Avera Health announces new interim president and CEO

Timeline advances on departure of President and CEO Bob Sutton

The chief financial officer of Avera Health will assume the role as interim president and CEO effective next month, the health system announced Wednesday.

Julie Lautt will assume her new role on Aug. 5. She will also continue to serve as Avera’s chief financial officer. Lautt will be the interim president while Avera conducts a national search to name a permanent replacement.

That search was necessitated by the announcement in April that President and CEO Bob Sutton had been diagnosed with a serious medical condition that required intensive treatment. In April, Avera said Sutton would remain with the organization until Sept. 30, but Avera spokesman Cale Feller said by email Wednesday that timeline had changed and that Sutton would be with the organization until Lautt assumes the post.

"I want to sincerely thank Bob for his leadership and mentorship during his time at Avera,” Lautt said in a release announcing her appointment. “He is a tremendous strategic leader, and we will miss him dearly. I look forward to working closely with our talented senior leadership team to continue to ensure our mission and dedication to Avera communities remains strong during this period of change.”

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Sister Mary Kay Panowicz, Avera System Members chairperson, said in the release that Lautt’s leadership and commitment to the organization made her ideal to lead during the transition.

“We thank Julie for her willingness to step into this role,” Panowicz said. “We are also grateful to Bob, who is leaving, and remain inspired by his commitment to hear and respond to the Holy Spirit as he shifts focus to his care needs.”

Lautt was named as Avera’s senior financial steward in 2020, having previously served as vice president of operational finance with Avera Health. From 1999 to 2017, she served at Avera McKennan Hospital & University Health Center as controller of managed hospitals, vice president and corporate controller and then as senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Prior to joining Avera, Lautt served in several positions including Audit Manager at Coopers & Lybrand and PricewaterhouseCoopers. She is a certified public accountant licensed in Arizona and South Dakota. She is also a Chartered Global Management Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She has a Bachelor of Science in business administration degree with majors in accounting and mathematics from the University of South Dakota.

She is married to Jeff Lautt and they have six adult children.