Glen Silverman's moment of clarity occurred two years after college, when he was working as a billing manager for a nursing home.

 

"One day, I got into a constructive argument with the nursing home administrator," said Silverman, who was recently named CEO of Central Mississippi Medical Center (CMMC) in Jackson. "I felt she was not a real strong leader and wondered how she got to that position. I remember saying to myself, I cannot work for someone like this the rest of my career. Within two weeks, I was back in graduate school working toward the goal of becoming a hospital administrator."

 

Silverman credits his upbringing with giving him the impetus to make a difference.

 

"My childhood was great," he admitted. "I grew up in suburban New Jersey. Things were so different back then. We had 20 miles of woods behind our house to play, we never locked our doors at night, and we rode our bikes about 15 miles to the beach in the summer."

 

Even though his dad, Stan, a trucking industry executive, and his mother, Marsha, a secretary, divorced when he was an adolescent, Silverman's dad "moved 10 minutes up the road and continued to be a stable icon for me through those fun teenage years," he said. "My early influences and my influences still today have always been my parents. They were always so supportive while I was growing up."

 

Athletics kept Silverman in check during those unpredictable, life-shaping years. "I would definitely credit sports as the turning point for me," he said. "First, I recognize the team sports I played – both soccer and baseball – as building the foundation. Later in high school, I wrestled, which really teaches you about dedication and commitment. I say that because wrestling is both an individual sport as well as a team sport; everyone on the team is dependent on your individual match. So you can imagine the additional pressure that puts you under."

 

Silverman studied healthcare administration at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, Fla., where he earned an undergraduate degree. He later obtained an MBA degree from the University of North Florida in Jacksonville, Fla.

 

In 1998, Silverman joined Health Management Associates Inc. (HMA) as an assistant controller at Riverview Regional Medical Center in Gadsden, Ala. The following year, he was assigned to Sandhills Regional Medical Center in Hamlet, N.C. Next, he served as CFO at Lake Norman Regional Medical Center, a 117-bed acute care hospital operated by HMA in the Charlotte suburb of Mooresville, N.C. In 2004, he was transferred to CMMC as CFO. In 2007, he was named the hospital's COO. This summer, Dale Armour, president of Division 4 of HMA, promoted him to CEO of CMMC, the largest of HMA's 10 hospitals in Mississippi, and a member of the River Oaks Healthcare network, along with Crossgates River Oaks Hospital in Brandon, River Oaks Hospital and Woman's Hospital in Flowood, and Madison County Medical Center in Canton. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the Healthcare Financial Management Association.

 

Silverman has one regret, that his mother did not live to see him fulfill his potential of leading a hospital. After battling brain cancer for 13 years "with a strength and vigor for life that was always so amazing to me," she died in 2005. His dad, Stan, now lives in California. His older brother, Jeff, lives in Oregon with his wife and three children.

 

"When my mom passed in 2005, I thought I would run a marathon in her honor," he said. "I had previously run half marathons and competed in short triathlons, but always felt marathon distance would be a real challenge for me. Since my daughter (Meridith, 2) came along, it has become a back-burner issue. However, one day I would like to honor my mom and finish one."

 

Silverman, who is married to Sharon and stepfather to Jamie, 17, and Jacob, 14, enjoys family time, boating, golfing, and competing in triathlons in his spare time. If healthcare administration had not worked out, he probably would have been a teacher.

 

"I've always taken an active role in education," he said. "I taught for a couple of years as an adjunct professor at Mississippi College and feel that all and any education, whether formal or informal, is valuable."