Carrie Owen Plietz

Carrie Owen Plietz, FACHE, is president of Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals of Northern California. In this role, Owen Plietz oversees all of Kaiser Permanente’s care delivery and health plan operations in Northern California. As the area’s largest nonprofit health plan, Kaiser Permanente provides care for 4.6 million members through its 21 hospitals and 206 medical offices in Northern California. 

Owen Plietz joined Kaiser Permanente in November 2020. Prior to joining Kaiser Permanente, Owen Plietz spent nearly 5 years with Wellstar Health System in Atlanta where she served as executive vice president, chief operating officer for the organization’s Hospital Division, which includes 11 hospitals, multiple outpatient centers, nursing homes, and other facilities and services. Owen Plietz previously spent 17 years at Sutter Health, a Northern California regional integrated health care system, serving as both chief operating officer and chief administrative officer of multi-hospital entities, and finally as CEO of Sutter Medical Center in Sacramento.

Owen Plietz currently serves as chair for the American College of Healthcare Executives, which has 48,000 members worldwide, and chair of the Healthcare Executives Study Society. She is board certified in health care management as an ACHE fellow.

Owen Plietz holds a master’s degree in health administration and health law fellowship from Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine, and a bachelor’s degree in health administration from James Madison University.