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Biography

Mr. Kevin E. Lofton joined Gilead’s Board in 2009 and was appointed Lead Independent Director in May 2020. In June 2020, Mr. Lofton retired as the Chief Executive Officer of Common Spirit Health (CSH), a system of hospitals and other care centers in 21 states that resulted from the merger of Catholic Health Initiatives (CHI) and Dignity Health. Prior to leading CSH, he served as the Chief Executive Officer of CHI from 2003 to 2019. Lofton also served as Chief Executive Officer of two university hospitals: the University of Alabama Hospital in Birmingham, and Howard University Hospital.  In 2014, he received an honorary Doctor of Humanities in Medicine degree from the Baylor College of Medicine and the Healthcare Financial Management Association’s Richard L. Clarke Board of Directors Award.

He is recognized for his extensive work around heath care management, eliminating health disparities and creating healthier communities. Mr. Lofton was the chairman of the American Hospital Association in 2007. He serves on the board of directors of Medtronic plc.  Mr. Lofton’s passion stems from a life-long commitment to social justice and health equity for all – particularly those who are underserved and vulnerable. His passion in these areas was formed by his experiences growing up in New York City, his early career work as an emergency department administrator in Jacksonville, Fla., and his role as a caretaker for his mother after she became ill, seeing her as a patient and confronting the many challenges she faced.  Mr. Lofton is a nationally recognized industry leader who served in 2007 as chairman of the board of trustees of the American Hospital Association, the nation’s largest hospital trade association. He was instrumental in creating the organization’s Equity of Care initiative, which was formed in 2008 to help address disparities in care for ethnic and racial minorities. His wide-ranging background includes key leadership positions in public, university, community, and faith-based health systems, providing him a unique perspective on a highly complicated and fragmented industry. For his leadership and management accomplishments, Mr. Lofton has been named to Modern Healthcare magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in Healthcare” list 15 times. He was also included in the 2007 Ebony magazine “150 Most Influential Blacks in America.”