Fortis Healthcare appoints former Narayana Hrudayalaya executive as CEO  

Fortis Healthcare on Thursday said it appointed Ashutosh Raghuvanshi, the former vice chairman, managing director and group CEO of Bengaluru-headquartered Narayana Hrudayalaya, as its new chief executive officer, effective March 18, 2019.

Raghuvanshi was associated with Bengaluru-headquartered Narayana Hrudayalaya, a chain of multi-specialty hospitals, for 18 years, and was responsible for the operations of all the group hospitals across India and internationally.

“With a proven track record as a successful clinician and an able administrator, Dr Raghuvanshi has developed a deep understanding of the business, patient care and healthcare sector. His leadership at Fortis will be critical as the company continues to pursue its vision to create a world class, integrated, healthcare delivery system,” said Ravi Rajagopal, chairman, Fortis, in a statement.

In a filing with the NSE, Fortis said Raghuvanshi will take charge of the “day-to-day management decisions of the company and for implementing the company's long and short term plans.” He will also provide “strategic direction to the management team in achieving the company’s short-term profitability and long-term growth objectives.”

Fortis was set up in 1996 as an extension of Ranbaxy, the pharmaceuticals giant built by Bhai Mohan Singh in the 1950s. Today it is India’s second largest healthcare company, with a network of 31 hospitals in 15 cities across India and three overseas in Mauritius, Uganda, and Sri Lanka. However, the hospital chain’s financials have been under stress for long. Fortis has been reporting losses over the last few years.

In July, Malaysia’s IHH Healthcare Bhd won the race for India’s second-largest hospital chain Fortis Healthcare, ending a months-long bidding war for control of the cash-strapped firm. It beat private equity investor TPG-backed Manipal Hospital Enterprises with its offer to invest ₹4,000 crore at a price of ₹170 per equity share. The TPG-Manipal combine in its final bid had proposed to infuse ₹2,100 crore through a preferential allotment at ₹160 a share, down from ₹180 a share proposed earlier.

“With the healthcare industry in India witnessing a strategic paradigm shift in current times, Dr. Raghuvanshi’s experience would be greatly valued in providing strategic direction and vision to the company and will ensure that our focus on clinical excellence, outcomes, patient centricity and business results remains paramount,” said Dr Tan See Leng, managing director and chief executive officer, IHH Healthcare and board member, Fortis, in a statement.

On Sunday, Narayana Hrudayalaya in a statement said Raghuvanshi decided to move on from NH for “personal reasons.” The company named Emmanuel Rupert as MD & Group CEO. It also named executive director and senior vice president – strategy, Viren Shetty, as the group chief operating officer.