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R. Wayne Diesel to Become Chair of Albany Medical Center Board of Directors

ALBANY, N.Y., June 4, 2009—A financial executive from Loudonville, R. Wayne Diesel, has been elected Chairman of the Albany Medical Center Board of Directors. His two-year term begins July 1. Diesel joined the Board in 2005 and had served as vice chair since 2007. The Medical Center is the region’s second largest private sector employer and its only academic health sciences center.

“As a Board member, Wayne has provided strong leadership and shared his vast business knowledge and financial expertise to advance the missions of this Medical Center,” said James J. Barba, president and CEO of Albany Medical Center. “The Board of Directors and senior management, and indeed the entire staff of Albany Medical Center, are fortunate to have Wayne’s leadership during this critical time.”

The Medical Center currently faces challenges as a result of a faltering national economy and budget cuts within state and federal governments. “While this is a fascinating time at the Medical Center in terms of growth, many financial challenges lie ahead. I am privileged to be able to help contribute to solutions and maintain the success of Albany Med. It’s been a wonderful culmination of my career; a natural transition for me,” says Diesel.

Diesel has held several high level financial positions in state government and in the private sector. Before retiring in 2004, he most recently served as vice chancellor for Business and Industry Relations at the State University of New York. Among many other important roles, he has been director of the budget for New York State, president and CEO of the New York State Credit Union League, president and CEO of Mechanical Technology Incorporated in Latham, and administrative vice president of KeyCorp. He currently serves as vice chair of the SUNY Small Business Advisory Board and previously was on the Board of Governors of the former Child’s Hospital (now South Clinical Campus), before Albany Med bought the facility in 1999.

Diesel holds a master’s degree in public administration from Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs and a bachelor’s degree in government from Wesleyan University in Middletown, Connecticut.

Diesel said, in particular, he has enjoyed watching the strides that have been made in quality patient care as a member of the quality steering committee. “It has helped me to understand and see firsthand the work that goes on here. This is a complex business—with business aspects, social policy issues, and political elements that make it a very exciting place to be.”

Diesel succeeds John Robinson, a former banking executive. Robinson, a longtime Board member who became chair in 2006, is credited with leading the Board during a time of major expansion of the Medical Center, including the construction of the Physicians Pavilion.

An area resident since 1969, Diesel lives in Loudonville with his wife Carole. He has three grown children and three grandchildren.

Albany Medical Center, a not-for-profit institution, is northeastern New York’s only academic health sciences center. The institution consists of Albany Medical Center Hospital, one of New York’s largest teaching hospitals; Albany Medical College, one of the nation’s oldest medical schools; and the Albany Medical Center Foundation, Inc., one of the region’s most active fundraising organizations.
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