The Exec: How Noel Sousa Is Defining Success At UMMS

The health system’s new CFO brings a people-first, data-driven approach to align finance with strategic, system-wide impact.

Noel Sousa took over as the University of Maryland Medical System’s (UMMS) CFO one month ago. Now he’s shuffling the deck as he prepares his next play at a new academic system.

Before joining UMMS, Sousa was CFO for UC Davis Health in Sacramento, California, where he held various leadership roles over almost two decades. While serving as interim CFO there, he oversaw a large team and managed a $7 billion capital plan. His expertise spans across revenue cycle, decision support, capital finance, and government reimbursement departments.

People-First Finance

One lesson he learned at UC Davis: Lead by example. As the old adage goes, seek first to understand, then to be understood. Sousa says aligning himself with the mission and actively listening to his team are crucial, especially in complex organizations like academic medical centers.

“You need to show that you care about the people that you're working with, and you have to listen,” he says. “You're never going to make any progress if you don't really understand what people want you to hear.”

Sousa emphasizes a people-first approach to finance, one grounded in clarity, accountability, and accessibility. He stresses that clarity in expectations is critical to team performance, noting that vague directions often lead to missed targets.

“Ultimately, where people fail at something is because they weren’t really clear on the expectations,” he explains.

By clearly defining deliverables and timelines, even when goals are challenging, leaders enable their teams to either meet expectations or proactively flag issues before deadlines. Strong communication and teamwork are essential to navigating the complexity of the capital strategy.

Sousa makes it clear that leadership isn’t just about oversight—it’s also about setting transparent expectations, fostering accountability, and being a consistent, engaged presence for your team.

Skills From Experience

Managing a $7 billion capital plan, particularly in high-cost California, posed significant challenges in planning, oversight, and communication. Sousa stressed the need to maintain visibility across multiple projects, avoid getting lost in the details, and ensure accountability.

A key takeaway, he says, was fostering a culture where concerns could be raised openly and addressed collaboratively, rather than relying solely on financial contingencies. Involving operational teams often led to practical solutions.

“Sometimes dollars are not the only way to solve a problem,” he notes.

Sousa’s deep exposure to foundational departments such as general accounting, payroll, and payer contracting, enables more strategic oversight and ensures that opportunities for improvement aren't overlooked.

He also emphasizes the value of having experienced the challenges of system implementations and conversions, such as payroll. These experiences offer insight into operational risks and help anticipate issues that may not be obvious to those without that background.

Sousa says that broad operational knowledge enhances his strategic leadership, facilitates better collaboration, and ultimately drives stronger financial performance across the enterprise.

Data Distribution

Sousa says data-driven decision-making is foundational to capital planning and operational budgeting. Visibility into vendor spend, insurance, purchase orders, and cash flow are critical on the capital side, but even more so in operations, where supply costs and service line performance must be closely analyzed.

A key concern is ensuring that data is integrated across systems and accessible to the right decision-makers.

“There’s a lot of good data out there, but it may not be getting to the right people at the right time,” he says.

This underscores the importance of systems that not only capture data but also disseminate it effectively.

Technologically, UMMS is investing in ERP enhancements and overhauling systems like attendance and scheduling. Sousa expresses a clear preference for robust system-generated reporting over manual tracking, citing concerns about data integrity when relying on spreadsheets.

System integration, real-time access to trustworthy data, and aligning technology investments with strategic decision-making are essential for driving operational and capital efficiency.

Organizing for the Road Ahead

Looking ahead, Sousa notes that financial sustainability and the academic mission are not at odds, but integrated priorities within the health system’s five-year strategic plan.

Medical education, research, and other mission-driven areas are intentionally built into long-term financial projections, with a clear understanding that they require ongoing investment despite not always generating direct revenue.

To support this, the organization is focused on efficiency gains, care model innovation, and improvements in quality and patient experience. These operational levers are essential for generating the margin needed to fund academic medicine.

Coming from California, Sousa says he looks forward to understanding a new regional culture and building relationships within the organization. More significantly, he’s energized by the scale and influence of UMMS.

“UMMS has 25% of the state [market share] ... and I think it’s pretty exciting to be a part of that,” he notes.

He emphasizes the system’s statewide impact, leadership in trauma care, and proximity to national health policy discussions in Washington, D.C.

In the near term, Sousa’s priorities include improving financial reporting, strengthening margin performance, and addressing any immediate gaps in capital investment oversight.

“That’s how I define success,” he says. “Were we able to make some impacts and see some changes moving the organization forward?”

In the long-term, success is tied directly to advancing the organization’s five-year strategic plan. Sousa emphasizes that finance must enable—not just support—key initiatives, and that failure to meet those goals reflects on the entire leadership team, including finance.