Ranken Jordan Pediatric Bridge Hospital welcomed three new members to its board of directors in August 2021. These include Michael Hart, David Hatfield, and Robert Pritts.
In addition, Bill Willhite, former board member and immediate past chair, has been appointed as Emeritus Director. Willhite is managing partner and co-founder of WILsquare Capital, a private equity firm.
The Ranken Jordan board of directors provides mission-based leadership and strategic governance to support the hospital’s life-changing work that gives kids the best chance for recovery.
Michael Hart, CPA, chief financial officer at American Piping Products, brings strong strategic financial, accounting and risk management acumen to his board role with more than 20 years of industry experience. He has been with Ernst & Young, Isle of Capri Casinos, and his own consulting firm, Hart LLC, before joining American Piping Products in 2019.
Hart is past president of the Gateway Chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, a member of the 2014 Leadership St. Louis class, and the 2014 Jack Buck Service Award Recipient, among other community activities and achievements.
A member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, Hart graduated magna cum laude with bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Accountancy from University of Missouri—Columbia.
David Hatfield is former board chairman and chief executive officer of Edgewell Personal Care Company. Before his retirement in 2019, Hatfield planned and executed the spinoff and formation of Edgewell from Energizer Holding Inc. In this role, he also managed overall board governance and succession planning.
Hatfield’s extensive career has included serving as president and CEO of Energizer Personal Care division, vice president of global marketing for Energizer Battery Company, and other marketing management roles at Energizer where he successfully launched the Energizer Bunny campaign.
He received a bachelor’s degree in economics from Princeton University and an MBA from Stanford Business School. Hatfield also serves on the St. Louis Zoo Board of Directors.
Robert Pritts brings broad health care leadership experience from around the country. Most recently he was at SSM Health where he served as system president for home health, hospice, rehab and long-term care. He also was CEO for SSM-Select Medical, which operates locations throughout the U.S. focused on long-term acute care, inpatient rehabilitation, occupational health and outpatient physical therapy.
Prior to SSM, Pritts held leadership roles at several health care-related organizations in Cincinnati, Toledo and St. Louis. His current community involvement includes board positions with SSM-Select Medical, the Arthritis Foundation, and the Missouri Brain Injury Foundation.
His bachelor’s degree in marketing and management is from University of Puget Sound in Tacoma, Washington. He received a master’s in health administration (MHA) from Washington University in St. Louis.
