Vice President, Strategic Finance

Overview

Ardent Health is a leading provider of healthcare in growing mid-sized urban communities across the U.S. With a focus on people and investments in innovative services and technologies, Ardent is passionate about making healthcare better and easier to access. Through its subsidiaries, Ardent delivers care through a system of 30 acute care hospitals, 24,000+ team members and more than 280 sites of care with over 1,800 affiliated providers across six states.

POSITION SUMMARY:

The Vice President of Strategic Finance is a senior, enterprise-facing finance leader who serves as a strategic thought partner to the CEO, CFO, COO, Board of Directors, and senior leadership team. Reporting to the Senior Vice President of FP&A, this role is designed to accelerate equity value creation by advising on strategy, sharpening financial insights, strengthening capital allocation discipline, and translating complex strategic initiatives into clear financial narratives and action plans.

This is a highly dynamic, cross-functional role that operates at the intersection of strategy, finance, operations, and capital markets. The VP of Strategic Finance will lead advanced financial analysis and long-range planning, support M&A evaluation and underwriting, enhance board and investor narratives, and establish greater accountability around major capital investments. Initially a hands-on individual contributor, the role is expected to evolve into a player-coach with a small, high-caliber team over time.

Responsibilities

• Advises senior leadership on equity value, capital structure, and long-term financial strategy.
• Shapes enterprise financial strategy to optimize risk-adjusted returns while supporting mission-critical patient care.
• Evaluates strategic alternatives through a shareholder-value and capital-allocation lens.
• Owns financial underwriting, valuation modeling, and investment theses for M&A and strategic investments.
• Develops rigorous financial models covering returns, leverage, cash flow, and value creation.
• Partners with Corporate Development to lead or support diligence and execution of transactions.
• Establishes and manages post-investment ROI frameworks, including hindsight and accountability reviews.
• Leads analytical support for capital markets decisions, including debt, refinancing, and capital deployment.
• Maintains and enhances the enterprise long-range financial model, integrating P&L, balance sheet, cash flow, leverage, and valuation.
• Uses the long-range plan to assess new initiatives, investments, and environmental changes.