Mark R. Laret

Mark R. Laret is president and CEO of UCSF Health, which is comprised of Benioff Children’s Hospitals San Francisco and Oakland, Langley Porter Psychiatric Hospital and Clinics and the Faculty Practice. Mark, who joined UCSF in 2000, is a 30-year veteran of healthcare management and a national leader in healthcare reform.

His career began at UCLA Medical Center, where he served in several leadership positions, before being named CEO of UC Irvine Medical Center. At UCSF, he has led initiatives to improve the quality of care and patient safety and to modernize facilities and equipment. He led an effort to build a $1.5 billion UCSF hospital complex on the Mission Bay campus — including hospitals for children, women's services and cancer — and raised $600 million in private contributions for the new facility. He is the past chair of the California Hospital Association and the past chair of the Association of American Medical Colleges. Laret's volunteer service includes membership of the board of the international charity Mercy Ships, which delivers medical care on hospital ships to indigent communities in Africa. He is a member of the board of directors of Varian Medical Systems in Palo Alto and Nuance Communications in Boston, Mass. Mark earned a bachelor's degree at UCLA and a master's degree at the University of Southern California, both in political science.