As Pittsburghers, we love to beat ourselves up about our region’s problems:
population loss, high taxes and the decline
of the steel industry. We put on a pedestal
the titans of yesteryear’s industries, ignoring the problems of those days. How often
do we claim that today there are no
Andrew Carnegies, no Henry Clay Fricks
or Andrew Mellons leading Pittsburgh to
become one of the most important cities in
the world again?
While the industrial revolution is long
gone, today’s cutting-edge industries are
thriving here. The reason, once again, is
strong leadership. Pittsburgh has reinvented itself as a center for technology, medical
breakthroughs and education.
I believe the future looks bright — certainly much brighter than when St.
Barnabas Health System hosted its first
CEO Leadership Conference 22 years ago.
At that time, the steel industry here was
failing. New industries had not yet developed. The St. Barnabas CEO Conference
was founded as a way to bring some of the
region’s leaders together for an open discussion. In the early years, I was surprised
at how many of the leaders had never
talked to one another, much less shared a
stage at a conference like ours. I like to
think that, in some small way, St. Barnabas
has played a part in Pittsburgh’s revitalization by bringing leaders together.
Now, as Pittsburgh celebrates its 250th
anniversary, St. Barnabas is honored to
partner with Smart Business to recognize
12 of today’s leaders as the 2008 Pittsburgh
Pacesetters. After carefully reviewing
dozens of nominations, Smart Business
selected four finalists in three categories
according to their organization’s size:
emerging, midsized and large. From each
category, Smart Business selected one
overall winner. The 2008 Pittsburgh
Pacesetters will be recognized — and the
winner in each category announced — at the St. Barnabas CEO Leadership
Conference.
The conference has a theme that I believe
Carnegie, Frick and Mellon would
embrace: “STAT: Standing Together
Against Taxes.” We’ve assembled a distinguished group of panelists to give insight
and perspective on this topic — a topic
that is undoubtedly of great concern to the
Pacesetters themselves.
Inside this publication, you will find profiles of all 12 Pacesetters. I invite you to
join me in congratulating these individuals
for setting the pace for our region.
WILLIAM V. DAY is the president and CEO of St. Barnabas
Health System.
