Robert A. Kasdin

Johns Hopkins Medicine announced today the appointment of Robert A. Kasdin to the newly created role of senior vice president and chief operating officer. Kasdin comes to Johns Hopkins Medicine from Columbia University, where he has been senior executive vice president since 2002. He starts on July 1.

As Johns Hopkins Medicine’s first senior vice president and chief operating officer, Kasdin will partner with leadership to drive organization-wide change within a rapidly evolving environment. He will be responsible for overall operations, including strategic direction, administration of existing programs and development of new initiatives to ensure that Johns Hopkins Medicine’s strategic imperatives are achieved or exceeded.

“Robert is a proven and experienced leader, and we are pleased to have him join our stellar team here at Johns Hopkins,” says Paul B. Rothman, dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “His expertise will aid us as we continue to advance care and treatment for patients from our city, throughout our country and around the world.”

“Johns Hopkins Medicine has seen tremendous growth,” says Ronald R. Peterson, president of The Johns Hopkins Hospital and Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “We are looking forward to Robert’s guidance as we take advantage of opportunities to develop and improve our operational efficiencies and effectiveness.”

Vastly qualified, Kasdin has overseen overall operations, finances, human resources, information technology, and development and commercialization of intellectual property at Columbia University. Additionally, he has played an important role in Columbia’s relationships with major donors and with city and state government. While at Columbia, he also reorganized the university’s operations to integrate business processes and improved efficiency and accountability.

Before joining Columbia, Kasdin served as the executive vice president and chief financial officer of the University of Michigan, treasurer and chief investment officer for the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the vice president and general counsel for Princeton University Investment Company. He began his career as a corporate attorney at Davis Polk & Wardwell.

Kasdin earned his B.A. from Princeton and his J.D. from Harvard Law School. He is a board member of the Harbor Funds, Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National September 11 Memorial & Museum and the ARTstor Digital Library. He previously chaired the board of trustees of the Dalton School and co-chaired the transition committee for the New York City comptroller-elect in 2013. He is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Kasdin is married to Claire Ullman, a political scientist. They have three children.