LUNGevity Foundation, the national nonprofit focused on improving outcomes for people with lung cancer, has strengthened its leadership ranks with the addition of Jason Bernhard to its Board of Directors. Bernhard, managing director and global chief operating officer of Financial Advisory at Lazard, brings nearly three decades of investment banking experience and extensive healthcare sector expertise to the organization.

Bernhard’s appointment comes as LUNGevity seeks to expand its initiatives across research, patient care, and public policy. His background advising healthcare clients on complex transactions and capital markets strategies is expected to bolster the foundation’s ability to pursue partnerships, optimize resource allocation, and accelerate translational research that can improve survivorship and quality of life for patients. LUNGevity announced his appointment in a media release.

At Lazard, Bernhard serves as head of health care investment banking for North America and occupies a vice chairman role within the firm’s investment banking group. His portfolio includes advising health systems, biopharmaceutical firms, and other healthcare stakeholders on mergers and acquisitions, financings, and strategic transactions. Those credentials underpin his selection by LUNGevity’s leadership as the foundation scales its national programs and advocacy efforts.

LUNGevity’s board already comprises leaders from medicine, business, law, and advocacy, and Bernhard’s arrival further deepens its financial and strategic capacity. Foundation leadership emphasized the need for senior business expertise as LUNGevity aims to expand clinical trial support, survivorship programs, and community-based resources for patients and caregivers.

Concurrently, Bernhard has been added to the board of Acadia Healthcare, the Franklin, Tennessee-based behavioral health services company. His election increases Acadia’s board membership to eight and follows a period of shareholder scrutiny and strategic review at the company. Bernhard’s healthcare investment banking perspective is seen as an asset in guiding Acadia through capital markets considerations and long-term strategic planning.

Acadia has recently attracted activist attention after New York investment firm P2 Capital Partners disclosed a 7.3 percent stake and indicated intentions to engage with management on measures to maximize shareholder value. Under chief executive officer Debbie Osteen, Acadia has also been evaluating a possible divestiture of its United Kingdom operations, a business acquired in 2016 for approximately $1.1 billion. The company’s shares traded modestly lower on the latest market session, reflecting a six-month period of volatility that included a late-summer decline and partial recovery.

Analysts note that directors with deep capital markets and healthcare deal experience can provide critical guidance when companies face asset rationalization, activist engagement, or strategic transformations. Bernhard’s simultaneous roles on the LUNGevity and Acadia boards illustrate a rare combination of nonprofit-focused patient advocacy involvement and commercial sector governance, positioning him to influence both philanthropic strategies and corporate decisions that affect healthcare delivery.

As LUNGevity pursues its mission to make lung cancer a survivable disease, and as Acadia navigates a shifting shareholder and operational landscape, Bernhard’s appointments signal a convergence of financial acumen and healthcare domain knowledge in boardrooms charged with shaping future policy, research investment, and service delivery.

Source: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/jason-bernhard-joins-lungevity-foundation-100800877.html