The path to the healthcare COO role

The healthcare COO role is becoming increasingly complex in today’s healthcare environment. Eighty percent of COOs say their responsibilities have significantly increased over the past three years — but how long are they staying in the role?

Here are six things to know about the makeup of healthcare COOs, according to executive search firm WittKieffer’s analysis of 180 COOs at hospitals and health systems in 2025:

1. The average tenure of COOs is 4.4 years. Nearly 70% were promoted internally, while 33% were hired externally.

2. Sixty-one percent of healthcare COOs are younger than 55. Another 30% are 55 to 64 years old and 9% are 65 or older. The average age is 52.

3. Directly before becoming a hospital COO, 38% were a functional leader in operations, facility services or administration. Twenty-six percent previously served as a hospital COO, 24% were clinical leaders and 12% were general managers, such as CEOs or presidents.

4. Among systemwide COOs, 41% were general managers directly before assuming their current role. Twenty-five percent were COOs at the hospital or health system level, 22% were functional leaders and 12% were clinical leaders.

5. Among hospital and health system COOs, 37% are women and 10% are ethnically diverse.

6. The most common degrees held by COOs within healthcare are Master of Business Administration (50%), Master of Healthcare Administration (30%) and Master of Science in Nursing (13%).

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