Jay Grinney

Former President and CEO, Encompass Healthcare (formerly HealthSouth)

Jay Grinney served as President and CEO of HealthSouth Corporation from 2004-to 2016, leading the successful turnaround of one of the nation’s largest healthcare companies after a high profile $2.8 billion fraud almost ended one of the nation’s fastest-growing public companies.

After taking the reins at HealthSouth, Grinney recruited a new management team and led a multi-year culture change and company turnaround that included restated financial statements, relisting on the New York Stock Exchange, and negotiated settlements with the Securities and Exchange Commission, U.S. Department of Justice, and class action litigants. After streamlining operations and strengthening internal controls, Grinney repositioned HealthSouth as a preeminent post-acute healthcare provider and grew the company by developing hospitals in new markets and acquiring competitors. These efforts included the $730 million purchase of Reliant Health Partners and expansion into home health and hospice services with the $750 million acquisition of Encompass Home Health and Hospice in 2014. In 2018, HealthSouth rebranded itself as Encompass Health and is today one of the largest post-acute providers in the U.S. with approximately 43,000 employees providing care to more than 364,000 patients annually.

Grinney currently serves as an industry advisor to KKR, a global investment firm, and is chairman of the board of Global Medical Response. He has served on the board of directors at Energen Corporation, Envision Healthcare, and Coca-Cola Bottling Company. He also has been involved with numerous community organizations, including board service at the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama, and the United Way of Central Alabama. Grinney earned his bachelor’s degree from St. Olaf College and a Master of Business Administration and Master of Healthcare Administration from Washington University.

He was inducted into the Alabama Business Hall of Fame in October 2021 in recognition of his contributions to free enterprise in the state of Alabama.

About the Lecture

The J. Craig Smith Endowed Chair of Business Integrity was established to support the study of ethics and develop projects to nurture social responsibility and reflective, thoughtful citizenship.

From 1951-to 1970, James Craig Smith was the President and CEO of Avondale Mills, a textile company founded in Birmingham by his grandfather, Braxton Bragg Comer, in 1895. Mr. Smith was considered an innovative leader in the textile industry – the recurring themes throughout his work at Avondale we honestly, integrity, and compassion.

J. Craig Smith’s legacy continued after his death. His daughter, Migion C. Smith, made a generous donation to The University of Alabama in 2005 to establish the J. Craig Smith Endowed Chair of Business Integrity and the Center for Ethics and
Social Responsibility.

Dr. William E. Jackson III, Professor of Management and Professor of Finance, currently holds the Smith Foundation Chair.