Q&A with MAB’s New CEO, Michael Panicola

First off, how are you feeling about coming to MAB and moving to Boston?

I’m excited to be here and am incredibly honored to have been selected for the role. Boston is great and I already feel comfortable here. There’s a little bit of nerves too, if I’m being honest. I’m sure that goes both ways. Part of it for me is moving away from my three kids – Noah (29), Grace (26), and Ellie (23). Even though they are older and live independently, it’s an adjustment for us to be so spread out geographically. There’s also the responsibility you feel when assuming an important role and especially when succeeding a long-tenured, successful CEO like Barbara who has meant so much to the organization for nearly two decades. Fortunately, Barbara has been incredibly gracious, and I have experience with transitions of this nature. I’ve seen them go well with secure leaders and not so well when leaders lack the grounding and humility necessary or aren’t given a real chance to succeed. What I’ve learned is that there’s going to be change for everyone involved; we simply can’t get around this fact. The best advice I’ve ever received regarding such transitions – and this applies to all of us – is to just be yourself, be open to new ways of doing things, and give a little grace to one another. Time will do its thing, and we will find a level of comfort and familiarity sooner than later.

Where did you grow up and how did you come to this type of work?

I come from a rather modest upbringing. I grew up in Chicago and am a descendent of Polish and Italian immigrants – on one side they were laborers and the other small business owners. I was the only child and lived with my mom until she passed away when I was 12 years old. I then moved in with my dad and was gifted an amazing woman as my other mother as well as two sisters, one older and one younger. I was the first in my family to graduate from college. Prior to finishing my undergraduate degree, I decided to forgo a career in business and instead focus on work where I could perhaps make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate. The impetus stems from my experience with my biological mom, who really struggled throughout her young life with mental illness and addiction. My life’s work has been driven by a passion to promote the dignity and improve the lives of those most in need – this ranges from my very first job out of college as a residential counselor for adults with developmental disabilities to my executive roles in health care and more recently as a CEO in social services.

What are some highlights of your career journey that brought you to MAB?

Most of my professional life has been spent in two different but complementary mission-driven organizations. The first was SSM Health, a multi-billion-dollar, multi-state Catholic health system with 50,000+ employees. The early part of my career at SSM exposed me to the clinical dimensions of healthcare as I worked closely with physicians, nurses, and other allied health professionals in leading the clinical ethics consultation service and overseeing other clinical programs such as: 1) the hospital readmissions reduction collaborative focused on eliminating disparities in care; and 2) healthy community initiatives focused on addressing social determinants of health. This experience was foundational for the latter part of my time at SSM where I served on the executive leadership team responsible for overseeing strategy and operations, integrating mission and values into strategic, financial, and human resource decisions, and running major system services such as legal, advocacy, compliance, and ethics.

After nearly 20 years at SSM, I felt compelled to work more directly with people in need and accepted the CEO role at Epworth Children & Family Services, a $25 million social service agency with 350+ employees and services similar to MAB. When I arrived, Epworth was struggling financially and otherwise, yet we were able to facilitate a cultural and operational turnaround by leaning into two core tenets of what I believe as a leader:

• People-centric leadership: This is predicated on the belief that organizations can only be successful if its people feel valued and supported. As such, we focused on leveraging the collective talents of the team, listening and responding to the needs of our colleagues, making human connections with a diverse workforce at all levels, improving wages and benefits for non-management colleagues, and uniting everyone around the mission, vision, and values.
• Operational discipline: This is predicated on the belief that successful organizations get the basics right. As such, we created a robust, metrics-driven management system and processes that aligned strategy with operations, fostered transparency and accountability, and drove results.

Why did you choose to join MAB?

MAB was an easy choice for me. After my internal successor was situated in the CEO role at Epworth, I looked at less than a handful of leadership positions at organizations that were making a real difference in their communities. I knew I wanted to remain in social services and limited my search to a few cities where I would want to live – Boston, of course, being one of them. MAB stood out from the outset. I was instantly inspired by its rich history and legacy of advocacy, innovation, and service. I was also impressed by the board and the dedication of the team members I met during my interviews and site visit. MAB just felt right to me. It’s the place I’m meant to be at this point in my life.

What do you hope to accomplish at MAB?

My hope is that together we: 1) unite our organization around a strategic vision that guides all our decisions; 2) ensure we continue to meet the needs of the community well into the future; 3) make our colleagues feel even more valued and supported; 4) care for our clients even better; and 5) operate even more efficiently so we can do all the above. I want to stress the “even more/better” phrasing here because I am grateful for Barbara and all that you have collectively accomplished under her leadership. Unlike my last job where we had to “fix” a lot when I came into the organization, Barbara has left MAB in a really good place. I’m confident that together we can build on her contributions and take MAB to even greater heights.

How do you see your role at MAB?

I’ve said a lot of this in previous answers but it’s worth repeating. I see my job as fostering a great workplace culture, facilitating strategy and overseeing operations, supporting and developing our colleagues, advocating for our clients, and promoting MAB in the community. Having said that, I am deeply aware of the fact that no one person can be all things to an organization. I am human and don’t know everything. I’ll have to learn our work and our language, among other things. While I think I bring a lot to the role and won’t shy away from my duties as CEO, I rely on a “leadership group” that includes those on the ground just as much as those in management.

What do you expect from those with whom you work?

For me, it really comes down to the basics:

• Care about the organization, our colleagues, and those we serve and find joy in the work
• Put in the effort, be present, take responsibility, and ask for help when needed
• Be good team members – supportive, honest, vulnerable, trustworthy, and professional

Any closing thoughts you’d like to share?

Just that I’m really excited to be here and look forward to meeting everyone. In the first few weeks, I intend to visit all our sites and meet all our people. There’s a lot for me to learn and I can’t wait to hear everyone’s thoughts about what we do well, where we have opportunities, and how we can adapt for the future.