As chief executive officer, Rich Liekweg oversees the $10 billion health system and one of the region’s largest employers, with 44,000 employees, 24 hospitals, and hundreds of clinics, service organizations and physician offices in Missouri, southern Illinois and eastern Kansas. BJC Health System serves its East Region as BJC HealthCare, and its West Region as Saint Luke’s.
A prominent health care industry executive with decades of experience leading large, multifaceted academic health care organizations, Rich joined BJC HealthCare in 2009 as president of Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Barnes-Jewish West County Hospital and group president of BJC HealthCare.
In 2015, Rich was promoted to executive vice president, and then to president of BJC HealthCare in 2017. In 2018, Rich was named BJC HealthCare’s CEO, and in 2024 he became CEO of BJC Health System.
Prior to joining BJC, Rich served as chief executive officer and associate vice chancellor of the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) Medical Center from 2003-2009. Before that, he spent nearly two decades at Duke University Health System in North Carolina.
Rich holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Virginia and master’s degrees in health services administration and business administration, both from the University of Michigan. He serves on the boards of professional and community organizations including Vizient, Washington University, Cortex, Community Health Commission of Missouri, Missouri Hospital Association, Greater St. Louis, Inc., and BioSTL.