Meet Our
Faculty

Warren Beck is a national leader in the Crowe Healthcare Consulting Practice, specializing in financial operations. He leads the business strategy for academic medical centers and partners with the Crowe Advisory Services Team with solutions in transaction due diligence, general healthcare finance, investigations/litigation support, and healthcare strategy. Prior to joining Crowe, Beck served as the CEO for the Cardiovascular Care Group, Inc., a start-up healthcare company operating two joint venture specialty hospitals.

From 1988 to 2013, Beck spent 25 years at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center. This included 15 years as CFO for hospitals and clinics and 4 years as the senior vice president for finance, where he managed a team of 800 employees and led the finance function for an enterprise of approximately $3.2 billion. Beck’s areas of interest and expertise include general finance and accounting, budgeting, forecasting, long-term financial and capital planning—including management of short- and long-term debut, revenue cycle improvement, government sponsored reimbursement programs, decision support, performance dashboards, medical education, clinical research growth/compliance, patient regulatory compliance programs, and physician recruitment and integration.

In addition to his executive coaching responsibilities at Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management, Professor Cannon teaches several courses at the Peabody College of Education and Human Development, including Learning Organizations, Organizational Theory and Behavior, and Human Resources Planning.

Professor Cannon’s research explores potential barriers to adult learning and ways to overcome these barriers. He examines critical interpersonal feedback and mechanisms for enhancing learning and reducing defensiveness associated with feedback delivery. Professor Cannon also studies the impact of feedback and coaching on learning and performance. In addition, he has examined how executive coaching can be used to facilitate leadership transitions.

Dr. Corbette Doyle’s particular areas of expertise are diversity in the workplace, women’s leadership, risk financing, and the healthcare industry. She currently serves on Boards of Trust of the Martin Methodist College and the Professional Liability Underwriting Society. She consults with Fortune 500 companies and professional service firms on their diversity & inclusion strategies and is an external member of Nissan America’s Executive Diversity Council.

Recent honors and awards include: Education Honoree of Peabody College, the PLUS One Award for outstanding contributions to the professional liability industry, and the APIW Insurance Woman of the Year Award. Prior board affiliations include: Definity Healthcare, Sterling Insurance Company, the American Society of Healthcare Risk Managers, the CPCU Board of Governors, and the Owen Alumni Board.

Mark E. Frisse, MD, MS, is a board certified internist and the Accenture Professor of biomedical informatics at the School of Medicine at Vanderbilt University. His work focuses on the intersection between healthcare informatics, economics, policy, and healthcare transformation. His primary research is directed toward an understanding of economic sustainability and toward the development of technical and administrative measures to enable effective care coordination to ensure the integrity of security and privacy efforts.

In Tennessee, Dr. Frisse led the development and oversight of a 6-year federal- and state-sponsored effort to create and operate a health information exchange for the greater Memphis area. This exchange currently has over 7 million records covering the care of over 1.2 million individuals and is now managed completely by a Memphis-based board and commercial vendor. He has also worked with other states and communities to develop their HIT programs. He also directed the Master of Management in Health Care program at Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.

Professor Rangararaj “Ranga” Ramanujam is a leading researcher and consultant on the organizational causes and consequences of operational failures in high-risk work settings.

Professor Ramanujam has consulted for several organizations, including Aravind Eye Care System, HCA, the Vanderbilt Heart and Vascular Institute, the Pittsburgh Regional Healthcare Initiative, the Pacific Gas & Electric Company, and Underwriters Laboratories.

Professor Ramanujam is the co-editor of the Stanford University Press book series on High Reliability and Crisis Management. He previously served on the editorial boards of Organization Science and the Journal of Organizational Behavior. He is a member of the Nashville Hospital Authority Board.

Professor Ramanujam’s research has appeared in various journals including Academy of Management Journal, Academy of Management Review, Journal of Management, Journal of Applied Psychology, Organization Science, and Medical Care.

Professor Thurman began her career with HCA Healthcare in 2002 as a nurse tech at TriStar Skyline Medical Center Emergency Department. She obtained her Bachelor of Science degree from Cumberland University in 2006 and her MBA in Healthcare Administration from WGU in 2014. She recently graduated with her Doctorate of Nursing Practice in Executive Leadership from Vanderbilt University.

Over the last 21 years, Professor Thurman has worked in various roles and facilities as a registered nurse, nurse preceptor, charge nurse, clinical coordinator, associate director, and director of emergency services. She graduated from the HCA Healthcare Director Development Program in 2015 and remained actively engaged as a key leader and supporter of the development of future nurse leaders in her role as director of nursing advocacy and leadership at the enterprise level. Professor Thurman transitioned to AVP of nursing clinical operations for HCA in March 2022 and was excited about the opportunity to work with healthcare leaders to have a positive impact for her patients and staff across the enterprise. In her role in operations, she focuses on staffing and capacity solutions throughout the organization as well as innovative strategies to improve throughput and operations for over 185 facilities.