CEOs to Know: Lisa Hohman, CEO, Concordance Healthcare Solutions

Can you tell us about your background?

How did I get into healthcare? I actually have been in healthcare my whole career.  I want to tell you that I had researched the industry and made a conscious decision to enter the healthcare sector. However, that is not the case.  I was incredibly fortunate that the industry found me through a connection I made in college. I was hired after graduation to do technical support on an in-house developed IT solution for a drug wholesaler, Alco Health Services (now Cencora). The interesting part of this story is that I was a business major without technical training, but the organization's leader had great faith in my ability to learn.

I worked incredibly hard and always asked for more.  I pushed the envelope on everything I did and worked my way from entry-level to Vice President in less than 6 years at a Fortune 100 company, which, looking back, was quite an accomplishment as a female. Women in VP roles were scarce in the 1990s.  I transitioned to Seneca Medical in 2000 when I was expecting my first child.  I was amazed that they recruited me when I was 6 months pregnant.  The culture was family-based.  People worked together to solve problems; the customer was central to everything we did.  The leadership at Seneca Medical allowed me to delve into multiple disciplines, which expanded my knowledge of the company and industry.  In 2016, we merged with MMS and Kreisers to create Concordance, and I was honored to be asked to step in as CEO in 2019.  It has been a fun ride. I love the organization and our employees. I love what we stand for, and I am proud of the positive impact that we have had on patient care in this country.

Do you belong to any associations?

I belong to HIDA, the Healthcare Industry Distributors Association. I've been an active member since 2000. I was the HEF Board Chair for five years, which is the foundation side of HIDA, and in 2025, I stepped in as Board Chair. We work on industry challenges and a large part is dedicated to working with our federal partners (both legislatively and agency) on these challenges and how we can partner together to impact healthcare in our country.  During the pandemic, this was absolutely vital.  A prime example of our work is the most recent legislation that was enacted around Fast Pass, a program designed to prioritize medical products through the ports in time of crisis, which will be a marked improvement over the current process.

I am also part of the Strategic Marketplace Initiative (SMI). SMI is a phenomenal organization that brings together thought leaders from providers, suppliers, and distributors. It's a non-selling organization. It is about identifying issues and bringing all stakeholders together in a collaborative, non-selling environment to find solutions. I've been on the Board for a few years and will take over as Board Chair for a two-year stint (2025 and 2026) in 2025.

I am also a member of Professional Women in Healthcare (PWH), and am so very proud of the accomplishments of that fantastic group of women leaders.  Their dedication to education and professional development for women is truly remarkable.

What's the biggest challenge in healthcare right now?

The biggest challenge in healthcare right now is resiliency. Product shortages, product disruptions, and supply chain disruptions continue to wreak havoc on our industry, and we continue to be reactionary and solve them in the moment but not make any meaningful, lasting improvements.

For instance, the most recent hurricane disrupted healthcare services in affected areas and caused the Baxter plant closure which led to a shortage of IV solutions, all of which had a direct impact on patient care across the country. These situations continue to significantly impact the industry.

To solve for resiliency, we need to think differently about how we collaborate between trading partners in healthcare.  In partnership with Palantir, we have created Surgence, a first of its kind, software enabled, ecosystem that connects all aspects of the healthcare supply chain. Other industries have operated in this space for decades.  It is time that healthcare takes a similar approach.  We now have the technology that can link disparate data easily through the adoption of AI, and connect complex trading partners through a cutting-edge ontology.  Together, we can make meaningful progress in building supply chain resiliency in this country.

What excites you the most about healthcare right now?

What excites me the most about healthcare right now is AI and its implications. AI has the potential to substantially reduce waste in healthcare, a challenge that has yet to be fully addressed. The prospect of AI making us more efficient and allowing our workforce to focus on critical thinking and solutions for complex issues is truly exciting.

The other fascinating trend is seeing how healthcare is leaning in to impact the communities in which they serve. In collaboration with RUSH University, we built a facility on the West Side of Chicago to help improve access to good-paying jobs in a safe work environment. This initiative has not only provided employment opportunities, but also contributed to the economic development of the area. People want partnerships beyond traditional relationships and look for more ways to have a positive social impact because health is broader than the care provided in the hospital or health system. We understand social determinants better today, and people are starting to ask, "How can we impact health in a different way by partnering together?"

Can you tell me about your recent trip to Africa?

First and foremost, it was one of the most amazing trips of my life. Our group included four women from the SMI Board, Jane Pleasants, Karen Conway, Christine Arme, and myself, along with Justin Freed, Adventist Health.

Coordinated by John Schroer, Global Health Exchange, in conjunction with Common Wellbeing, a nonprofit started by Scott (former CEO of Adventist Health) and Margo Reiner, we traveled to Africa over Labor Day weekend.  We set out to understand how we could impact the lives of those in Zambia, with a special focus on women's empowerment. 

Our travels took us from the bush to small towns/villages to small cities, ending in Lusaka, the capital of Zambia. Our mission was to understand the current challenges and determine if there were solutions we could help design to address those challenges.

We started our adventure out in the bush—no electricity, no running water. The people lived in communities, relying on the land to provide food and sustenance.  Their current challenge was a sustained drought.  This made it challenging to grow food, and their wells had little water.  We found that the women were mainly in charge of the food and water, walking sometimes several miles to an operational well. 

There was a school, which was quite impressive, considering the conditions they faced. Children walked up to 2 miles to school each day.  The school we visited had 500 students enrolled, but many were absent.  We learned that as girls grew up, their responsibilities at home outweighed their ability to attend school, so many didn't make it past the 7th grade.

It was apparent that access to fresh water was having a major impact on young women and their ability to stay in school.  If we could solve the problem of access to water, we could eliminate that barrier for young women in Zambia, allowing them more options for education. And if they stay in school, they can graduate from high school and potentially go on to college.  We created the well project and are raising funds to construct a new, solar powered well, that will have fresh water piped to multiple communities, allowing for a sustainable solution for water access.

As we traveled to small towns, like Mpanshya and Rufunsa, we visited a mission hospital and through Kuwala, an NGO (similar to a nonprofit in the US), we saw firsthand how, through education, mentorship, and financial support, women could come together to learn a new trade, such as raising, processing, and selling smoked chicken or cultivating mushrooms, to increase their earnings by as much as 5x. These programs have a lasting impact on not only the women in the programs but also their families and communities.

We noticed a prevailing theme as we met with healthcare professionals from the health outposts to the mission clinics to the Children's Hospital in Lusaka.  While they are reliant on donations for equipment and supplies, there is an opportunity for us to create a best practice for the members of SMI to utilize when donating products to maximize the ROI on those donations.  From ensuring the product is usable in the area where it will be donated (think about the differing electrical standards worldwide) to ensuring any supporting preventative maintenance information and/or supplies available are also sent.  SMI has created a new workgroup focusing on enhancing the healthcare product donation process. Whether it's unexpired supplies or surplus equipment that organizations no longer need, it's essential to ask the right questions. This will ensure a better understanding of their needs and allow us to make more impactful contributions.