Culture as competitive advantage at the University of California Irvine Health: A case study
Abstract
This paper highlights the University of California Irvine Health’s recognition of and response to an acute need for strategic change based on dynamic market forces, and operational journey through that shift. The paper catalogues the executive team’s pursuit of balanced, systemic change cascading from strategy to priorities through to organisational structure and talent. In particular, the CEO and senior team identified organisational culture as a critical lever for sustainable competitive advantage, enabling significant structural expansion to deliver high-quality care throughout Orange County, California. By January 2026, UCI Health will have successfully integrated four community hospitals into its network, opened two brand new ambulatory centres and added one new, leading-edge 144-bed full-service hospital, for a total of 1,461 beds across six hospitals. The launch and operational success of this expansion relied significantly on the importance of organisational alignment, and the intentional design of culture in the service of strategy. This article is also included in The Business & Management Collection which can be accessed at https://hstalks.com/business/.
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Author's Biography
Chad T. Lefteris , FACHE, is the President and Chief Executive Officer of UCI Health, Orange County’s only academic health system, and a key member of the University of California Health. Lefteris oversees all clinical and patient-serving operations, including the UC Irvine Medical Center in Orange, consistently recognised among America’s Best Hospitals by U.S. News & World Report and the county’s only Level I Trauma Center, and the UC Irvine Health Innovation fund. With over 8,500 caregivers providing more than 1.2 million patient encounters across 26 locations, UCI Health is the primary teaching location for the UCI School of Medicine. Lefteris joined UCI Health in 2018 as the Chief Operating Officer. Lefteris received his bachelor’s degree in business administration/healthcare management from Appalachian State University and his master’s of health administration from Medical University of South Carolina.
Laura Hunt Newman , MAOD, is Managing Director of Upstart Logic, a boutique advisory firm focused on helping executive leaders navigate organisational transformation and disruptive change. Laura’s training was heavily influenced by Michael Porter, Chris Argyris, David Kantor and others thanks to her early career with The Monitor Group (now Monitor Deloitte). Laura holds a master’s in organisation development and leadership from Fielding Graduate University and has deep expertise in corporate strategy, organisational alignment, executive team development and the theories of structural dynamics and dialogue.
Citation
Lefteris, Chad T. and Newman, Laura Hunt (2025, September 1). Culture as competitive advantage at the University of California Irvine Health: A case study. In the Management in Healthcare: A Peer-Reviewed Journal, Volume 10, Issue 1. https://doi.org/10.69554/AXFJ6053.
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