Former Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Davita
Search every verified Kent Thiry interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. In a 2017 talk at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business, Kent Thiry discussed challenges in the dialysis industry, attributing "80% of the difficulties" to reimbursement cuts and emphasizing the need to adjust cost structures. He stated that the U.S. has "the most generously funded health care system in the world" and argued that the industry bears responsibility for waste, which has led to political involvement. Thiry also noted that legislation affecting kidney care, which he said accounts for 7% of the Medicare budget, had passed the House Ways and Means Committee by a vote of 39 to one, and he predicted it would save money while improving quality. Thiry reflected on his decision not to run for governor of Colorado, describing it as a choice between adding value through his current role or spending time on a potentially unproductive political campaign. He also discussed the increasing pressure on companies to take public stances on social issues, noting that while 80% of his organization supported such a stance on one issue, 80% of the board opposed it as an unnecessary risk. Additionally, he described intrapreneurship as a "strategic imperative" for companies to remain competitive.
“We think it's terrible to create a big company that then has to survive by buying other big companies. It's terrible to become a big company and be too narrow, so that you cannot sustain growth forever. And so we think it's a absolute strategic imperative to get good at intrapreneurship.”
“In this particular case, 80% of the difficulties come from reimbursement cuts. And so our issue was in appropriately handicapping and forecasting reimbursement cuts, as opposed to running the business differently. Where our clinical outcomes and our economic outcomes for society continue to be outstanding, but we've go...”
“I believe that CEOs and companies should feel an immense moral responsibility to help take care of the people that work in their enterprise, and add value to their lives beyond a paycheck. And in fact it's this beautiful reality, that there's so much good we can do for the world just by creating a better place to work,...”
“Companies are asked to take positions on social issues. So what do you think about lesbian gay et cetera rights? And what are you willing to say publicly? Are you willing to sell products or services to certain people? What are you going to say about Charlottesville publicly? When are you willing to criticize the presi...”
Kent Thiry, CEO of DaVita, speaks to Dean Bill Boulding about leadership as part of the Distinguished Speakers Series at Duke University's Fuqua School of Business.
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