Windsor Regional appoints new president and CEO

WINDSOR, Ont. – The board of directors at Windsor Regional Hospital (WRH) is proud to announce that Kristin Kennedy (pictured) will join WRH as its president and CEO in April 2026. Kristin is well-known to the region following several years as president and CEO of Erie Shores Healthcare (2020 to present) and previously its Chief Nursing Executive (2018-2020).

She is also familiar with WRH through her coordination as a local hospital partner but also as a previous administrator at WRH (Director of Critical Care and Cardiology, 2017-18) and operations manager for the Neurosciences Program (2015-2017).

Kristin’s healthcare career journey has also included management roles at the Victorian Order of Nurses, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, and Oakwood Hospital in Dearborn, Michigan.
She began her career as a NICU registered nurse and registered flight nurse at Driscoll Children’s Hospital in Corpus Christi, Texas.

Kristin also gives back to the healthcare sector as an educator, currently serving as an active part-time professor at McMaster University’s DeGroote School of Business for its Master of Health Management Program.

“Kristin’s wealth of experience and accomplishments will offer tremendous leadership to WRH as we continue to modernize and excel on our road to a new acute care hospital which will open a few years from now,” said Ian McLeod, chair, WRH board of directors. “We are very fortunate to be able to have Kristin join our team and we know she will hit the ground running as our new president and CEO just a few weeks from now.”

“I am humbled and excited to join WRH and very much look forward to making a meaningful impact to its present and future, working with its dedicated and talented team, and as we enter an era leading up to a new state-of-the-art acute care hospital for Windsor-Essex,” Kennedy said.

“At the same time, I want to express my tremendous thanks to the incredible team at ESHC. My deep respect for this team and my belief in ESHC’s mission will never waver. I am confident that ESHC’s best days are still ahead because of the people who show up every day with skill, integrity, and compassion I am fully committed to supporting a smooth transition and ensuring continued stability and success as a vital health care partner in our region.”

Current WRH president and CEO Karen Riddell will continue to lead WRH and assist with the CEO transition before her well-deserved retirement in spring 2026.

“Karen has achieved so much for WRH as our current president and CEO since taking the reins from David Musyj in 2024, and prior to that as chief nursing executive,” McLeod said. “We will very much miss Karen’s dedication, leadership and commitment to the entire WRH team and our community and we are extremely proud of her many accomplishments throughout her career, from frontline nurse to the CEO office. However, we are just as excited for Karen as she embarks on a well-deserved retirement this spring after many decades of healthcare excellence.”