ANWEP Woman of the Week (WOW): Nkem Okafor
Nkem Okafor is a dynamic and passionate leader with a gift of helping companies develop and execute effective business strategies—taking concepts to implementation. She is a senior healthcare executive with over 10 years in strategy, business development, program management, and consulting. She was the Vice President of Strategy & Planning at Methodist Health System, a $1.6 billion, 10 hospital system in Dallas, Texas. She directs the organization’s business strategies and planning, and leads growth and expansion. She’s led numerous projects, totaling over $250 million. She previously was a System Director at Houston Methodist ($2 billion, 8 hospital system), where she expanded the company to new countries and tripled revenue expectations for her division. She improved operational performance, resulting in over $90 million in financial savings, and oversaw the system’s $530 million community benefits program. She began her career at Deloitte Consulting where she solved problems for Fortune 500 companies and received a Service Excellence Award for her exceptional contributions.
Currently, she consults businesses on how to create effective strategies and strategic business plans, and helps women with leadership and professional development. She speaks at national and international conferences, and was featured on CBS’ live television program.
Nkem was honored as a Top 15 Business Women of Dallas by the National Diversity Council and one of the 50 Shades of Boss by BossWomen.
Nkem has a Master’s degree in Health Management from Yale School of Management and Yale School of Public Health, and a Bachelor’s from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, graduating cum laude and honors with distinction. She is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Leadership Dallas alumna, National Association of Health Services Executives member, and a Board member for four different community organizations.