Sutter Health's CFO shares how strategic alignment, capital discipline, and a people-first approach are guiding the system through industry disruption and long-term transformation.
When Jonathan Ma officially stepped into the CFO role at Sutter Health two months ago, it was more than just a title change. It was a continuation of a thoughtful approach to leadership built on his time serving as the interim CFO.
During that time, Ma built the foundation for a leadership style focused on strategic alignment, operational transformation, and financial sustainability, all while maintaining a solid commitment to Sutter's mission of "caring for patients first, and people always."
"The interim role gave me time to understand our leadership priorities and build trust across teams," Ma said. "It also allowed me to spend time rounding with key executive leaders and ensure that we were all aligned for the years ahead."
Ma sees his role not as the sole driver of financial transformation, but as part of a deeply integrated executive team. He emphasized that operational change at a health system as large and complex as Sutter requires a close-knit collaboration of finance, strategy, and operations.
"Transformation isn't necessarily just driven by finance," he noted. "It really is a team effort across all disciplines so that we can align towards our mission and really be there for our patients and our clinicians."
People, Process, and Purpose
One key element of Ma's philosophy is resisting the temptation to chase down technology as a standalone solution. During his HFMA presentation in Denver this year, he explained that lasting change must be rooted in three pillars: People, process, and purpose.
"A tech fix without the right people and shared purpose won't deliver sustainable outcomes," he said. "All three of those components are interrelated."
That perspective carries over into Sutter's capital allocation strategy, especially when technologies like AI promise efficiency gains, but don't always deliver. Evaluating ROI in items like care delivery, revenue cycle and workforce efficiency is "always a challenge," he said.
"We apply a multifaceted scorecard that includes quantitative ROI as well as alignment with strategic and mission-driven objectives," Ma explained. "And it's not static., We revisit the criteria regularly to adapt to changes in technology and market conditions."
As the healthcare landscape becomes ever more characterized by rising labor costs, inflationary pressures, and the continued shift toward value-based care, agility is essential. Ma and his team monitor both operational and balance sheet metrics, benchmarking Sutter's performance against long-term capital plans while balancing short-term restrictions.
"It's a mix of both operational metrics and balance sheet because we think having that strong balance sheet foundation over the long run is just as important," he said.
Collaboration with the CEO, COO, and clinical leaders plays a vital role in that balancing act.
"Connectivity and communication [are] really important, and having that regular schedule of meetings with the right leaders, with the right people, because that's the way that we can get alignment," he said. "Financial discipline can't come at the expense of care quality."
Under Ma's leadership, trust and transparency have become pillars of the finance culture at Sutter. He prioritizes open communication, and what his CEO calls a high "say-do ratio"—delivering on what's promised.
"Credibility and reliability are how you build trust across frontline teams," Ma said. "Taking feedback from leaders directly has been a big priority of mine over the past six months."
Looking ahead, Ma sees both familiar and new challenges. Persistent cost-revenue imbalances remain a threat, but he believes a commitment to operational excellence and adaptability will help mitigate those pressures.
"We're constantly thinking about how we build in operational excellence in order to continue to close those gaps," he said. "We're always trying to balance our commitment to serving patients over the long run with making sure that we have those headwinds in check, and also have the resilience to mitigate those challenges and be prepared for what comes next."
Marie DeFreitas is the CFO editor for HealthLeaders.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Ma says sustainable operational transformation depends on aligning people, processes, and technology, not relying on tech fixes alone.
Sutter Health uses a dynamic multifactor approach to prioritize technology and infrastructure investments based on ROI, strategic alignment, and long-term mission goals.
Ma credits close collaboration with executive and clinical leadership as the key to balancing cost control with care quality and strengthening system-wide trust.