Written by Diane Krieger | Photographed by Vincent Rios
November 1, 2023, wasn’t in any way remarkable. Just an ordinary Wednesday. It happened to be Keith Hobbs’ first day behind the CEO desk—long occupied by retiring chief executive Craig Leach.
A major milestone in Torrance Memorial history to be sure. But for the hospital community at large, it was a perfectly normal weekday in a carefully planned, seamless transition of leadership. Nothing had been left to chance.
Leach had carefully timed his exit, bringing Hobbs on board as executive vice president in March 2021. He’d calculated two years would be enough time for his successor “to really get to know the culture of the organization, to fit in and build relationships.” And that’s exactly what happened.
Hobbs has been an integral part of the Torrance Memorial leadership team for almost three years now. He’s spearheaded the new ambulatory surgery center set to break ground within the coming year, shepherded the dramatic expansion of laboratory outreach programs and overseen the strategy for growing the physician network. Last February, he was formally promoted to president, and his elevation to CEO was announced in June—several months before he stepped into that role.
“It’s hard replacing a trusted, longtime leader like Craig Leach,” says Torrance Memorial board chairman Greg Geiger, “but the task was made easier with Keith Hobbs as the candidate. We already know what kind of leader he’s going to be because he’s been here for a few years. We have all the confidence in the world in him.”
Cedars-Sinai Health System CEO Tom Priselac echoes that confidence. “I’m excited to be working with Keith,” he says. “He’s already proven himself a great asset as we increase our footprint across the region.”
Newly appointed chief medical officer Zachary Gray can vouch for Hobbs’ personal style. “I can honestly say Keith is a genuinely warm, caring, good person,” says Gray, who spent the past year in close collaboration with Hobbs as they meticulously planned Torrance Memorial’s rotating residency in internal medicine, slated to debut in July. “Keith has all the bona fides and all the experience necessary.”
All in the Family
Hobbs grew up in Glendale, California. Both his parents worked in sales for Pacific Bell and AT&T. The first in his family to graduate from college, Hobbs started out as a compensation analyst at a bank in 1989. He moved over to Walt Disney Imagineering in a similar role after two years. The Indiana Jones ride, Fantasmic and Disneyland Paris were launched during his tenure.
“It makes total sense going from banking to entertainment to health care,” Hobbs reflects playfully, then adds in earnest: “I found my calling in hospital administration. Since I was young, I’ve always been involved in helping others. I really enjoy the healthcare environment. The mission resonates with who I am as a person.”
In 1992, Hobbs joined the HR department of USC-affiliated Children’s Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA). His wife of 33 years, Merilee, was already a reimbursement rep in the billing department and loved her job.
They’d met at church a few years earlier. At the time, she was a candy striper in what is now USC Verdugo Hills Hospital in their hometown of Glendale. Together, they raised three children: Amanda, 28, Kameron, 26, and Landon, 21, and are proud grandparents to 18-month-old granddaughter Scarlett. Rounding out the Hobbs family is Tillie, a Yorkie rescue dog.
For recreation, the family fixates on sports. Everyone roots for Trojan football, the Dodgers, the Rams, the Lakers and the Kings.
Golf is a big part of their lives. Hobbs taught everyone—starting with his wife. For their first date, he took Merilee to a local golf course and used swing-coaching as an excuse to put his arms around her. When it came time to pop the question five years later, he hid the engagement ring inside the ninth-hole cup.
All three kids grew into serious golfers—especially Amanda, who attended college on a golf scholarship. As youngsters, they had all played AYSO soccer with their dad as team coach. Hobbs himself is a former mini-triathlete, but he no longer competes. At 57, he gets his exercise playing pickleball; he’s a regular with the hospital’s Thursday night pickleball group.
Learning the Ropes
Like his predecessor, Hobbs pours much of his energy into work. His 24-year career at CHLA spanned many roles. As administrative director of surgery, Hobbs led the 300-physician pediatric, multispecialty medical group and oversaw the USC-affiliated surgical residency program.
Later as vice president, he managed everything from anesthesiology to laundry-and-linen to telecommunications. He spearheaded a pediatric vision center that’s now internationally recognized, cut the ribbon on a new 317-bed inpatient tower and helped expand CHLA’s Saban Research Institute.
In 2016 he moved from a CHLA vice presidency into the top job at USC Verdugo Hills Hospital, then a struggling community hospital within Keck Medicine of USC. In his first year as CEO, Hobbs ratcheted up the 158-bed facility’s net revenue by 50%. Over the following three years, he boosted financials by $20 million annually. He catapulted the low-ranked emergency department into the top 25% tier.
Among his other accomplishments at USC Verdugo Hills: Hobbs opened a neonatal intensive care unit, developed a teaching hospital program, crafted a physician network strategy, and drove the development and approval process to bring interventional radiology and catheter lab capabilities to the hospital. His decision to leave his hometown community hospital—a place he’d known all his life, part of a USC system he also knew intimately—was not undertaken lightly.
In accepting Leach’s plan for a gradual transition, Hobbs effectively was resigning as CEO to take up an executive vice presidency. To the casual observer, it might look like a curious setback in an unblemished career. But the challenge was irresistible.
Listing his reasons for joining Torrance Memorial, Hobbs says, “The stature of this hospital, is top of the market in Southern California.” And “Being affiliated with Cedars-Sinai, which in my opinion is the health system of Southern California. The longevity and success of Craig Leach and the rest of the leaders—it was ultimately a no-brainer.”
Merilee was all in. “After we got married,” Hobbs recalls, “she asked if we ever had a chance to be closer to the ocean, would I consider it? I promised I would.”
The whole family has fallen in love with the South Bay. “Merilee loves to hike the different trails near our home in Rancho Palos Verdes,” he says. “And after six months, my boys, who still live with us, wondered why we hadn’t moved here years ago.”
A True Fit
The executive search firm Spencer Stuart identified Hobbs through its “CEO succession planning” process. After a string of interviews, Leach and Torrance Memorial’s leadership gave Hobbs the vote of confidence.
Chief nursing officer Mary Wright, who is also senior vice president for patient services, vividly recalls her favorable first impression. “Keith was one of the very few candidates who could demonstrate how he collaborated with nursing—true collaboration, really solving problems together,” she says.
Hobbs’ rapport with physicians is equally robust. “From the very beginning, Keith went out of his way to engage with us and try to build relationships,” says Gray, who was medical director of the emergency department when Hobbs arrived in 2021. “His natural inclination is to fit in exactly with the way the culture at Torrance Memorial works. I remember him saying repeatedly how at home he felt here.”
That’s hardly surprising because Hobbs “fits in” almost everywhere. He prides himself on being a multifaceted leader, serving on the boards of the Torrance Area Chamber of Commerce and Communities Lifting Communities, a nonprofit focused on health inequities and housing for the homeless.
In the realm of health care governance, he is vice chair of the executive committee of the Hospital Association of Southern California, made up of CEOs across Southern California. He serves on the California Hospital Association Board, reviewing key health care legislation for the State. He’s also a fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a member of the Medical Group Management Association.
Like his predecessor, Hobbs demonstrates an uncanny ability to steer clear of zero-sum options and find win-win solutions—all of which made it possible for November 1 to be just an ordinary Wednesday. Torrance Memorial’s new CEO possesses all the tools to build on a tradition of excellence while moving toward a rapidly evolving future.
