Suzanne Sawyer Named Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing and Communications Officer for Johns Hopkins Medicine
04/16/2019
Sawyer brings more than 30 years of experience to the role. She is currently the chief marketing officer and vice president of business development for Penn Medicine in Philadelphia. In that position, she leads strategic marketing for Penn’s health system and alliances, working on branding, marketing strategy, customer engagement and growth. She is a lecturer at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.
“I am very excited to be coming to Johns Hopkins,” Sawyer says. “I am passionate about spreading the word about cutting-edge education, science and health care. And for more than a century, Johns Hopkins has led the way, nationally and internationally, in all three of these areas. I can’t wait to get started on this new challenge.”
Sawyer has spent most of the past 12 years at Penn Medicine. From 2007 to 2015, she was chief marketing officer and associate vice president there. In that capacity, she oversaw the rebranding of the health system at Penn Medicine, and implemented a range of data and analytics technology to better track marketing efforts. In 2015, she left to be vice president of portfolio marketing at IBM Watson Health, where she directed global marketing and brand strategy. In 2016, Penn Medicine recruited her to return, this time as vice president for business development and chief marketing officer.
“Suzanne Sawyer has done a fantastic job at Penn Medicine, and has a strong track record of success,” says Paul B. Rothman, dean of the medical faculty and CEO of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “We are very excited that she is going to be part of our leadership team at Johns Hopkins.”
“I’ve seen the great results Suzanne has achieved at Penn,” says Kevin W. Sowers, president of Johns Hopkins Health System and executive vice president of Johns Hopkins Medicine. “Her depth of experience and commitment to excellence make her a great fit for Johns Hopkins.”
Robert Kasdin, senior vice president, chief financial officer and chief operating officer for Johns Hopkins Medicine announced Sawyer’s appointment to Johns Hopkins Medicine faculty and staff in an email yesterday. Sawyer’s predecessor, Dalal Haldeman, retired in May of 2018.
As senior vice president, Sawyer will oversee marketing and communications initiatives across Johns Hopkins Medicine, which includes six hospitals, the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Johns Hopkins Medicine International and Johns Hopkins Community Physicians.
Sawyer received her bachelor of arts in foreign service and international politics from Penn State University. Born and raised in Pennsylvania, Sawyer, 56, plans to relocate to Baltimore with her husband, Dan. They are excited to join the local sailing scene, a hobby Sawyer, her husband and two adult daughters have actively enjoyed for many years.