At the Nashville Health Care Council we are honored to have a diverse community of healthcare leaders of every level. As healthcare evolves and grows, so does our Council membership. One way we support building and growing the healthcare talent pipeline is the Leadership Health Care (LHC) program. Leadership Health Care fosters the next generation of healthcare leaders by creating educational and networking opportunities for members. We look to our Leadership Health Care Board of Directors to share their experience and spotlight their achievements to provide lessons and examples of success for the full Nashville Health Care Community.
Meet Leadership Health Care Board Member: Josh Livingston
Joshua Livingston, an Executive Director at J.P. Morgan Chase, leads healthcare services for Tennessee and Kentucky, advising middle market companies. With nearly twenty years in banking, he previously held roles at Hancock Whitney Bank and Fifth Third Bank. He holds leadership roles at Make A Wish of Middle Tennessee and Leadership Health Care, with degrees from Owen Graduate School of Management and Miami University of Ohio. He also holds FINRA Series 7, 63, and 79 licenses.
How did Leadership Health Care influence your career?
Leadership Health Care was an avenue for me to engage with the Nashville community when I moved here almost fifteen years ago. This network expansion was not just oriented around my professional development it benefited me personally as well. Some of my closest friendships have come as a result of my time in LHC. These relationships grew organically over time, as it was not until I joined J.P. Morgan Chase in late 2020 that I started calling in this market professionally. As a result, when I would reach out to executives that I had built rapport with over time in LHC, the trust was often already established and I was able to have more candid and impactful conversations sitting across from strategic decision makers. The thought leadership and educational component of the LHC curriculum has allowed me to keep informed with current topics and emerging trends. Complementing the topics covered at LHC events, I have more robust dialogue with healthcare executives and COIs and put that knowledge into action. As it relates to leadership development, LHC provided a forum for me to actively engage with peers on committees, which ultimately afforded me the opportunity to join the LHC Board, in addition to chairing LHC committees over multiple years.
Tell us about a professional success story that you’re proud of.
J.P. Morgan Chase completed its third annual Healthcare Leadership Summit in Nashville early May and I was one of a few individuals who promoted the idea of a San Francisco offshoot event in Nashville for early stage, predominantly privately-held healthcare companies, when I started with the firm in late 2020.
From that point of conception, then building internal support across a number of lines of businesses, and to see all the stakeholders that are now involved in making this event a success is particularly rewarding. To imagine that we would be at Music City Center and the Four Seasons hotel for the conference and networking reception, respectively, in just three short years is something that brings me great pride, yet it is even more so an opportunity for J.P. Morgan to show its commitment to the earlier stage, high-growth healthcare and investor community.
What inspired you to choose your current career path?
I was fortunate to have been provided exposure to banking early on in my professional journey. During my college summer months, I interned at Fifth Third Bank in Cincinnati and rotated through retail, legal and its wealth management divisions, ultimately figuring out that I wanted to be in front of decision makers as my career developed. That desire to help executives achieve their strategic goals led me to take a job in the commercial banking division of that same bank after graduation. The initial commercial training program afforded me an introduction to several areas of the commercial bank and I eventually did my final rotation in healthcare banking. It was partly the variety in the industry, where the healthcare ecosystem tends to be more complex and has more participants than other economic sectors, that confirmed my decision to go into healthcare banking. Regulatory and policy changes have the potential to be more frequent, so staying abreast of all these different dynamics that affect healthcare participants overall was exciting to me.
My interest in this career path developed because of my employment trajectory across three different banks – one where I focused on large corporate, one where I focused on mid corporate and currently with J.P. Morgan Chase focusing on middle market to mid corporate healthcare services. Upon reflection, being a true, strategic partner to these innovative care delivery platforms was an endeavor that best leveraged my personality and skill set.
What has surprised you most about working in the healthcare industry?
I believe it is more Nashville than the healthcare industry in general, however it continues to amaze me how collaborative people are that I work with across this region. An established CEO willing to make an introduction or provide advice to a peer competitor is one example. A Banker competing for business against a peer in town and then meeting for drinks after work, for coffee in the morning, or sitting down in a board room together to help a non-profit are other examples. I think the healthcare industry is emblematic of that broader culture that has sustained itself in Nashville. All of this collaboration is for the goal of solving real problems within our healthcare space together.
If you could go back in time and give yourself one piece of advice before entering the industry, what would it be?
Even with our growth, Nashville still has a “small town” feel to it within our industry. I would encourage people to make the effort to help others in their time of need or when they are looking for direction. It goes to some of the Nashville culture I referenced above. Over time I have experienced a number of individuals who have had a consequential, positive impact on me years after our first interactions. I, in turn, have had the privilege of helping others navigate aspects of their personal or professional journeys.
Comparatively, remember not to burn bridges in a professional setting as individuals tend to have long-term memories and could come back at a different time, in a different role, and continue to have influence over your work effort and environment.
How have you built confidence and/or resiliency over the course of your career?
My immediate reaction to this question is that I am a lifelong learner and do not mind feeling uncomfortable, as it is a great opportunity to grow and develop.
When I made the decision to move here, I only knew a couple of co-workers who were in Nashville. In addition to a mentor who was well connected in town, LHC and NHCC were two of my primary outlets to expand my network and stay current in relevant topics and trends in the healthcare space. It was challenging at first, however I was persistent in attending events and following up with colleagues individually to get to know them on a more personal basis.
Strengths of mine include being an active listener and also providing genuine feedback to others. I have benefited from a few great mentor relationships over my career and I have worked with numerous mentees over more recent years. I improved my confidence over time as a result of the positive experiences from both my mentor and mentee relationships.
I view myself as a connector and have confidence in my ability to add value and develop good rapport. Further, my interest in genuine collaboration has served me well in engaging with members of LHC and NHCC. I have enjoyed doing my part to make connections across Nashville as a whole, as well as the dynamic healthcare ecosystem and its corresponding investor community, and I am confident in my ability to expand upon that moving forward.
The Next Generation of Healthcare Leaders
Leadership Health Care’s mission is to cultivate talented healthcare professionals into the industry leaders of tomorrow. LHC aims to provide young professionals with ongoing opportunities to develop their knowledge of the healthcare industry through educational events and networking opportunities. Fill out this form to learn more about LHC.