Listening and learning': New Cone Health chief executive plugs into his new community

Dr. Paul Krakovitz, the new president and chief executive of Cone Health and first outside top hire in 47 years, is dedicating his first months on the job to immersing himself in the not-for-profit healthcare system's culture, community and opportunities.

Krakovitz, who took over March 16, previously served as an executive-in-residence at the investment firm of Cressey & Co. of Park City, Utah, with a focus on healthcare systems.

He is a pediatric ear, nose and throat physician, but he's not sure if he will begin to see local patients in the short term.

He spent 14 years at the Cleveland Clinic, working as vice chairman of surgical operations, hospital operations and chief of pediatric otolaryngology, otolaryngology/head and neck surgery.

Cone Health, one of the Triad's largest employers, has more than 13,000 employees, including more than 700 physicians and 1,800 partner physicians. Its network has four acute-care hospitals, a behavioral health facility, an accountable care organization and a health plan.

In an interview Friday with the News & Record, Krakovitz said he is purposefully raising his profile in the local community in order to share his goals and priorities, as well as gain feedback.

"I'm brand new here, so I'm out listening and learning. That's really what my whole concentration right now, to show what I'm kind of seeing early on," Krakovitz said.

"We've got a great foundation at Cone. I see a culture of wanting to improve and that is very deeply embedded into the community."

Krakovitz represents the first Cone chief executive hire since Washington, D.C.-based Risant Health acquired ownership of the Greensboro healthcare system in December 2024. Risant made a capital investment pledge valued at $1.7 billion as part of the transaction.

Krakovitz said another priority is helping guide Cone through "the headwinds" of new and proposed federal and state regulatory changes affecting its revenue stream.

"Cone Health takes very seriously making sure that taxpayers are getting the value they should from a not-for-profit hospital," Krakovitz said.

"Value-based care is about being proactive about care, so it means trying to keep people well, as opposed to just taking care of them when they're sick and come into the hospital.

"If you take a diabetic patient and treat them as an outpatient, and concentrate on their care there, then they are going to spend less in the hospital."

The system is facing perhaps the most prominent marketplace competition threat in its history as Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist expands into Greensboro and Guilford with a 36-bed community hospital set to open on Jan. 1, 2029, in the Horse Pen Creek areas.

In March, Baptist gained state regulatory approval to open by Jan. 1, 2028, a 24/7 freestanding emergency departments in Greensboro at 3800 N. Church St. and at 4007 S. Elm-Eugene St.

Krakovitz said Cone Health will compete with an expanding Baptist by "meeting the community needs for care and raise the bar for care, and we want to do that in the most affordable way for our communities."

Krakovitz said the system will strive to become the healthcare provider of choice for newcomers to the Triad, such as workers at Toyota Battery Manufacturing N.C. in Liberty and potential employees at Boom Supersonic and JetZero at Piedmont Triad International Airport.

"We're blessed to be having population growth since many states are not," Krakovitz said.

"When you have growth, you have opportunity. I believe you will see allegiances change, particularly among a younger demographic who have a different opinion and need from healthcare than an older demographic.

"We've got to be able to meet patients where they are with great patient experience."

Citing Cone Health's approval to open a 46-bed, $250-million hospital in Mebane by 2029, Krakovitz said it is an example of trying to keep Triad patients close to their home.

"It's stressful to be far away from home and dealing with the cost of not only direct healthcare, but travel cost and missing work," he said.

"So being able to keep people close to their community and their loved ones is huge."

Risant is affiliated with California-based Kaiser Permanente, which is attempting to form a national network that combines insurance and health care.

Kaiser Permanente said Risant would spend a minimum $1 billion to "support investments in facilities, health equity and other capital projects" involving Cone Health by Dec. 1, 2029.

"It's a real challenge and opportunity to be able to bring in new tools, particularly around technology and AI," Krakovitz said. "Risant brings this national ability and economies of scale to do that for a community like this."

When asked how the Greensboro and Guilford County communities will see the influence of Risant on Cone Health, Krakovitz said it will be in the form of the medical technology that Risant is providing that "allows us to get more toward value-based care with the goal of bending down the cost curve for patients and the community."

"It's going to be from keeping people healthier and happier."

Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.

This story was originally published May 4, 2026 at 4:14 AM.