Health Care 2024: DENNIS MATHEIS

Matheis has led Sentara Health, a not-for-profit health system with 12 hospitals in Virginia and North Carolina, since 2022, overseeing more than 32,000 workers.

Having previously led the Norfolk hospital system’s insurance brands, Matheis has stressed Sentara’s commitment to health care education. A long-time financial supporter of Eastern Virginia Medical School, Sentara pushed for a merger between EVMS and Old Dominion University — a vision that became a reality in July. ODU announced in June that Sentara Health has committed about $350 million in dedicated funding to the medical school’s integration into ODU’s new Macon & Joan Brock Virginia Health Sciences division.

In December 2023, Sentara Health announced plans to more than double its 220 residency training programs in the next few years to address physician shortages.

Before joining Sentara, Matheis held senior roles at Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Missouri, Cigna Healthcare and Humana Health Plan.

Matheis, who has a degree in accounting from the University of Kentucky, serves as co-chair of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable. He sits on several boards including Lucid Diagnostics, a cancer prevention medical diagnostics company.