Nebraska Medicine Appoints New CEO

Nebraska Medicine named a new CEO for the health care system Wednesday.

Dr. James Linder was named as the replacement for Dr. Dan DeBehnke by the Nebraska Medicine Board of Directors. Linder previously served on the medical staff as a practicing pathologist from 1983 to the late 1990s.

He also served as the interim dean for the University of Nebraska Medical Center and as the interim president of the University of Nebraska system from 2014 through 2015.

Nebraska Medicine Board chairman and UNMC chancellor Dr. Jeffrey P. Gold said Linder’s previous experience made him an ideal candidate for the position.

“Dr. Linder clearly understands the global role of academic health centers and the important connections to the key Nebraska Medicine relationships with the communities, patients and families that we serve every day,” Gold said in a news release. “We’re confident Dr. Linder will further enhance the incredible momentum Nebraska Medicine has been building in recent years and will provide the skilled leadership necessary to guide the organization on its continued mission of providing serious medicine and extraordinary care.”

Linder is a Nebraska native. He earned his medical degree at UNMC and later went on to complete his residency training in pathology at Duke University and UNMC.

Linder says he is excited to serve as a leader to an organization that he has spent much of his career.

“The Medical Center and Nebraska Medicine are integral to health care in Nebraska. We train the providers of healthcare, we provide complex medical services, we reach out to all Nebraska communities to make technologies available for positions of practice in greater Nebraska, so it’s a real honor to be able to do this as the CEO,” Linder said.