Rowena Buffett Timms
Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer
Rowena Buffett Timms is a strategic leader with nearly two decades of senior healthcare leadership experience including legislative affairs and public policy, community affairs, philanthropy, crisis communications, and reputation management.
In January 2020, she joined The Queen’s Health System (Queen’s) as its Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer. With a market share of 32%, Queen’s comprises four hospitals and more than 70 primary care and specialty healthcare locations and labs throughout the Pacific region. It is Hawaii’s largest private employer with more than 8,400 employees and more than 1,700 physicians in its statewide network.
A key member of the Queen’s Executive Team, Ms. Timms serves as a strategic advisor and trusted counsel to the CEO and fellow Executive Vice Presidents. A seamless extension of the CEO, she manages challenging issues on behalf of the CEO; leads crisis management, strategic marketing and communications, and the philanthropy program; develops and oversees impactful legislative strategies at the local, state and federal levels; and oversees the community benefit and investment programs.
Ms. Timms facilitates effective relationships and promotes the mission, programs, services and leadership of Queen’s to significantly improve the health of the communities it serves. Her leadership and communications expertise were instrumental during the three-party Affiliation Agreement between The Queen’s Health System, The University of Hawai‘i John A. Burns School of Medicine and University Health Partners of Hawai‘i. This innovative partnership created QUMG, a group of more than 600 physicians that is dedicated to enhancing education and training for the next generation of health care professionals while improving care delivery models for all the residents of Hawaii. And through her efforts, the President and CEO of Queen’s was named one of the nation’s 50 Most Influential Physician Executives by Modern Healthcare in 2021.
While at Queen’s, Ms. Timms has elevated the communications strategies for the Board of Trustees, elected officials, employees, and the media, improving the active engagement of these key constituencies. She has led the planning, implementation and effective communication for important system programs such StandOut, Safe and Reliable, and the Ohana to Ohana emergency financial assistance program for employees. She also serves as the executive sponsor for the Community Health Needs Assessment, Workplace Violence Prevention, and nursing union negotiations.
Before joining Queen’s, Ms. Timms served as the Senior Vice President of Government and Community Relations for Mission Health, a $1.9 billion integrated health system headquartered in Asheville, NC. As an executive of this Top 15 Health System (by IBM Watson Health, six of seven years (2012-2018), she led Mission Health’s legislative affairs, public policy strategies, national media, and crisis management.
Prior to Mission Health, Ms. Timms gained more than a decade of healthcare senior leadership experience including serving as Vice President of Public Policy and Partnerships for CaroMont Health (Gastonia, NC) and as Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Foundation for Bon Secours Health System (Greenville, SC). Ms. Timms also previously served as Executive Vice President for the Greenville Convention & Visitors Bureau, Director of Sales for the St. Louis Convention and Visitor Bureau, and Director of Sales for the Ritz Carlton Hotel Company.
Ms. Timms holds a bachelor’s degree from Florida International University and a master’s degree in Strategic Public Relations & Policy from The George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management. Ms. Timms is a current board member of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii (HAH), Aloha United Way in Honolulu, HI, and the John S. Mulholland Family Foundation in Washington, DC.
