Charles E. “Chuck” Columbus is CEO of the American Health Policy Institute. Chuck has recently joined the Institute as CEO, having retired as Senior Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. and Hospitals, serving in that role from 2010-2019. He is taking over from Shelly Carlin who is in a planned transition back to her work with the Center On Executive Compensation and the Association.

As Chief Human Resources Officer at Kaiser Permanente, Chuck had national responsibility for all Human Resources functions, including recruiting, learning and development, succession management, workplace safety and workforce well-being, compensation and benefits, and employee and labor relations. He was also responsible for National Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity, and is responsible for the Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity workforce strategy. Chuck joined Kaiser in 2009 as Senior Vice President, Labor Relations, and led the development of Kaiser Permanent’s national labor relations strategy.

Chuck spent the first 30 years of his career at Ford Motor Company, holding a number of senior labor and human resources positions, including vice president of Human Resources, Asia Markets. In this position, he was responsible for all human resources functions in six countries, as well as for employee and organizational development processes in the 11 Ford markets in Asia-Pacific and Africa. During this period, he led a realignment initiative that developed strategies for the optimal use of regional resources.

Prior to his retirement this spring, Chuck served on the HR Policy Board of Directors and the American Health Policy Institute Board of Governors.