Darren W. Lee is strategic leader with a diverse background in healthcare, public entity and academic settings. Possesses a strong legal background in labor, risk, compliance, workforce planning and leadership development as well as hospital operations, strategy and business development. A trusted executive with proven success in facilitating transformative and sustainable outcomes through innovation and collaboration.
Darren currently serves as the Chief Business Officer for a medical device start-up, Crely Healthcare. Just prior, he spent seven years as the President and CEO of two acute-care hospitals and a skilled nursing facility in California, all part of the Dignity Health System. He was responsible for 2,000 combined employees, $500 million in total revenue and a medical staff of more than 600. During his tenure, he partnered and collaborated with clinical experts to lead the hospital through COVID-19 challenges.
In all, Darren spent over 20 years with Dignity Health (now CommonSpirit Health) serving in various system-level roles, including operations, legal, employee and labor relations, and human resources. He has been a member of various boards and associations including the American College of Healthcare Executives, Pepperdine University’s Graziado Business School, the Hospital Association of Southern California, the Board of Directors of Identity Management Service Organization and the Ventura County Medi-Cal Managed Care Commission.
HHe started his professional career as a Deputy City Attorney for the City and County of San Francisco and later became the Assistant Director of Labor Relations for the University of California, Office of the President where he negotiated the first ever collective bargaining agreement between the University of California (all campuses) and over 10,000 Teaching Assistants who were represented by the United Auto Workers Association.
Darren has an undergraduate degree from the University of California, Berkeley and a law degree from the University of San Francisco where he was selected as a judicial extern for the Federal District Court in San Francisco. He has also completed a post-graduate program in General Management at Harvard Business School and is fluent in Spanish. Darren enjoys spending time with his wife and four children.