Departing American Cancer Society CEO: ‘I love this organization to my core’
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Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, embraced a straightforward but powerful principle when she assumed two key leadership positions with American Cancer Society.
“I love science and medicine, but I also love the business of science and medicine,” Knudsen told Healio. “I am energized by leading organizations through transformation to meet their full potential.”
Knudsen — an internationally recognized health care executive and advocate whose research discoveries contributed to the development of more effective prostate cancer therapies — has served as CEO of American Cancer Society (ACS) and its nonprofit advocacy affiliate, ACS Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), since 2021.
She announced in September that she will transition from those roles and move into “the next phase of her strategy to accelerate progress against cancer,” according to a society-issued press release.
The society’s board of directors is expected to name an interim CEO by the end of this year and conduct a national search for Knudsen’s successor. Knudsen will remain with the society as an executive strategic adviser through early next year to support the transition.
Knudsen’s leadership strategy has focused on three key pillars — discovery, advocacy and patient support. During her tenure, the society increased annual revenue by more than 30%, hired its first chief diversity officer, and successfully advocated for policies to improve access to biomarker testing and ensure federal coverage for patient navigators.
“Dr. Knudsen has been a trailblazer in so many ways,” Norman E. “Ned” Sharpless, MD, former NCI director and a member of the cancer society’s board of directors, said in a press release. “She was the first CEO of ACS to come from the oncology community, and she brought with her exceptional know-how based not only on her business acumen, but on her understanding of the cancer challenge, and what patients need.”
Healio spoke with Knudsen about what she considers the highlights of her tenure, why the three pillars of her leadership strategy are important, and challenges the society must strive to address moving forward.
Healio: What goals did you set out to accomplish as ACS CEO?
Knudsen: This has been a unique time in our 100-plus year history. I came in to take this organization — which had been operating under a federated model until very recently — and have it function as one ACS against cancer. I wanted to truly realize that dream of what can happen in accelerating progress against cancer when ACS is functioning as one organization. A key part of that is to have the patient at the center and focus on where we can best be positioned to improve lives.
Healio: What achievements are you most proud of from your tenure as CEO?
Knudsen: We identified the organization’s key stakeholders, which includes the patient and their caregiver — this is who we exist to serve. We then crafted the mission of the organization, which is more than just words on a page; it’s actually how we make decisions. The mission is to improve the lives of those two stakeholders, and all our programming was intended to organize around that mission and solve for it.
We’ve also been constantly thinking about how to ensure that we’re driving toward success. Success is “ending cancer as we know it, for everyone.” Those eight words define us. The “for everyone” part is especially important because it represents our commitment to health equity.
Healio: Can you elaborate on the three pillars of your mission and why they are so important?
Knudsen: The first pillar is discovery. We know we must continue to innovate, and we do that through our intramural and extramural programs. This pillar is led by the society’s chief scientific officer, William Dahut, MD.
The second is advocacy. We do this by using the knowledge from the science to introduce durable solutions at the federal and state policy levels. This means policy and science are no longer separate — they’re actually informing each other. ACS CAN President Lisa Lacasse oversees advocacy integration across the organization.
Finally, there’s patient support, which has been the biggest sea change at the ACS. We are the largest funder of cancer research outside the U.S. government, but we’re not just looking at science and writing checks.
There are many nonbiological reasons people in the United States don’t survive cancer. They range from lack of transportation to lack of housing, or lack of digital or health literacy. The list is long, and the activities the ACS has done to address these issues had never been coordinated. We pulled that together into one business unit and created the chief patient officer role, and we recruited a dynamo out of Duke University — Arif H. Kamal, MD — to serve in that role.
Healio: What do you consider the biggest challenges that remain in oncology?
Knudsen: The field of oncology has a number of headwinds coming at it, and one is sheer mass. We have made significant gains against cancer, including a 33% reduction in mortality since 1991, which was the high-water mark in the U.S. mortality rate. People are living longer, so we’re going to have more people living with cancer. This is the first year we’ve exceeded the 2-million mark in the U.S. for new cancer diagnoses. At the same time, the oncology workforce is challenged across the continuum.
We also have the ongoing challenge of inconsistent access to the most advanced care, from early detection and screening to therapeutic intervention. If you think about the number of adults in the United States who enroll in clinical trials, we have not been able to nudge that number and get it where it needs to be.
Another issue will be how the oncology community will leverage technology, including AI.
Healio: How do you envision ACS continuing to grow and evolve under your successor?
Knudsen: I am absolutely confident that we have the right people in the right jobs doing the right things. The metrics speak for themselves: We’ve increased revenue by 30%, which is not simple in a not-for-profit organization. So, we’re putting more dollars than ever back into our pillars of discovery, patient support and advocacy.
This organization is on the right path. We are meeting our potential for improving the lives of patients with cancer and their families. I have such confidence in this team, which is why I feel so confident moving on to the next challenge. That tends to be what I do — I am a “swing for the fences” person. I find the greatest joy in transforming organizations that have these incredible bones and have the potential to be even greater. I love this organization to my core, and am very committed to ensuring that it doesn’t miss a beat.
Reference:
- American Cancer Society. CEO of the American Cancer Society announces transition plans (press release). Available at https://pressroom.cancer.org/releases?item=1350. Published Sept. 13, 2024. Accessed Oct. 1, 2024.
For more information:
Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, can be reached at karen.knudsen@cancer.org.
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