5 Questions with Bentley Trustee Karl Wagner ’87
Karl Wagner ’87 is an experienced management executive with an extensive background in health care services. Along with technical skills, he credits his success to curiosity, a willingness to learn and an eye for opportunity. Through his ability to bridge financial expertise with operational strategy, Wagner shifted from finance leadership into broader executive roles.
Wagner most recently served as CEO of Riverchase Dermatology and Cosmetic Surgery and previously held various leadership positions — including chief financial officer — at Mednax (now Pediatrix Medical Group), a national leader in women’s, infants’ and children’s healthcare. He is currently on the board at Aqua Dermatology. Wagner says of working in healthcare: “It wasn’t just about running a business; it was about improving patients’ lives. That resonated with me.”
Wagner joined the Bentley Board of Trustees in August 2026. We sat down with him to learn more about what shaped his career, his approach to leadership and his advice to students.
Your career has evolved from CFO to leading major healthcare divisions and serving as CEO. What experiences or decisions were most instrumental in shaping your leadership journey?
I never planned for my career to be in healthcare. When I left Bentley, I went into public accounting and worked at Ernst & Young with mainly tech-based clients. But when an opportunity came up at a healthcare company based in Massachusetts, I saw it as a chance to learn something new.
Throughout my career, I’ve seen the strong link between a company’s operations and financial results, particularly the importance of using that information to learn what’s going on across an organization. I’m a big believer that, with the right level of curiosity, you can take a background in accounting or finance and build your career way beyond those disciplines. I’ve always been focused on opportunities over short-term financial returns.
Healthcare has undergone significant transformation over the past two decades. What are the biggest lessons you’ve learned about leading organizations through periods of rapid change and growth?
One big lesson is to always be diligent in your education. Education doesn’t stop when you leave school or excel in your particular area. You need the ability to stay ahead of what’s going on to identify where you can have an influence. It’s not necessarily a function of winning everything; it’s asking how you can make changes to lessen risk and adapt to what’s coming.
Sometimes that requires building relationships with your “competitors.” Particularly in healthcare, there are common links to ensure we’re getting the best answer for the industry and for the patients that we serve.
How has your finance background informed the way you make strategic decisions as a CEO and board member?
To understand any business, it’s important to make a connection between financials and operations. Financials tell a story. When you work through the numbers, ask what they’re telling you about the organization. It helps you think critically about what you’re doing.
On a broader level, understanding people’s roles across an organization helps you recognize how your decisions impact them. Leaders who are visible and who listen will help people feel heard and allow them to understand the “why” behind a strategic decision — even if they don’t agree with it. Earning their respect is incredibly important.
As a Bentley alumnus, how did your experience at the university prepare you for your career, and what advice would you give current students interested in following a similar path?
I’ve always been curious about how things fit together and how they work, and Bentley courses helped me understand how to use financials as a baseline to understand a business and how to ask the right questions.
Depending on where you are in your career, there are a lot of different things that you can do, but a big one is finding mentors. Connect with people inside or outside of your organization who want to develop the next generation of leaders. Mentors can provide perspective and opportunities that you may not otherwise see. And it’s not necessarily going to be the same person throughout your career.
Another approach that had a strong impact on my career was being open to learning and developing. What you’re doing today isn’t necessarily what you’re going to be doing 10 years from now.
As you begin your service on Bentley’s Board of Trustees, what opportunities do you see for the university to continue preparing graduates for leadership in rapidly evolving industries such as healthcare?
The university and the leadership have done a great job looking at where things are going and the changes they need to make. The Technology, Innovation and Entrepreneurship initiative and renovations to the Adamian Academic Center are leading the way in providing students with the tools to adapt throughout their careers.
The world is changing, and we have to continue teaching students how to think critically. There’s not one way that’s necessarily the right way. Considering different perspectives is always better when it comes to informed decision-making.