Trump names Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove to forum

President-elect Donald Trump has named Cleveland Clinic CEO Toby Cosgrove to join the Strategic and Policy Forum, a non-partisan panel of 16 business leaders whop will advise Trump on how government affects job and economic growth.

Cosgrove joined the Cleveland Clinic in 1975 as a cardiac surgeon and was named chairman of the department of thoracic and cardiovascular surgery in 1989. Cosgrove was also a surgeon in the U.S. Air Force, serving as chief of U.S. Air Force Casualty Staging flight in Da Nang, Vietnam.

"I am truly honored and privileged to take part in President-elect Donald Trump's Strategic and Policy Forum designed to grow and strengthen the United States' economy," Dr. Cosgrove said in a statement Friday, according to the report. "I applaud his efforts to bring together leaders across industries to gain insight that will assist the new president in making important decisions that will impact every American. I am deeply committed and take this role very seriously." 

Before being appointed president and CEO of Cleveland Clinic, Cosgrove helped set up Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the technology transfer and commercialization arm of the health system, which has enabled nearly 60 spinoff companies to develop and sell new medical technology. 

Cosgrove currently oversees a $6.5 billion healthcare system that includes a main campus, 75 outpatient locations in northern Ohio, 16 full-service family health centers.