As Chief Financial Officer for Endeavor Health, Doug Welday is responsible for setting the system’s financial strategy, priorities and direction. His role encompasses more than traditional financial oversight. He ensures long-term financial viability, drives capital planning and investment strategies and identifies opportunities for strategic growth across the organization.
Since joining NorthShore University HealthSystem (NorthShore) in 2018 as CFO, Welday has played a central role in Endeavor Health’s evolution into the third-largest health system in Illinois. Under his financial leadership, the system has doubled in size through three successful mergers and now includes more than 28,000 team members across 300+ sites, serving over 1.45 million patients annually.
Welday has helped steward major infrastructure investments across the system’s hospitals and outpatient facilities, as well as enhancements to digital health platforms and clinical technology. He also helped launch this system’s Community Investment Fund with an initial $200 million investment, that to date has distributed $38.5 million in support of 59 local partnerships promoting community health and economic development.
Beyond financial planning and reporting, Welday oversees Endeavor Health’s revenue cycle operations, supply chain management, payer contracting and investment management functions. He believes strongly in helping the organization understand the story behind the numbers, supporting not just transparency and fiscal discipline, but strategic insight. He often emphasizes the importance of financial literacy among clinical and operational leaders, helping them better understand how their decisions impact the system’s overall performance.
Prior to NorthShore, Doug served as Senior Vice President of Finance for Spectrum Health, a nine-hospital health system in Grand Rapids, Michigan. He started his career at Oakwood Health System, now a part of Royal Oak, Mich.-based Beaumont Health, where he worked his way up, holding several leadership roles, including CFO and COO.
Doug is an active participant in the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Illinois Hospital Association and is also a fellow in the American College of Hospital Executives. Doug is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), earning his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Michigan State University and his MBA from the University of Michigan.
Welday considers himself curious, caring and competitive! Outside of the office you might find him at a hot yoga class, which he credits for keeping him grounded physically, mentally and spiritually.
