Ernest H. Urquhart (Ernie) is the former Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer for Catholic Healthcare West (CHW). He was responsible for creating and leading implementation of effective human resources strategies for over 50,000 employees of CHW’s integrated health care system at over 40 facilities in California, Nevada, and Arizona. He retired from CHW in July, 2010

Mr. Urquhart joined CHW in 2001 and was a key member of an Executive team that led a historic turnaround of this institution from near bankruptcy to thriving and transformative leadership in quality, productivity, patient care, and community engagement especially for the poor and underserved. Under his leadership, CHW achieved industry leading employee satisfaction figures of 82 percent and achieved “best place to work” status in many of the communities it serves. During his tenure with CHW he also put in place innovative leadership development programs to build diversity and sustain CHW’s values and mission in the years to come, and built enduring and collaborative working relationships with the labor organizations representing CHW’s employees to sustain full employee engagement in service to patients in need.

Mr. Urquhart also lends his talents to the communities in which he has lived and for causes he values such as health, education, and cultural learning. He is President/CEO of the Urquhart Memorial Foundation, dedicated to supporting African-American students in Philadelphia, PA, who are eligible and strive to go to college. In addition, he is Chair of the Board of the Museum of the African Diaspora, and serves or has served on the Boards of the National Association of Healthcare Services Executives, Garth Fagan Dance, Lorraine Hansberry Theatre, and AmericaSpeaks.

Prior to joining CHW, Ernie was a member of the executive team at Harcourt, Inc. as Senior Vice President Human Resources Worldwide. He was a highly successful and innovative leader in this global provider of premier, lifelong learning products and services, through its 13,000 employees in 23 countries. Additionally, Ernie has had a distinctive career in progressive human resource and business leadership in organizations such as Fisons plc, Johnson & Johnson, and Exxon.

Believing that “retirement is the increased capacity to do the work you want to do” in his state of retirement Ernie is the principal of Urquhart Consulting committed to working with leaders on issues of personal and leadership development and transitions throughout their career.