From surgeon to global health care leader

When Edward Reece (MBA '15) set out to transition from private practice into academic medicine, he knew strong business skills would be essential. The Executive MBA gave him the leadership and strategic foundation to become chairman of enterprise plastic surgery at Cleveland Clinic.

Edward Reece (MBA '15) had already built a successful career as a plastic surgeon in private practice when he set his sights on academic medicine. To make the transition, he knew he needed more than clinical expertise — he needed a stronger foundation in business and leadership.

"Health care was and is continuing to change. Certainly, you have more complex systems, and a lot of that requires a business understanding," Reece says. "I felt the best way to prepare myself to re-enter the field of academic medicine was with an MBA."

The Executive MBA program at ASU's W. P. Carey School of Business stood out to Reece for its emphasis on entrepreneurial thinking and emerging technologies, as well as the opportunity to learn alongside experienced professionals from a wide range of industries.

Today, Reece serves as chairman of enterprise plastic surgery at Cleveland Clinic, overseeing clinical operations across multiple continents. He spoke with W. P. Carey News about how the Executive MBA shaped his career journey and prepared him to lead on a global scale.

Building a leadership mindset

The Executive MBA program changed how Reece approached problem-solving, shifting his perspective from individual achievement to collaborative leadership — something he says is less common in medical training.

"In preparation to become a physician, you end up being very focused on individual achievement — how you perform on exams and how you care for your patients," he says. "One thing I felt I was really missing was a team-based approach, not only to health care, but to business."

Throughout the Executive MBA, Reece collaborated with professionals from a wide range of industries, strengthening his communication, collaboration, and strategic problem-solving skills. That interdisciplinary approach continues today, with the program also offering an optional health care concentration for senior leaders.

"The leadership principles I learned at W. P. Carey really prepared me from a communication standpoint — knowing how to lead from the front while aligning institutional goals with individual goals in a way that moves a team forward," Reece says.

He adds, "The leadership skills I gained have been invaluable. They're a big reason I'm now leading Cleveland Clinic's global plastic surgery enterprise."

Growing as a leader

More than a decade after earning his Executive MBA, Reece still draws on lessons from the program when making important leadership decisions.

"When I'm faced with challenges, I have a new way to approach them because of the tools I gained at W. P. Carey," he says. "It's helped me lead teams much more effectively. Instead of impacting only my patients, I'm now able to impact thousands through the leadership lessons I learned."

Those lessons, combined with years of experience, have shaped Reece's leadership philosophy at Cleveland Clinic.

To Reece, great leadership means ensuring, "the entire team goes forward, and at the end of the day, not only does the institution benefit, but those on the team are able to shine in ways that they were previously not able to, even if that means the leader is not the focal point of that success."

Like many professionals who move into executive leadership, Reece had to redefine his role. Instead of measuring success by his achievements as a surgeon, he learned to measure it by the success of the teams he leads — a transition he says the Executive MBA experience helped prepare him for.

"Leadership becomes seeing the success of your team and your organization," he says. "That creates a different sense of pride and changes how you define accomplishment."

Making a global impact in health care

In his current role, Reece oversees plastic surgery operations across multiple U.S. states, Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United Arab Emirates. He helps ensure consistent standards of training and patient care across all locations while also overseeing supply chain, finance, and operational productivity.

Reece credits the Executive MBA with helping prepare him for the role. "It's unprecedented to have an individual in health care who oversees plastic surgery across three continents. It's almost impossible for that to happen anywhere other than Cleveland Clinic," he says.

"It's truly a one-of-a-kind role. Looking back, it almost feels as though everything I learned at W. P. Carey — and the hard work it required — prepared me for this opportunity," Reece says.

Beyond his global leadership role at Cleveland Clinic, Reece recently co-authored a book on the emerging field of spinal plastic surgery, collaborating with health care leaders across multiple disciplines.

Reflecting on the project, Reece credits the leadership lessons he learned at W. P. Carey. "It is so complicated to help co-create a new field while also producing something enduring like a book. It requires people from many disciplines coming together — but it's all in service of helping others."