David M. Bittner

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Age: 38

Title: Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Company: St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center

Location: Hartford

Hometown: Farmington

College: Truman State University, Kirksville, Mo.

Bio

Since December 2014, David Bittner has served as the senior vice president and chief finance officer to St. Francis Care Inc. He is responsible for the fiscal operations of St. Francis Care, its subsidiaries and affiliates, with added oversight of strategic financial planning as well as budget, revenue cycle, financial reporting, supply chain, and investment and debt management. As St. Francis explores new affiliations and acquisitions, Bittner will be instrumental in those initiatives.

Joining St. Francis in 2012 as vice president of finance, Bittner previously worked as the director of finance at Memorial Health System in Springfield, Ill. His earlier positions included service as an audit manager with Ernst & Young.

Bittner is a strong advocate for all Connecticut hospitals in the legislative arena, testifying on the hospital industry's behalf at both local and state level public hearings.

On the community front, Bittner serves on the finance committee of Ronald McDonald House of Connecticut and Massachusetts, and on the finance committee of Foodshare in Windsor.

Bittner is married with four children.

Q&A

Where do you get your motivation to succeed? I initially got my motivation to succeed from my Dad. He grew up in Cleveland, working in steel mills throughout the summer to pay his own way through four years of college. Knowing and witnessing his hard work and dedication showed me that you need to have that commitment to get what you wanted in life. I've continued to make sure my father's legacy and values are ingrained in all that I do.

How will you change the world? Health care on its own has such a dramatic role in everyone's life. I hope that by working in the healthcare industry I can contribute to keeping people well. My role is to examine how as an organization we shift to a payment-model based on value and not volume. In the future hospitals will get paid for keeping people well, not just for treating their disease. By focusing our efforts on keeping our community healthy, it will profoundly change lives.

When Hollywood makes a movie about your entire life and career, what will the title and tagline be? The Pursuit: Love, Laugh, Learn, Live. I feel that I'm in a constant pursuit in life. A famous Hollywood quote is that every man dies, but not every man really lives. Really living requires us to pursue those things that are endearing to us. I find that above all else, love is the most important, whether it be the love of God, family and/or friends. It is important to have a sense of humor.