BASc, MBA
7T1 Industrial
Inducted: 2007
Tom Closson’s name is associated with accountability and a renewed sense of mission for exemplary patient care, research and education in Canadian hospitals. For over a decade, he was the CEO of three major Canadian healthcare organizations — always with a focus on improved care of patients.
Tom began his career in the Industrial Engineering Department of The Hospital for Sick Children and has focused on healthcare ever since. He gained experience in healthcare consulting as an owner of Medicus Canada and as a partner in KPMG. He also served as Chief Information Occier of the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services as well as working for the Ministry of Health and Management Board.
In the 1980s, he moved to Sunnybrook Health Science Centre, becoming President and CEO in Capital Health Region of British Columbia. Two years later, he returned to Toronto as CEO of the University Health Network comprising the Toronto General, Princess Margaret and Toronto Western hospitals. He returned to the consulting business in 2005 and remains a leading figure in the improvement of Canadian healthcare delivery. The truly noteworthy career of an heir of Fredrick Winslow Taylor, who in 1881 launched the epochal idea of a process of continuous quality improvement based on “standards and measurement.”
Achievements
- Pioneer in the development of Industrial Engineering to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of patient care in hospitals and in the community.
- Motivator able to persuade people to accept and collaborate on systems change.
- CEO of an organization named on of the Top 100 Employers in Canada two years in succession.
- Served on numerous Boards including Cancer Care Ontario, Canada Health Infoway, Canadian Institute for Health Information, MDS/Metro and Wellspring.
- Received Meritorious Service Medal for Mid-Career Achievement from the Alumni Association of the Faculty of Applied Science and Engineering at U of T.
- Received an Engineering Medal for Management from Professional Engineers Ontario.
- Received a Hospital Leadership Award from Canadian Health Care Manager magazine.