David L. Callender, MD, MBA, FACS
President & CEO
Memorial Hermann Health System
In his role, Dr. Callender is responsible for leading and overseeing the System’s network of more than 32,000 employees, 6,700 affiliated physicians, and more than 265 care delivery sites – including 17 hospitals and numerous specialty programs and services. Since his appointment as President and CEO, he has guided the System in a new strategic direction focused on improving the health of Greater Houston and its surrounding communities, with a vision of creating healthier communities, now and for generations to come. Dr. Callender is committed to positioning this vision at the center of Memorial Hermann’s daily operations and overarching strategy, ensuring that the System advances the health of Houstonians by providing expanded access to care with an unmatched focus on quality, safety and service. Through a concentration on the region’s diverse needs, recruitment of highly experienced leadership with diverse backgrounds, a transformation of service lines, facility expansions, philanthropic initiatives, and a move to value-based care, Dr. Callender is leading a robust effort to address barriers to health care and overall wellbeing.
An ENT surgeon with expertise in head and neck cancers, Dr. Callender has proven to be a successful health care leader over the course of his career, achieving successes in forward-thinking strategic planning, improvements in delivering high-quality and high-value health care, fostering strong leadership development, engaging employees and enabling physician collaboration.
More recently, Dr. Callender was recognized by the Houston Business Journal as one of Houston’s “Most Admired CEOs” and was named by Modern Healthcare as one of “The 100 Most Influential People in Healthcare – 2022.”
Dr. Callender is a tenured Professor of Otolaryngology at the University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB Health). He serves on the Board for The United Way of Greater Houston, Houston Division of the American Heart Association, Greater Houston Partnership, and University of Houston.
Prior to joining Memorial Hermann, Dr. Callender served as President of UTMB Health for 12 years. Other previous roles include Associate Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive Officer for the UCLA Hospital System and Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Dr. Callender received his medical degree from and completed his residency at Baylor College of Medicine. He also completed an oncology fellowship with The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center and earned an MBA from the University of Houston.