“You Don’t Control the Clock, But You Control the Game.”
For more than three decades, Phillip Koren, MD, FACC has dedicated his career to advancing cardiovascular medicine while demonstrating that exceptional physician leadership can transform healthcare organizations from the inside out. As an accomplished cardiologist, executive physician leader, healthcare strategist, and academic mentor, Dr. Koren has consistently combined clinical excellence with visionary operational leadership. His career has been defined by a commitment to improving patient outcomes, developing physicians, embracing innovation, and building sustainable healthcare systems capable of delivering world-class care. His leadership philosophy is rooted in collaboration, accountability, and the belief that success is achieved by empowering talented people around a shared mission.
Dr. Koren currently serves as Medical Director of the Cooper Heart Institute, Director of Cooper Inspira Cardiac Care, and Associate Chief Medical Officer for Ambulatory Services at Cooper University Health Care, one of the premier academic medical centers in the northeastern United States. In these executive leadership positions, he oversees one of the region’s largest cardiovascular programs, directing inpatient and outpatient cardiology services that include more than 100 providers, over 10,000 catheterization and electrophysiology procedures annually, more than 1,200 cardiac surgeries, approximately over 100,000 outpatient visits. Under his leadership, the Heart Institute has experienced sustained annual growth while earning recognition for quality, innovation, and patient-centered care. The cardiovascular service line now generates more than $350 million annually and continues to expand through strategic physician recruitment, technology adoption, operational excellence, and clinical innovation.
In his role as Associate Chief Medical Officer for Ambulatory Services, Dr. Koren has become one of the primary physician executives responsible for improving outpatient operations across more than 230 physician offices throughout Southern New Jersey. Working closely with administrative leadership, department chairs, institute directors, and community physicians, he has helped develop population health initiatives, physician integration strategies, merger assessments, ambulatory growth plans, and innovative employment models for primary care providers. His leadership during major organizational integrations, including health system mergers and physician network expansion, demonstrates an exceptional ability to unite diverse stakeholders around common strategic objectives while maintaining a relentless focus on quality care and physician engagement.
Long before assuming executive leadership roles within academic medicine, Dr. Koren established himself as one of Southern New Jersey’s leading interventional cardiologists. Over the course of more than 35 years, he has performed over 12,000 complex cardiac procedures while caring for thousands of patients with cardiovascular disease. His extensive clinical experience has given him unique insight into every aspect of patient care, allowing him to make operational decisions that balance clinical excellence with organizational performance. Even after transitioning away from procedural practice to focus on executive leadership, he has remained an active clinician, maintaining close connections to patients and the physicians he leads.
Dr. Koren’s executive experience extends well beyond hospital leadership. As President and Chief Executive Officer of Cardiovascular Associates of the Delaware Valley—known throughout the region as The Heart House—he helped transform a growing cardiology practice into one of the largest independent cardiovascular groups in Southern New Jersey. Under his leadership, the practice expanded to 28 physicians, multiple specialty providers, six locations, and more than $35 million in annual revenue. He successfully recruited physicians, modernized operations through early implementation of electronic medical records, negotiated managed care agreements, oversaw real estate development, and strengthened relationships with hospitals throughout the region. These accomplishments provided him with invaluable experience in physician practice management, business strategy, organizational growth, and healthcare finance.
Recognizing opportunities to improve healthcare beyond clinical practice, Dr. Koren co-founded Healthcare Contracting Solutions, a consulting organization specializing in managed care negotiations for physician groups, hospitals, and healthcare organizations. Through sophisticated reimbursement analysis and proprietary contracting strategies, he helped healthcare providers maximize financial performance while improving payer relationships across multiple states. This entrepreneurial experience broadened his understanding of healthcare economics, reimbursement models, operational efficiency, and the business challenges facing healthcare organizations in an increasingly complex regulatory environment. His ability to bridge medicine and business has become one of his defining strengths as both an executive and advisor.
Beyond his executive and clinical responsibilities, Dr. Koren has devoted significant time to governance, research, and community service. He has served on numerous executive committees, peer review committees, medical executive boards, admissions committees, physician engagement initiatives, accountable care governance boards, and patient experience programs throughout his career. His participation as an investigator in dozens of national and international cardiovascular clinical trials has contributed to important advancements in interventional cardiology, anticoagulation therapy, heart failure treatment, and cardiovascular disease management. Equally important, his longstanding involvement with charitable organizations, hospital boards, educational institutions, and community organizations reflects his belief that healthcare leadership extends well beyond the walls of the hospital.
Today, Dr. Koren is actively pursuing board and advisory opportunities where he can leverage his decades of executive leadership, healthcare operations expertise, physician management experience, and deep knowledge of medical technology, artificial intelligence, cardiology, and healthcare innovation. His experience spans academic medicine, private practice, physician employment models, healthcare consulting, strategic planning, clinical operations, managed care, and organizational transformation. He is particularly interested in supporting organizations operating within healthcare, private equity, medical technology, and emerging healthcare startups, where experienced physician leadership can accelerate growth while maintaining a steadfast commitment to quality and patient-centered care. Fluent in English, French, and Hebrew, and guided by a lifelong passion for medicine, leadership, history, the arts, golf, reading, and lifelong learning, Dr. Koren continues to embrace opportunities to help organizations navigate change, foster innovation, and create meaningful impact. His career exemplifies the principle reflected in his personal motto: while circumstances may not always be within our control, outstanding leadership determines how the game is ultimately played.
Character:
Dr. Koren leads with humility, integrity, and an unwavering commitment to serving both patients and colleagues. His decades of community service, physician mentorship, and collaborative leadership demonstrate a genuine dedication to improving the lives of others.
Knowledge:
With more than 35 years of experience spanning clinical cardiology, healthcare administration, physician practice management, managed care, and medical technology, Dr. Koren brings exceptional depth of expertise. His combination of academic medicine, executive leadership, and clinical research enables him to evaluate complex challenges from multiple strategic perspectives.
Strategic:
Dr. Koren has repeatedly guided healthcare organizations through growth, operational transformation, physician integration, technology adoption, and organizational expansion. His ability to align long-term vision with measurable execution has consistently produced stronger organizations, improved patient outcomes, and sustainable financial performance.
Communication:
Throughout his career, Dr. Koren has earned the trust of physicians, executives, boards, and community partners through thoughtful, transparent, and collaborative communication. Whether mentoring physicians, leading multidisciplinary teams, or speaking on medical and career topics, he builds consensus while inspiring confidence and shared purpose.
