Sutter Health Leadership

James Conforti

Interim President and Chief Executive Officer

As interim president and CEO of Sutter Health, James Conforti oversees the network’s 24 hospitals, 50,000 employees, 14,000 clinicians, outpatient services, research facilities, home health and hospice care services. Under his guidance, Sutter continues to make healthcare more accessible, affordable, efficient and convenient for more than 3 million patients.

Conforti has held multiple senior leadership positions within Sutter Health, including Sutter Health Chief Operating Officer, president of the Valley Division, president of the Sacramento Sierra Region, and CEO roles at Memorial Medical Center, Sutter Gould Medical Foundation, and Sutter North Medical Foundation.

Prior to joining Sutter Health, Conforti served for nine years as a Medical Service Corps Officer in the United States Army. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and a board-certified medical practice executive with the Medical Group Management Association. He serves on the executive committee for the Greater Sacramento Area Economic Council and on the California Business Roundtable board of directors.

Conforti has a bachelor’s degree in international relations from University of Washington and a master’s in health science, health finance and management from Johns Hopkins University.

Jill Ragsdale

Senior Vice President and Chief People and Culture Officer

With caring and compassion at the forefront, Jill Ragsdale and her teams are responsible for the programs and systems that empower staff to provide excellent and compassionate patient care and ensure patients receive high-quality, affordable healthcare services. As the leader for Human Resources, Enterprise Transformation, and Protective Services, Ragsdale leads teams that are at the center of Sutter Health’s diverse culture and environment.

From 1995 to 2008 she worked at Sutter Health as director of human resources and later vice president, human resources.  In 2008, she returned to the Mayo Clinic where she had launched her career, and served as Mayo’s chief human resources officer for eight years, before returning to Sutter Health in 2015.

Ragsdale earned bachelor’s degrees in psychology and religion, and a master’s degree in industrial relations/human resources from the University of Iowa.

Brian Dean

Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

As Chief Financial Officer, Brian Dean is responsible for the financial operations of Sutter Health, and oversees financial reporting, treasury, managed care, strategy and business development.

Dean joined Sutter Health in July 2020 from Memorial Hermann Health System in Texas, where he most recently served as that organization’s Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. There he was a key strategic partner in developing transformative business models to elevate the system’s capabilities around operational excellence, care delivery and innovation, while balancing the need for cost containment and strategic growth.

He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Texas Hospital Association, Healthcare Financial Management Association, and Angel Flight Southeast Texas.

He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Kentucky, an MBA from the University of Miami, and a master’s in public health in health administration from the University of Kentucky.

Florence L. Di Benedetto

Senior Vice President and General Counsel

Prior to joining Sutter Health in 2008, Di Benedetto was a senior partner of the Sacramento-based law firm Hunter Richey Di Benedetto & Eisenbeis LLP for 20 years.  She started the firm’s litigation practice and chaired the litigation section. She then served more than 10 years as the firm’s health law section senior partner, representing clients across California.

Di Benedetto earned her bachelor’s degree in international relations from Georgetown University and studied economics and economic planning at London University and the Central School of Planning and Statistics in Warsaw, Poland.  She earned her law degree from the University of San Francisco and a master’s in health services management from Golden Gate University.

For many years, Di Benedetto served in the leadership ranks of the Sacramento Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce, including serving as board chair in 2005-2006.

Conrad M. Vial, M.D.

Senior Vice President and Chief Clinical Officer

As Sutter Health’s Chief Clinical Officer, Dr. Vial oversees all facets of the organization’s clinical operations, including clinical strategy, research and graduate medical education, quality and safety, digital patient engagement and patient experience.

Dr. Vial is a practicing cardiothoracic surgeon who has held various leadership roles in multi-specialty medical group practice and integrated healthcare delivery. From the clinical practice perspective, Dr. Vial is particularly interested in structural heart disease, focusing on minimally invasive cardiothoracic surgery and catheter-based valve repair and replacement. 

Dr. Vial received his bachelor’s degree and medical doctorate from Stanford University. He earned a master’s of philosophy at Cambridge University in England, while also completing a postdoctoral fellowship in transplant immunology. He conducted his general surgical and cardiothoracic surgical training at Stanford University Medical Center.  He has been board certified in both general surgery and cardiothoracic surgery.

Grace Davis

Vice President and Chief Public Affairs Officer
Chief of Staff to the President and CEO

Grace Davis leads the comprehensive public affairs organization that builds on Sutter Health’s strong community ties and not-for-profit mission to improve overall health and well-being through the delivery of excellent healthcare services. In this role, she oversees all facets of Sutter’s brand, reputation and external relations. Her organization consists of a unified public affairs, marketing, communications, community benefit and government relations organization across the integrated system. In her role as Chief of Staff to the President and CEO, she is the principal manager of the President’s Office with overall accountability for daily processes and systems.

Davis joined Sutter Health in 2017 from Intel Corporation, where she spent 17 years in a series of leadership roles within the company developing government and community strategies. She most recently oversaw Global Public Affairs responsible for external and government relations in the United States and overseas markets, including China, Southeast Asia, Israel, Ireland and Latin America.

Davis earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from San Jose State University.

Theresa M. Frei, R.N.

Interim Chief Operating Officer

As interim Chief Operating Officer of Sutter Health, Theresa Frei oversees all clinical operations, Nursing,  and Information Services.

Frei continues to serve as president and CEO of Sutter Valley Medical Foundation. Previously, she was chief operations officer at Sutter Medical Foundation, director of operations and patient safety at Palo Alto Medical Foundation, and Chief of Client and Patient Services at Sutter Physician Services.

She is a member of the American Medical Group Association (AMGA) Foundation, which promotes learning and collaboration across the high-performing health systems in America. She serves as Chair of AMGA’s CEO Leadership Council and Treasurer of AMGA Foundation. She was the founding chair of the California Patient Safety Action Coalition, a statewide coalition focusing on promoting the principles of a safety culture across healthcare.

She earned her bachelor’s degree from Florida State University, and an MBA from Saint Mary’s College, and has completed the California HealthCare Leadership Fellowship Program.