The board has selected Chris Woleske, now executive vice president and chief operating officer of Bellin Health, to succeed Kerwin as president and CEO on Oct. 1.

“Over the past three years, we’ve been working on a succession plan knowing that, at some point, George would decide to retire,” said Terry Fulwiler, board chairman. “… As we reviewed our plans and discussed whether or not to do an outside search for his replacement, we kept coming back to our belief that the best person for the job was already at Bellin, and that is Chris Woleske.”

Woleske has been with Bellin Health in a variety of roles since 1998, becoming executive vice president and COO in 2016. During her tenure, she led the acquisition of several specialty practices and of Bellin Health services in Oconto and Marinette, Wis., and was instrumental in developing Bellin Health Titletown Sports Medicine and Orthopedics.

“I look forward to continuing the strong leadership that George has demonstrated and continue to work toward the Bellin mission to improve the health and well-being of every person in our region,” Woleske said.

CHRIS WOLESKE

Kerwin join Bellin in 1971 and worked his way up through the system, starting as director of housekeeping and admissions. He became senior vice president and COO in 1986 before becoming president and CEO in 1992.

Based in Green Bay, Bellin Health has served northeast Wisconsin and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula since 1908. It is comprised of Bellin Hospital, Bellin Psychiatric Center, 32 Bellin Health primary care physician clinics and several retail health clinics known as Bellin Health FastCare. Bellin Health has more than 4,000 employees.