Conley was senior vice president of Froedtert Health and chief operating officer for Froedtert Hospital for two years before becoming executive vice president of the health system and president of the hospital in July.
Previously, Conley was a vice president at Louisville-based KentuckyOne Health and a vice president at Northwestern University’s primary teaching hospital, Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago.
He attended Slippery Rock University in Pennsylvania for undergrad to play baseball, but “fell into hospital administration” after encounters with two professors – one, a former hospital administrator, and another who taught sociology.
He went on to receive his master’s degree in health care administration from The Ohio State University. His first job in a hospital was as a unit secretary at the Ohio State Wexner Medical Center. “Early on I saw how a health care organization has a major impact on the community and the individual lives of those in that community,” he said. “… And it’s extremely complex. I like hard, complex things, and delivering health care is very hard and complex.”
Besides golf, his favorite parts about being in Milwaukee are the restaurants and how easy it is to get around the city.
He and his wife Janell have three daughters, Cydney, Cori and Christen, all of whom played field hockey in high school and college.
Conley isn’t a coffee drinker. “I get nervous when I go to a Starbucks and have to order for someone because I don’t know the rules or the language,” he said.
Eric Conley
President, Froedtert Hospital; executive vice president, Froedert Health
900 N. 92nd St., Milwaukee
Froedtert.com
Industry: Health care