New Gundersen VP ready to serve with agile & actionable insights

Growing up in a small Minnesota farming community taught Krister Mattson about hard work, pride in community, and how an innovative spark can be turned into action. 

“I learned the best work is tied directly to how committed you are to the task at hand and the ability to take an idea or strategy and make it actionable,” shares the new Gundersen vice president of Enterprise Analytics and Data Science. “Analytics innovation requires the same level of commitment, agility, and continuous improvement to deliver value and a better product over time.” 

A self-described “Analytics Evangelist,” Krister comes to Gundersen with 20 years of experience in data and analytics, including more than 15 years in healthcare. Krister most recently served as director of Enterprise Analytics at Essentia Health. In this role, Krister created a Data Science team to execute predictive and advanced analytics and data engineering/AI, and increased self-service adoption, along with standardizing data access across the system. 

“I was drawn to Gundersen by the innovative spark I see here and by the opportunity to help the organization shift to ‘democratizing’ data: creating value for everyone through better access to data,” Krister says. “Open access to data allows Gundersen staff to work more efficiently and make data driven decisions for the organization.” 

To evolve Gundersen’s use of analytics and data, Krister shares his priority now is to listen, support his team, and build cross-functional collaborative partnerships. 

“Creating high functioning teams will help Gundersen execute strategic initiatives to benefit staff, improve patient care, and build pride in our processes. I’m very excited to be at Gundersen and help the organization innovate and achieve outcomes.” 

Krister received a bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Management Information Systems from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and a master's degree in Business Administration Healthcare Leadership from Western Governors University.