Dr. Peter Slavin Stepping Down as MGH President

After spending the past 18 years at the helm of the hospital, Dr. Peter Slavin announced last week he’s stepping down as president of Mass General.

Dr. Slavin, who said in his announcement that he’s been considering the move for months, has agreed to stay in the role until his replacement can be named, or in his words: “a new captain for the ship, someone with new energy and new ideas, who can ably steer this great hospital forward.”

Under Dr. Slavin’s leadership, research grew from $400 million in 2003 to more than $1 billion in research operations in 2020, according to the hospital, as MGH has maintained its position as the top hospital recipient of NIH funding and the largest hospital-based research program in the nation.

Dr. Slavin championed diversity at MGH during his leadership. He helped develop the MGH Disparities Solutions Center, which the hospital describes as a “first-of-its-kind effort to identify and eliminate racial and ethnic inequities in health,” in 2005, and last year, “oversaw the creation of a broad-based strategy to address structural racism within and outside the hospital.”

Of Dr. Slavin’s tenure at the hospital, Rep. Jay Livingstone wrote, “I greatly appreciate the stewardship of Peter Slavin as head of MGH where he has maintained it as one of the premier hospitals in the world, and I particularly appreciate his focus on mental health and the great expansion of mental health services under his leadership.”

Reflecting on the impact that Dr. Slavin has made on MGH over the course of his career there, City Councilor Kenzie Bok wrote: “It’s made us very proud to have someone from one of our anchor institutions serving as such a vocal leader throughout this pandemic, and really calling from the first moment for all hands on deck. MGH has benefited hugely from his many decades of service.”

In a press release, Anne Klibanski, MD, president and CEO of Mass General Brigham, called Dr. Slavin’s achievements as MGH president “nothing short of remarkable.”             

Dr. Klibanski said: “I know firsthand of his thoughtful and compassionate style, his knowledgeable thinking and his warm heart, all of which have defined his leadership. Massachusetts General Hospital and, in turn, Mass General Brigham are better today because of the deep and lasting imprint Peter Slavin has made on so many.”

A 63-year-old Malden native, Dr. Slavin graduated from Harvard College and received his medical degree from Harvard Medical School, and also holds an MBA from Harvard Business School. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at the MGH before joining the hospital staff as a primary care physician.  Dr. Slavin was named Mass General’s chief medical officer in 1994 and remained in that role until 1997, when he went to Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis, Mo., serving as president there for two years. He returned to Boston in 1999 to become chairman and CEO of the Massachusetts General Physicians Organization and was appointed president of the MGH in 2003.