting big goals, finding and retaining the very best people and building a culture where those people can do their best work.