Carilion CEO Nancy Howell Agee retires after 51-year career in health field

Nancy Howell Agee, who led Carilion Clinic through more than a decade of transformative change, will step down as CEO Sept. 30.

Steve Arner, who was promoted to president in May 2023, will succeed Agee and become president and CEO Oct. 1.

The leadership transition comes after Agee’s long and distinguished career at Carilion, beginning as a nurse in 1973. She was named Carilion’s president and CEO in 2011, becoming the health system’s 7th – and only female — top executive.

Agee earned national recognition for reorganizing Carilion as a fully integrated, physician-led clinic that includes a medical school and research institute with Virginia Tech, and served as chair of the American Hospital Association’s Board of Trustees in 2018.

She will serve as CEO emeritus through September and focus on philanthropy, growing Carilion’s partnerships and continuing to develop the health system’s reputation statewide and nationally.

“Steve is a strong and capable leader whose commitment to our mission and deep knowledge of our entire organization make him well-suited for the CEO role,” said James Hartley, chairman of Carilion Clinic’s board of directors.

Arner has served as chief operating officer since 2012. He spearheaded more than $500 million in facilities investments, including the Crystal Spring Tower addition to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, on track for completion in 2025, and the recently opened Carilion Children’s and Mental Health facilities at Tanglewood. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led the health system’s response, while also serving as chair of the Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.

“Carilion today is a nationally ranked academic health system that provides an extraordinary range of services, from primary care to the most advanced, complex care,” said Arner. “In some respects, it’s a far different organization than the one I joined more than 25 years ago. What has remained the same since the day I started is Carilion’s laser-like focus on its mission and our community, and I look forward to continuing on the path to growth and collaboration.”

According to Hartley, Agee’s talents have made Carilion and the community fortunate beneficiaries for more than 50 years.

“I’m grateful to her for her continued service, and I’m grateful to Steve for advancing us to our next chapter,” Hartley said.

Agee personifies health care servant leadership, said Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association President and CEO Sean T. Connaughton.

“Her journey has been a quintessential self-made American success story from her days as a candy striper following a teenage injury and hospitalization, as the first person in her family to graduate from high school, to her work as a hospice and surgery nurse, her civic engagement on behalf of the Commonwealth and its people, her accomplished tenure leading Carilion Clinic, and her service as past Chair of the American Hospital Association’s (AHA) Board of Trustees and the Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association’s (VHHA) Board of Directors. She leaves Carilion in the capable hands of health system President and Chief Operating Officer Steven C. Arner, a talented leader guiding Carilion to continued success. Nancy has our sincere admiration and appreciation, and Steve has our full support moving forward. We congratulate them both,” Connaughton said.

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