Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD
Chief Executive Officer and President
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About Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD
Tom Mihaljevic, MD, serves as Chief Executive Officer and President of the Cleveland Clinic Health System. He has led the organization and its 81,000 caregivers since January 2018. Under his guidance, Cleveland Clinic has grown substantially, with 15.1 million patient encounters annually and a yearly operating revenue of $15 billion.
The globally integrated healthcare system has 23 hospitals and 276 outpatient locations. Facilities are located in Northeast Ohio; Southeast Florida; Las Vegas, Nevada; Toronto, Canada; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and London, United Kingdom.
Dr. Mihaljevic’s vision is to make Cleveland Clinic the best place for care anywhere and the best place to work in healthcare. He is expanding the organization’s worldwide reach to improve as many lives as possible. Dr. Mihaljevic organizes Cleveland Clinic’s responsibilities into four care priorities: care for patients, caregivers, community, and the organization.
Care for Patients: In 2023, Cleveland Clinic completed 15.1 million patient encounters, a 58% increase from 2017. During Dr. Mihaljevic’s tenure, healthcare rating organizations regularly have named Cleveland Clinic among the top providers nationally and internationally, including the No. 2 hospital in the world in Newsweek’s “World’s Best Hospitals 2022.”
Care for Caregivers: Under Dr. Mihaljevic’s leadership, the workforce has grown by 42% since 2017. He has launched a variety of initiatives to improve the caregiver experience, promote a diverse and inclusive workforce, advance a culture of belonging and remove barriers to hiring.
Care for Community: In 2022, Cleveland Clinic contributed $1.42 billion in community benefit. Dr. Mihaljevic is focused on protecting the most vulnerable — addressing hunger, infant and maternal health, lead poisoning in homes and mental health.
Care for Cleveland Clinic: The organization’s domestic and international footprint has increased under Dr. Mihaljevic’s leadership, with expansion to Europe through the opening of Cleveland Clinic London; the addition of cancer care to Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi’s portfolio; and a seven-fold increase in Cleveland Clinic Florida’s hospital capacity. The organization’s operating revenue has increased from $8.3 billion in 2017 to $15 billion in 2024. A new operating model conceived by Dr. Mihaljevic simplifies Cleveland Clinic’s structure to deliver care consistently and efficiently, positioning the organization for future growth and global leadership in healthcare.
Research and Innovation: Dr. Mihaljevic is overseeing the most significant expansion of research in Cleveland Clinic’s history. Projects include the Sheikha Fatima bint Mubarak Global Center for Pathogen Research and Human Health in the Cleveland Innovation District; the Florida Research and Innovation Center; the Discovery Accelerator, a partnership with IBM to achieve biomedical breakthroughs using advanced computing, including the world’s first quantum computer devoted to healthcare research; and the Cleveland Clinic Brain Study, which aims to develop new treatments and cures for neurological diseases. Grant funding for research has grown by 26% during Dr. Mihaljevic’s tenure, to nearly $250 millions.
Previous Experience: From 2015 to 2017 Dr. Mihaljevic served as CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi, the first U.S. multispecialty hospital to be replicated outside of North America. He joined Cleveland Clinic in 2004 as a surgeon in the Department of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery. Dr. Mihaljevic performed almost 3,000 operations, specializing in minimally invasive and robot-assisted procedures, valve replacement and repair, image-guided surgery and cardiac transplantation. He completed medical school at the University of Zagreb in Croatia and trained in general surgery and cardiovascular surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital of Harvard Medical School. A native of Croatia and a U.S. citizen, Dr. Mihaljevic speaks English, German and Croatian.
Affiliations: Dr. Mihaljevic is a member of the GE HealthCare Board of Directors; co-chair of the US-UAE Business Council; a member of the East Coast Executive Summit and the Council on Foreign Relations; and a director on the boards of OneTen, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the United Way of Greater Cleveland.
Education & Professional Highlights
Appointed
2004
Education & Fellowships
Residency - Brigham & Women's Hospital
General & Thoracic Surgery
Boston,
MA USA
2002
Medical Education - University of Zagreb School of Medicine
Zagreb, Croatia,
Croatia
1989
Additional Training
Professional Highlights
- Innovation Award, Cleveland Clinic, 2006
- Innovation Award, Cleveland Clinic, 2007
Certifications
- Thoracic Surgery - Thoracic and Cardiac Surgery
Specialty Interests
Robotic cardiac surgery, adult congenital heart disease, heart transplantation, minimally invasive valve surgery, mitral and aortic valve repair and replacement, reoperations, ventricular assist devices
Awards & Honors
Dr. Mihaljevic has received funding for "Intracardiac visualization in a beating heart for minimally invasive surgery" from Telemedicine & Advanced Technology Research Center/Department of Defense (TATRC/DoD) and the Global Cardiovascular Innovation Center (GCIC). Dr. Mihaljevic received the Cleveland Clinic Innovation Award in 2006 and 2007.
Innovations & Patents
- Cardioscopy
Memberships
- American Association for Thoracic Surgery
- American Board of Thoracic Surgery
- American College of Cardiology
- American Heart Association
- American Medical Association
- The Society of Thoracic Surgeons
Research & Publications
See publications for Tomislav Mihaljevic, MD.
(Disclaimer: This search is powered by PubMed, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. PubMed is a third-party website with no affiliation with Cleveland Clinic.)
Industry Relationships
Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists may collaborate with the pharmaceutical or medical device industries to help develop medical breakthroughs or provide medical expertise or education. Cleveland Clinic strives to make scientific advances that will benefit patient care and support outside relationships that promise public benefit. In order for the discoveries of Cleveland Clinic physicians' and scientists' laboratories and investigations to benefit the public, these discoveries must be commercialized in partnership with industry. As experts in their fields, Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists are often sought after by industry to consult, provide expertise and education.
To assure professional and commercial integrity in such matters, Cleveland Clinic maintains a program that reviews these collaborations and, when appropriate, puts measures in place to minimize bias that may result from ties to industry. Cleveland Clinic publicly discloses the names of companies when (i) its physicians/scientists receive $5,000 or more per year (or, in rare cases, equity or stock options) for speaking and consulting, (ii) its physicians/scientists serve as a fiduciary, (iii) its physicians/scientists receive or have the right to receive royalties or (iv) its physicians/ scientists hold any equity interest for the physician's/scientist's role as inventor, discoverer, developer, founder or consultant.* In publicly disclosing this information, Cleveland Clinic tries to provide information as accurately as possible about its physicians' and scientists' connections with industry.
As of 4/27/2016, Dr. Mihaljevic has reported no financial relationship with industry that is applicable to this listing. In general, patients should feel free to contact their doctor about any of the relationships and how the relationships are overseen by Cleveland Clinic. To learn more about Cleveland Clinic's policies on collaborations with industry and innovation management, go to our Integrity in Innovation page.
Public Health Service-Reportable Financial Conflicts of Interest. Cleveland Clinic scientists and physicians engage in basic, translational and clinical research activities, working to solve health problems, enhance patient care and improve quality of life for patients. Interactions with industry are essential to bringing the researchers' discoveries to the public, but can present the potential for conflicts of interest related to their research activities. Click here to view a listing of instances where Cleveland Clinic has identified a Public Health Service (PHS)-Reportable Financial Conflict of Interest and has put measures in place to ensure that, to the extent possible, the design, conduct and reporting of the research is free from bias.
* Cleveland Clinic physicians and scientists subscribe to the guidance presented in the PhRMA Code on Interactions with Healthcare Professionals and the AdvaMed Code of Ethics on Interactions with Health Care Professionals. As such, gifts of substantial value are generally prohibited.
