NWHSU names Heaney to Board of Trustees

Rob Karwath for NWHSU | December 12, 2018

Twin Cities executive and consultant brings experience building firms and organizations.

Thomas F. Heaney has spent his career building businesses and organizations from the inside as an executive and from the outside as a consultant. Now he will bring those skills to the Board of Trustees of Northwestern Health Sciences University.

The Board has named Heaney as its newest member, a role in which he will help lead strategic and policy decisions for the university as it trains the next generation of integrative health-care leaders in professions including chiropractic, massage therapy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine and nutrition.

“We are excited to have Tom’s experience and record of business and organizational success benefiting our university,” said Dr. Christopher Jo, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “Tom brings a unique and valuable mix of management skills and leadership experience, as well as a background in health care. Working with his Board colleagues, he will help us take important steps to ensure that we remain at the forefront of modern health and wellness.”

Heaney is Managing Director for Trio Executive Search, a Twin Cities-based executive search firm doing business nationwide. Trio focuses on senior-level executive and board of director searches. Before joining Trio, Heaney was Managing Director in the Minneapolis office of Korn/Ferry International, the world’s largest search firm. He also founded and was a partner of the Furst Group/MPI, a national executive search practice.

Heaney’s previous experience included serving as President of United Health Care Management Co. and Senior Vice President of the corporate parent, United Health Care Corp. He said this experience will help him share insight about how health practitioners and networks provide and pay for care. Heaney noted that during his time at United Health Care Corp., the company became one of the first large insurers to cover integrative health treatments such as chiropractic.

“Health-care systems in the United States and around the world are looking for practical, effective and cost-effective options to keep people and communities healthy,” Heaney said. “Northwestern has demonstrated leadership in all of these areas. I am pleased and honored to be selected to the Board. I look forward to helping our university transform health and wellness with a relentless focus on person-centered care.”

Heaney holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from St. Cloud State University and a Master of Arts degree from Minnesota State University, Mankato. He has taught at the University of Iowa and Minnesota State.

For more than 75 years, Northwestern Health Sciences University, based in Bloomington, Minn., has provided world-class professional education and research as well as comprehensive health and wellness services. Its more than 130 faculty members annually teach about 6,500 students pursuing degrees and continuing education in accredited programs in chiropractic, acupuncture, therapeutic massage, Chinese medicine, nutrition and other health treatments. Northwestern has more than 7,500 graduates throughout the U.S. and in 21 countries.