Herbert M. Heili recently retired as Executive Vice President of Gundersen Lutheran Healthcare Systems in La Crosse, Wisconsin.  Throughout his 42 years in healthcare, he has been recognized for his leadership, communication skills, and ability to develop productive work teams.

Mr. Heili joined Gundersen Lutheran in August 1997 as executive advisor to the system and the Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation. He was named executive vice president of Gundersen Lutheran in July 1998 and served in that capacity until August 2002. Under his leadership, Gundersen Lutheran experienced significant growth and established a strong platform for future success. Herb served as an ex-officio member of the Gundersen Lutheran Board of Governors and Trustees, a board member of the Gundersen Lutheran Health Plan, and a member of the Executive Committee.

Prior to joining Gundersen Lutheran, Mr. Heili was Executive Director of the Americas at Searle Pharmaceutical Corporation. He joined Searle in 1985 as the Director of Sales Training and Management Development. In 1988, He was appointed Senior Director of Marketing Operations, where he created the Medical Science Liaison Group. In 1989-1993, he served in several positions including senior director of sales operations, business unit director, and assistant to the president. In 1995, he was appointed executive director, supporting operations in the U.S., Canada and South America.

Before joining Searle, Mr. Heili spent 23 years in the pharmaceutical industry with Lederle Laboratories, a division of American Cyanamid Company. He started his career as a sales representative in Austin, Minnesota. and progressed to a variety of significant management positions in his former company. At the time of his departure from Lederle, Mr. Heili was the director of training and manpower development.
 

An accomplished speaker, Mr. Heili has presented programs at the annual meeting of the National Association of Retail Druggists and the Executive Committee of the National Association of Chain Drugstores. His leadership and lifelong commitment to the pharmaceutical industry has been consistently recognized and rewarded, including his receipt of Searle’s prestigious President’s Award in 1996.
 

Mr. Heili was a member of the National Society of Pharmaceutical Sales Trainers and a member of the Searle National Management Board. He also served as chairperson of the Gundersen Lutheran National Advisory Council and in an advisory role at the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater School of Business.

Herb is a recent heart transplant recipient and is engaging in the awareness and value of organ donation campaigns for the Organ Procurement Office at the University of Wisconsin, and shares his first-hand experience on behalf of the American Heart Association.

A native of Two Rivers, Wis., Mr. Heili graduated from St. Norbert College in West DePere with a B.S. in Biology. He spent two years as an officer in the U.S. Army Medical Service Corps.