Children’s Minnesota appoints new chief financial officer and chief development officer

Brenda McCormick appointed chief financial officer; Jennifer Soderholm appointed chief development officer

MINNEAPOLIS (August 26, 2019) – Children’s Minnesota today announced two appointments to its executive leadership team. Brenda McCormick was appointed chief financial officer and senior vice president of finance. Jennifer Soderholm was appointed chief development officer and president of the Children’s Minnesota Foundation. Effective immediately, both will report directly to Dr. Marc Gorelick, president and chief executive officer of Children’s Minnesota.

“We are pleased to welcome Brenda and Jenny to our team, both bringing expertise, leadership and proven track records of working in partnership with business and community leaders to achieve results,” said Marc Gorelick, president and CEO, Children’s Minnesota.  “As payer and consumer expectations continue to evolve, health care organizations need to think differently about their financial management, including how we raise money to support the unique programs and services Children’s Minnesota provides. I’m confident Brenda and Jenny will help advance our mission and grow in the essential services we provide to the communities we serve.”

McCormick will provide strategic and operational leadership by overseeing financial matters at Children’s Minnesota, partnering with other executive leaders to achieve key organizational goals. She joins Children’s from Smiths Medical, where she was CFO and senior vice president of finance, responsible for leading global finance, planning, accounting and shared services. Her background includes strategic planning, controllership, mergers and acquisitions and business operations. Prior to Smiths, McCormick served as the vice president, corporate controller and principal accounting officer at Valspar, where she oversaw the transformation of the global accounting, external reporting, enterprise reporting and shared services functions. During her 11 years at Valspar, she held numerous global finance leadership roles, where she had a proven track record of driving continuous improvement and financial excellence across the organization.

“With the health care landscape changing rapidly, financial management and structure will play a huge part in accelerating the company’s growth,” McCormick said. “I’m excited to play a vital role in ensuring Children’s success.”

Soderholm will shape the Children’s Minnesota Foundation’s philanthropic strategy and lead the organization’s fundraising efforts. She joins Children’s from Planned Parenthood North Central States where she served as executive vice president and chief development officer, overseeing all aspects of fundraising strategy and operations for the five-state region. Prior to this role, she served as president of Children’s HeartLink, a nonprofit organization working in partnership with health care centers in underserved regions of the world to promote sustainable cardiac care for children. Soderholm’s outstanding career builds upon her 21 years of experience at the University of Minnesota, where she guided development planning, strategy and execution for fundraising programs for the Medical School and University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview including University of Minnesota Children’s Hospital and University of Minnesota Physicians and Fairview clinical service lines.

“I am honored to be joining such an incredible organization that is dedicated to the health and unique needs of all kids in Minnesota,” Soderholm said. “Helping underserved populations is my passion, and I look forward to advancing the organization’s fundraising and philanthropic efforts, which support kids and families in so many ways.”

About Children’s Minnesota

Children’s Minnesota is the seventh largest pediatric health system in the United States and the only health system in Minnesota to provide care exclusively to children, from before birth through young adulthood. An independent and not-for-profit system since 1924, Children’s serves kids throughout the Upper Midwest at two free-standing hospitals, 12 primary and specialty care clinics and six rehabilitation sites. Additionally, Children’s is Minnesota’s only Level I pediatric trauma center inside a hospital dedicated solely to children. Children’s maintains its longstanding commitment to the community to improve children’s health by providing high-quality, family-centered pediatric services and advancing those efforts through research and education. This work is made possible in large part by generous philanthropic and volunteer support from individuals and organizations throughout the state and region. An award-winning health system, Children’s received Magnet^® recognition from The American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC) and was verified as a Level I Children’s Surgery Center by the American College of Surgeons in 2018. Additionally, Children’s is regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top children’s hospital. Please visit childrensMN.org.

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