Today OHSU announced Mark B. Williams has accepted the role of chief strategy officer for the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. This is a new position focused on overseeing the budget and long-term financial sustainability of the Knight Cancer Institute.
Williams has served as OHSU’s vice president for campus development and administration since 2004. This spring he stepped in to oversee the design and construction of the Knight Cancer Institute’s new research building in the South Waterfront District.
He has worked in a leadership role on many OHSU real estate and construction projects, including the Portland Aerial Tram, the Collaborative Life Sciences Building, and the South Waterfront Development Plan, which is Oregon’s largest urban development project.
“Mark has a long and successful history in Portland and with OHSU,” said Brian Druker, M.D., director of the OHSU Knight Cancer Institute. “We identified the need for a strategic leader to focus on the financial management and business principles of the Knight Cancer Institute, and Mark was uniquely qualified for this new role. His leadership will ensure the institute continues to be a good steward of the funds from the billion dollar challenge, now and into the future.”
Before joining OHSU, Williams served as chief operating officer of Metro, the Portland area’s regional government, and was general manager of the Metropolitan Exposition-Recreation Commission, managing Portland’s public spectator facilities, including the Oregon Convention Center and the Portland Center for the Performing Arts.
“One of the main goals of my new role will be assisting the Knight Cancer Institute scientific leadership in taking a hard look at our long-term plans and making sure our efforts are productive and sustainable,” Williams said.
Williams begins his new role as chief strategy officer on November 1.