About the Foundation

President’s Biography


George E. Thibault, M.D. became the seventh president of the Josiah Macy, Jr. Foundation in January 2008. He graduated summa cum laude from Georgetown University in 1965 and magna cum laude from Harvard Medical School in 1969. He completed his internship and residency in Medicine and fellowship in Cardiology at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). He also trained in Cardiology at the National Heart and Lung Institute in Bethesda and at Guys Hospital in London, and served as Chief Resident in Medicine at MGH. In 1977, he founded and became the first director of the Medical Practices Evaluation Unit, and was named director of the Medical ICU/CCU at the MGH. In 1978, he became the Director of the Training Program in Internal Medicine and Assistant Chief (subsequently Associate Chief) of the Department of Medicine, MGH. In 1988, he was named Chief of the Medical Services at Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center and Vice Chairman of Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH). In 1990, he was also named Director of Health Services Research at the Brockton/West Roxbury VA Medical Center. In 1995, Dr. Thibault was named the Chief Medical Officer at the BWH. Since January 1999, he has been Vice President of Clinical Affairs at Partners HealthCare System, Inc. He is a Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School (HMS). In September 2001 he was chosen as the first Director of The Academy at HMS. The Academy has been created to recognize teaching excellence and to promote curriculum innovation at HMS. In 2005, he was named the first Daniel D. Federman Professor of Medicine and Medical Education at HMS.

His research has focused on the evaluation of practices and outcomes of medical intensive care units and variations in the use of cardiac technologies. In addition to an active research and clinical career, Dr. Thibault has served in many capacities at Harvard Medical School, including leadership roles in the New Pathway Project and in the current medical education reform effort. He has also served on, and has chaired, numerous committees of national organizations, including the Institute of Medicine, the Department of Veteran’s Affairs, the National Institutes of Health, and the American College of Physicians. He is past President of the Harvard Medical School Alumni Association and was recently named Director of Alumni Relations for HMS.

Dr. Thibault has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors from Georgetown (Ryan Prize in Philosophy, Alumni Prize, and Cohongaroton Speaker) and Harvard (Alpha Omega Alpha, Henry Asbury Christian Award and Society of Fellows). He has been a visiting Scholar both at the Institute of Medicine and Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government and a Visiting Professor of Medicine at many medical schools in the U.S. and abroad.

Click here to read his appointment press release (PDF, 80 KB)