Lawrence B. Platt Named Chairman of the Board of Directors at Cedars-Sinai

Lawrence B. Platt, Cedars-Sinai Board member since 1999, was recently installed as Chairman of the Cedars-Sinai Board of Directors. From 2005-2010, he chaired the successful Discovering for Life fundraising campaign, which garnered $357 million for Cedars-Sinai Medical Center's research endowment. He will serve as chairman during construction of the Advanced Health Sciences Pavilion, a 450,000-square-foot state-of-the-art facility that will integrate clinical care and scientific research, allowing physicians to bring scientific breakthroughs directly to patients with a “bench-to-bedside” treatment approach. The facility broke ground in October 2010.

Mr. Platt has held several leadership roles in the Los Angeles community as a member of the Founders of the Los Angeles Music Center, the Fraternity of Friends, the Young Presidents Organization, the World Presidents Organization, and a former member of the Board of Trustees, American Jewish Congress. President and CEO of The Platt Collections, Mr. Platt was born at Cedars of Lebanon hospital and received his BA and JD degrees from USC.

Speaking at the annual meeting of the Board of Directors, Mr. Platt mapped out an ambitious series of goals for his three-year tenure as chairman. He announced plans to launch a new fundraising campaign that will build on an endowment that guarantees the economic viability of Cedars-Sinai’s research enterprise. Mr. Platt highlighted Cedars-Sinai’s recent successes, including a recruiting effort that has attracted “some of the most talented scientists and physicians in the country” to the Los Angeles-based medical center.

"Our strength lies in remembering that everything we do is ultimately for our patients. It is their stories that define who we are. It is their triumphs that matter most," Mr. Platt said during his inaugural remarks.

He expressed confidence that the Board of Directors will provide strong leadership during a time of regulatory uncertainty for healthcare institutions and help Cedars-Sinai thrive financially while maintaining superb patient care.

“We were deeply impressed by Larry’s ability to reach out to our community and build a campaign that yielded truly spectacular results,” said Art Ochoa, Senior Vice President, Community Relations and Development at Cedars-Sinai.

“This really sets the stage for what I know will be a fruitful Chairmanship,”Thomas M. Priselac, President and CEO of Cedars-Sinai said, “Larry has a deep commitment to the compassionate mission of medicine and he leads with enviable vision and energy. Our medical center leadership couldn’t be more thrilled to partner with him in the years ahead.”