Mayo Clinic names insider as its next CEO

Dr. Matthew Callstrom, a physician who’s been guiding strategy at one of the nation’s most prominent medical centers and leading its work on using AI in medicine, has been named the next chief executive at Mayo Clinic.

The Details

Callstrom will take the top job at

Minnesota’s largest employer on Jan. 1. The Rochester-based nonprofit is confronting new challenges deploying artificial intelligence for patient care while also navigating old tensions over investing in Mayo’s flagship campuses even as it downsizes operations in small Minnesota towns.

A Minnesota native, Callstrom continues the tradition of Mayo CEOs rising from the ranks of its physician leaders. As an interventional radiologist, he uses real-time medical imaging to guide instruments inside the body to treat cancers.

Callstrom has worked at Mayo for nearly 25 years and will succeed Dr. Gianrico Farrugia, who took the CEO position in 2019. Farrugia announced in May that he plans to step down at the end of this year.

A member of Mayo’s board of governors and board of trustees, Callstrom serves as “medical director for Mayo Clinic Strategy and the AI Program,” the announcement said. Previously, he served as interim chief strategy officer and chair of Mayo’s radiology department in Rochester.

His background “prepares him exceptionally well to lead Mayo Clinic into its next chapter,” said Richard K. Davis, chair of Mayo’s board of trustees, in a statement.

Callstrom said in the statement he was “deeply honored to have the opportunity to lead Mayo Clinic in this moment.”

Rochester Mayor Kim Norton said Callstrom’s appointment should make for an easier transition compared to past CEOs who previously ran Mayo campuses in Arizona or Florida.