Prominent health care CEO returns to region after six years to run nonprofit

SARASOTA — Gwen MacKenzie, former president and CEO of Sarasota Memorial Health Care System, has been named CEO of First Step of Sarasota, a nonprofit alcohol and drug treatment and rehabilitation center

MacKenzie has more than 30 years of experience leading health care organizations undergoing transformation, strategic repositioning and new service innovation, according to a statement. The charismatic MacKenzie was CEO of Sarasota Memorial Hospital for close to a decade, where she was one of the region's most well-known health care leaders. She also oversaw SMH during a major growth period, going from an operating budget of around $400 million in 2005 to over $500 million by 2014, when she left for another executive position in her home state of Michigan.