Departing American Cancer Society CEO: ‘I love this organization to my core’

Karen E. Knudsen, MBA, PhD, embraced astraightforward but powerful principle when she assumed two key leadership positions with American Cancer Society.

Knudsen — an internationally recognized health care executive and advocate whose research discoveries contributed to the development of more effective prostate cancer therapies — has served as CEO of American Cancer Society (ACS) and its nonprofit advocacy affiliate, ACS Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), since 2021.

She announced in September that she will transition from those roles and move into “the next phase of her strategy to accelerate progress against cancer,” according to a society-issued press release.

“I love science and medicine, but I also love the business of science and medicine,” Knudsen told Healio. “I am energized by leading organizations through transformation to meet their full potential.

Healio - Oct. 10, 2024