Leadership Unscripted with Pete November, President and CEO of Ochsner Health

Summary

---

Leadership Unscripted with Pete November, President and CEO of Ochsner Health

Becker’s Healthcare Podcast
Host: Chris Sosa
Date: December 11, 2025

---

Episode Overview

This episode features a heartfelt and insightful conversation with Pete November, President and CEO of Ochsner Health. Pete shares his unconventional journey from law to healthcare leadership, his guiding philosophies on mentorship, caring for himself and others, finding balance, and taking meaningful risks. The discussion is candid, drawing deeply from Pete’s personal history and unique perspective as both an executive and a person dedicated to service.

---

Pete November's Background and Unconventional Path to Healthcare

Key Points:

• Unusual Pathway to CEO: Pete began as an accountant, went to law school, practiced healthcare law, and only transitioned into health system leadership after forming connections through legal work and events such as Hurricane Katrina.
  • "I actually got to my role in a very different way than most people...I was an accountant, worked at public accounting and then went to law school and then practiced law in Atlanta for Quite a while." — Pete [00:33]
• Family and Personal Life: Pete credits his family, especially his wife Stephanie and their two adult children, for his grounding, support, and joy outside of work.

Memorable Moment:
After Hurricane Katrina, Pete moved from legal work supporting health organizations to joining Ochsner as general counsel, eventually becoming CFO and ultimately CEO (2012–present).

---

Early Inspirations and Defining Moments

Key Points:

• Family Influence: Pete’s mother, a nurse who worked at the University of Kentucky, inspired his deep connection to healthcare and caring for others.
  • "My mom didn't care at all about the business or the financial side of health care. She only cared about taking care of people." — Pete [02:24]
• The Power of Encouragement: A friend and client recognized Pete's leadership and people skills, encouraging his career transition.
  • "He goes, Pete, you're a really good lawyer, but I could tell you really have a desire to be part of an organization and to be a leader, and you care a lot about people, and I think you would be great at it..." — Pete [03:17]
• The Role of Mentors: Pete reflects on how external support helped him unlock his own confidence and how he seeks to pay that forward in his leadership.

---

Lessons From Outside the Industry

Key Points:

• Mentorship from Law:
  • Pete credits his early mentor, John Lowe, for exemplifying leadership that balances high expectations with genuine personal care.
    • "I really do think I learned most of what I know about leadership from John because John taught me that you can be driven and want to be results-oriented, but you can and should also care about people and be kind to people..." — Pete [06:34]
• Applying Legal Perspective:
  • His experience as a mergers and acquisitions lawyer taught him to find common ground among divergent views, a crucial skill in healthcare leadership.
    • "Turns out, in leadership and as being a CEO, that's what you do almost every day..." — Pete [07:40]

---

Prioritizing Health and Wellbeing as a Leader

Key Points:

• Balancing Demanding Roles and Family:
  • Pete stresses the importance of boundaries, such as limiting evening events to maintain time for family and rest.
  • He works with a physical trainer twice a week and sees a private yoga instructor once a week.
    • "...I've said to my assistant, look, I'll do two events a week, but I'm not going to do five just because I need to go home and spend time with my family and get sleep and be able to relax and get myself refreshed for the next day." — Pete [09:37]
    • "Yoga...was an added component to it that I've really enjoyed...it's an hour where you can just relax your mind." — Pete [11:36]
• Routines for Physical and Mental Health:
  • Regular strength training and yoga are key for his wellbeing; these practices keep him grounded and resilient.

---

Handling Tough Days, Staying Humble, and Maintaining Perspective

Key Points:

• Seeking Perspective:
  • Pete draws strength from historical perspective, particularly through his passion for World War II history—a photo of Omaha Beach in his office helps him contextualize everyday stressors.
    • "Whatever I'm dealing with is not near as tough as what, you know, those people were dealing with on that day. And I've got to get over it and turn the page." — Pete [14:20]
• Support Networks:
  • He turns to his family, especially his kids, and his trusted colleagues for support. Dropping in on someone’s office for a pick-me-up is part of his routine.
  • "Surround yourself with people who care about you and who you care about, who are willing to support you and you're willing to support them, and that'll make it a whole lot easier to get through the tough stuff." — Pete [15:36]
• The Value of Humility:
  • Yoga, exercise, and working closely with inspirational colleagues serve as reminders for humility and continued growth.

---

Paying It Forward: Joy in Helping and Developing Others

Key Points:

• Service Orientation:
  • Pete finds deep fulfillment in enabling the work of frontline clinicians and staff, supporting their ability to care for patients.
    • "My greatest joy is watching people that are earlier in their career than I am, who've got amazing talent, ... and just trying to help them achieve whatever they are trying to achieve professionally..." — Pete [17:27]
• Mentoring the Next Generation:
  • Providing support, encouragement, and mentorship, much as he experienced, is now a central theme in his own leadership style.

---

Taking Risks: The Leap from Law to Healthcare Leadership

Key Points & Notable Quote:

• Pivotal Career Decision:
  • In 2008, Pete left a secure, high-level law firm position after making equity partner to pursue his passion in healthcare, risking professional certainty for personal fulfillment.
    • "When you make it to say, you know what, I'm jumping out of this and I'm jumping over to do something totally different...That was a huge, huge risk...But obviously it was the right thing to do." — Pete [20:08]
• The Importance of Courage and Support:
  • Pete credits his wife Stephanie’s enthusiastic encouragement: "She goes, I know, but we only live once. And you, let's go for something that, you know, I think, you know, you'll really, will really be great for us." — Pete [21:05]
• Message to Others:
  • Take risks in pursuit of what genuinely fulfills you—career paths may not be linear, but meaningful leaps can open doors to unforeseen opportunity.
    • "You do have to just take risk and you got to follow your passion and you've got to recognize that there's something that's really important to you, that's going to make you happy and that you feel like is your calling. It's worth taking a risk to go after that." — Pete [22:01]

---

Notable Quotes

• On Leadership:

  • "The best leadership is when you combine those two things — being results-oriented, but also caring about people and treating everyone with respect." — Pete [06:52]

• On Perspective:

  • "Perspective is one of those things in life that's so powerful... Get over whatever emotions you're having and get some perspective about how good life is, and then just deal with whatever you're dealing with." — Pete [16:37]

• On Helping Others:

  • "I get such joy out of just the idea that maybe I can provide a little bit of help so that they can help people." — Pete [18:37]

---

Timestamps for Key Segments

• Pete’s Unconventional Career Path: [00:33 – 01:58]
• Early Influences and Mentorship: [02:08 – 04:15]
• Translating Lessons from Law to Healthcare Leadership: [05:43 – 08:08]
• Routines and Self-Care as CEO: [08:47 – 10:40]
• Exploring Yoga and Mental Health: [11:17 – 13:05]
• Handling Tough Days and Gaining Perspective: [13:36 – 16:55]
• Mentoring and Developing Others: [17:16 – 18:01]
• Pivotal Career Risk Taking: [19:49 – 22:35]

---

Overall Tone

Warm, candid, and reflective—Pete November speaks with humility and authenticity, openly sharing both his personal journey and leadership lessons. The episode offers sincerity, practical advice, and encouragement not just for healthcare professionals, but for anyone aspiring to lead with heart and courage.

---

Transcript

[A]

Welcome to this episode of Leadership Unscripted, a Becker's healthcare podcast. I'm Chris Sosa, your host, and I'm thrilled to be joined today by Pete November, who, of course, is the CEO of Oxner Health in New Orleans. Pete, thank you so much for joining us today.

[B]

Chris, thanks for having me. Look forward. Look forward to talking with you.

[A]

Awesome. So, Pete, you're a fixture at Becker's events, and you're probably pretty well known in the healthcare community, but for those who may not be intimately familiar with your experience as a healthcare leader, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background?

[B]

Yeah, thanks, Chris. Yeah, I'm. I actually got to my role in a very different way than. Than most people that. That are in this role. I grew up in a small town of Kentucky, and then I. I was an accountant, worked at public accounting and then went to law school and then practiced law in Atlanta for Quite a while, 14 years, and was a partner at a law firm working with all healthcare companies. And then actually Hurricane Katrina happened, and that's how I met the people at Ochsner, and then ultimately ended up coming into Ochsner as the general counsel, and then had a bunch of different roles.

And then my role right before being the CEO was the cfo, and then I was blessed to get the job as the CEO. And I've been here since 2012. And so again, a little bit of a different route. Most people, you know, come, you know, get to this role differently, but those experiences, I think, you know, have certainly been helpful. I'm in this role, and then, you know, outside of that, I've been married for 32 years, and I have two kids, and my wife, Stephanie, and I've got a son, Charlie, who's the youngest, and my daughter Anna is the oldest. And Anna lives in New York, and Charlie lives in Washington, D.C. wonderful.

[A]

Thanks for sharing all that, Pete. I am curious. So was there a seminal moment that pushed you toward healthcare related to the hurricane or otherwise?

[B]

Yeah, I think I got into healthcare. I always wonder sort of what inspired me to get into healthcare. And my mom was a nurse. So, you know, my parents were divorced, single mom, and she was a nurse. And so I was always, I think, drawn to health care because I saw her and. And she, you know, I say this about my mom. My mom didn't care at all about the business or the financial side of health care. She only cared about taking care of people. And. And so even when I was in college at the University of Kentucky, my mom was a nurse at the University of Kentucky. And I would go visit her over. She was actually a cancer nurse over at the Markey Cancer center at the University of Kentucky. And so I think that's what drew me to health care. And then I got. When I ended up going to practice law, I ended up working in a health care group.

And so I really. I attribute it to that. And then.

You know, and then I'm happy to tell the story, if you're interested in how I actually made that jump from law into out of law. And it was because I had a friend of mine who was the CEO of a company called LHC Group, and I had done all the legal work for them. And he goes, pete, you're a really good lawyer, but I could tell you really have a desire to be part of an organization and to be a leader, and you care a lot about people, and I think you would be great at it, and I think you should come join us. So it was actually him noticing that in me that gave me the confidence to jump out of practicing law and to go into the other side.

[A]

Well, thank you so much for mentioning all that, Pete. As I said off the top, this podcast is meant to get to know healthcare leaders a little bit better, so that definitely helps. I love that insight you just gave about. Sometimes it does take someone outside of us to say, you know what? We might have those internal insights pushing us in a certain direction, but always helps to hear someone else say, you know what? You're really good at this. You know, please come join us, because we think you'd be a great fit. It's always a confidence booster at the very least, right?

[B]

It absolutely is. And look, all of us, you know, all of us.

Have issues about, you know, confidence. You know, can I really do something? And. And. And I think, you know, if you look at everybody, there's somebody in their life and some that they've come across who finds, you know, positives in them and then helps give them the confidence and the support to. To do things that they didn't think they could do. And, you know, I think I always. I. I always think back on that. I've had many people like that in my career, and I. I think that's a big part of my job, is to be that person for other people that, you know, I. You know, people that are coming up in their career and, and seeing things in them and. And then telling them how great they are and giving them that. Trying to give them that confidence boost so they could try things that they never thought that they Could. Could do.

[A]

It's a big deal for sure. Pete, you've now that you are the CEO and you've laid out several of the experiences you had that you've already had, which I love. So my first question you, for you is simply this. What's something you learn outside of healthcare that you've applied to your career? I mean, you've. You said you've been a CPA or. Yeah, you've been accounting, you've been an attorney. So, you know, what, what lends itself to healthcare that you've learned outside of your career, out of. Outside of the industry? I should say.

[B]

Yeah, sure, I'll give two. One is.

I. I was really blessed when I first got to practicing law to have a guy work for a mentor, a guy named John Lowe. And John Lowe is a man who went to Harvard Law School. Very, very smart guy. He was also. He was incredibly smart, incredibly driven, but he was also one of the most kind, caring people I've ever met. And he cared about me as much professionally as he did personally. Meaning he cared, you know, how's my family, how's my personal life? How am I doing? And he was just a real gentleman and a very caring person. But he also had really high standards about hard work and the quality of the work you did and your responsiveness. And.

I really do think I learned most of what I know about leadership from John because John taught me that you can be driven and want to be results oriented, but you can and should also care about people and be kind to people and treat everyone with respect. And that actually the best leadership is when you combine those two things.

You know, I think I learned that from John, and I try to, you know, like all of us, I'm not perfect at it, but I try to apply what I learned from, from John every day. And then I think the other thing is people will say, well, Pete, gosh, how does being a lawyer help you? And obviously there's some things that you understand that you learned over the years. But, you know, I was a mergers and acquisitions lawyer. And so I tell people, look, in every situation, I walked into a room where people were trying to get something done, and almost every time, time they had two different perspectives and ideas on how to get there and had differences of opinions. And my job was to find common ground and bring people together to then figure out how to go achieve what we were trying to achieve. Turns out, in leadership and as being a CEO, that's what you do almost every day. You're defining what we're all trying to, as an organization to achieve and then bringing people together with different perspectives and trying to get them to find common ground to move towards getting that goal accomplished. And so those skills I learned in law are applicable every day in what I do.

[A]

Yeah, I think those are very important lessons for any business, including healthcare. Yeah, I mean, you said it. I'll just underscore that finding common ground is going to be helpful in pretty much any leadership position. So I'm glad that it transferred from law over to you and Ed. Ashley there. Being a CEO is, is not so easy. You don't need me to tell you that, Pete, but I simply use that as a segue to ask. So there have to be ways that you're keeping yourself healthy. Right. Not only your patients, you got to worry about yourself, too. So how are you doing that? Whether it's emotionally, physically, mentally? What are your routines that, that you try and lock in?

[B]

Yeah, well, first of all, it starts with my family. I mean, as, as, as I started out. Look, I've been blessed. I've been married for 32 years. My wife, Stephanie, we met when we were in college, got a great family and, you know, two wonderful kids. So I always, I certainly always know that I've got that wonderful support network and I couldn't do what I do without them. And, you know, my, my greatest joy is, you know, when one of my kids calls and wants to talk about something. And so I think that keeps me grounded and it really helps. And then I realized that, you know, being a CEO, there's a, there's as much a physical component to, as there is sort of a mental component to it. And if you don't take care of the physical side of it, you know, you're not going to be where you need to be mentally. And so, you know, a couple things. One, I learned real early that you can't let your schedule totally control you. And so like, I, you know, at the beginning I was like, well, I can go out to a dinner four and five nights a week, or events four or five nights a week and be fine. And I quickly realized you can't do that. So little things, like I've said to my assistant, look, I'll do two events a week, but I'm not going to do five just because I need to go home and spend time with my family and get sleep and be able to.

Relax and get myself refreshed for the next day. And then also I do have a physical trainer I go to twice a week to do strength Training and. And, you know, admit in the last couple years, I've actually got a yoga instructor I go to once a week and for an hour for a private session and have gotten really. That really helps me both mentally and physically. And so I've always worked out, so I really, really try to do that and then.

Try to definitely carve out time to be with friends and family and people outside of work that I know and love and care about, particularly my kids. I mean, any chance I can get to go to New York to see my daughter or DC to see my son, I take it. But again, it really begins with family trying to control the schedule and then also absolutely trying to exercise and make sure I take care of myself physically so that I can handle the demands of the things that are coming at you every day.

[A]

Makes total sense. I'm curious, what drew you to yoga in particular?

[B]

You know, it. I. I had a friend, actually a neighbor, who, who mentioned that they had, you know, gone to this one particular yoga instructor and that they really, really loved it. And, you know, one day I thought, you know, I'm just gonna go try it. And, and. But I was like, look, I. I'm not gonna go in a class because, you know, I, you know, I didn't want to go embarrass myself. And so I, I went and did it and, and look, and I. And I just really. And it was. Again, there's a mental component to it because it's an hour where you can just relax your mind. It's also, you know, you get. You do get a lot of strength out of it and a lot of flexibility and balance and. I don't know, it was just. I was really taken to it as a way to sort of stay grounded and help with health in addition to the strength training I've always loved. I played high school football and loved lifting weights all the way back to high school. So that's always been something I did, but this was an added component to it that I've really enjoyed.

[A]

That's wonderful. Yeah. I've only dabbled in it slightly, but I know enough to understand that it is way harder than it might look being in one pose for a considerable amount of time. Yeah. You're testing muscles that if you haven't trained them properly, it's going to put some stress on you, but not in a bad way necessarily.

[B]

Yeah, yeah. And it's interesting. Look, I'm a strength training guy. I love lifting weights. A lot of guys, I used to think, well, no guys are doing yoga. It Turns out there's a lot of guys who are out there doing yoga. But you're right. It can absolutely humble you because you think, oh, I can do this. And then you walk in, and they're like, okay, stand on one leg for a minute and. And all of a sudden you're falling over. So, yeah, it's definitely humbling. And you're. And you're working different muscles.

[A]

Absolutely. Speaking of being humble, P. This is a great segue, so I appreciate that.

[B]

So.

[A]

So you mentioned how much you lean on your family, which is terrific. I'm also wondering, when you do have those tough days, what do you do to try and move forward? Is there someone you turn to? Is a certain practice you have? I mean, you do extra yoga. What is the case for you? How do you say, you know what? This day was really, really hard, but I've got to find a way to turn the page. And sometimes it's sooner rather than later.

[B]

Yeah, a couple different ways I do that. One is I'm a big history fan, particularly of World War II history. And sitting in my office is a picture of Omaha beach, which, you know, for anybody that's a history fan of World War II was the beach that was the most difficult on D Day back during World war. World War II. And in that picture is a German gun emplacement that a particular soldier led people to go take. And had they not taken it, we would have never gotten off the beach. And that the. The soldier that led them actually was killed that day and has got the Congressional Medal of Honor and is buried in the cemetery in Normandy. I do this often when, you know, it's a tough situation or something's going bad, I'll get up and I'll go, look at that, and I'll take a look at that picture, and I'll go, you know what? Whatever I'm dealing with is not near as tough as what, you know, those people were dealing with on that day. And I've got to. I've got to get over it and turn the page. And so I really do do that a lot when I need to. And then I also, you know, again, go rely when I'm having a tough day. I'll again rely upon my family. And, you know, if I. And if I really need a boost, I'll call one of my kids. And, you know, I can go from, you know, being stressed out and. And. And grumpy, and I talk to my son or I talk to my daughter, and, you know, I've got a smile on my face. So I rely, you know. You know, I. That they're a huge boost for me, and then I am blessed to work with amazing people up and down, you know, up and down this hallway that I sit on now. And I know a lot of them care about me, and. And I certainly care deeply about them. And when I'm having a tough day, I'll just go plop down in their office and they'll help me through it. And I would tell anybody that's a CEO or anybody in business, surround yourself with people who care about you and who you care about, who are willing to support you and you're willing to support them, and that'll make it a whole lot easier to get through the tough stuff.

[A]

Thank you for sharing all of that insight, P. I think that would be helpful for a lot of people to kind of keep in mind, keep themselves centered, keep perspective, really, especially with respect to what you're just saying about Omaha Beach. It might seem like such a simple, trivial is probably not the word, but. But very, very small thing that, you know, but it can be very powerful. It sounds like.

[B]

Yeah, I. Look, I think perspective is one of those things in life that's so powerful. I mean, you could. We can all get lost in, you know, gosh, I'm having a tough day. But look, I look at myself and say, look, I'm the CEO of a amazing organization.

That takes care of. Gets to take care of people every day, which is, you know, what. What an amazing thing we get to do. And I obviously am blessed, you know, you know, probably with more resources, you know, with lots of resources. And I get to have all these incredible experiences. And when I look at that, I'm like, hey, like, your life is really good. Your life is.

Far better than you ever expected it would be when you were a young kid sitting in rural Kentucky and get over whatever emotions you're having and get some perspective about how good life is, and then just deal with whatever you're dealing with, and then.

[A]

Turning around and working with others to make their lives better.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

Fairly directly is a great thing, too.

[B]

Yeah, it is. And I mean, that's. That. I mean, the best part of getting to do what I do is. Is getting to work with amazing people and try to help them. And I. You know, people ask me, what do I get the most joy of now? And my. My greatest joy is watching people that are earlier in their career than I am, who've got amazing talent, a great. An amazing skill, and just trying to help them, you know, Achieve whatever. Whatever they are trying to achieve professionally and to make sure that, you know, they have the same types of blessings that I had going growing up and that, you know, I can become a mentor to them like John Lowe was to me when. When, you know, when I was younger.

[A]

Fantastic. Pete, you've been incredibly introspective so far, which is great for this conversation in general, so, so thank you again for that. That brings me to my next question, which is simply, what is something you've learned about yourself from working in health care?

[B]

Yeah, I. I think that I. From my. From my own perspective, I've realized that I guess I was drawn to it just because I. Even though I'm not a physician and not a clinician, I just do. Like, I have this internal desire to help people. Like, that's my joy of knowing that. That you're. You're trying to. Trying to help others again. I realize I'm not a doctor, nurse, and, And. Or. Or any of our employees who are on the front lines, you know, taking care of people every day, but I don't know. I just. I. To me, I get such joy out of just the idea that maybe I can provide a little bit of help so that they can help people. Or, you know, when people call and say, hey, my family member needs help, can you. Can you help them? I'm just getting to do that. And I don't know, I just. I've found that that's what gives me just huge joy.

[A]

That's so wonderful, Pete. I'm glad you're able to share that with us and our audience, and.

I'm sure it's reflected in how you're treating your colleagues and anyone who's under Osner's care. Certainly. Lastly, Pete, risk. It's going to be part of anyone's journey. Uh, again, you've. You've gone through that a little bit so far, but if you could highlight for us just one thing. Well, I guess it doesn't have to be one thing, but at least one thing in particular. One risk that you. You can look back now and say, you know what? That really paid off.

[B]

Yes. And this is one of those. This is a question that I have complete clarity on what the answer is, and which I know is. It may be unusual for folks, but. So 2008, I had just made equity partner at this big law firm, and it is a firm of people I love, and I loved my time there, and some of my great friends are still there, and I have great admiration for the firm, but I knew in my heart of hearts that practicing law at a law firm wasn't going to fulfill me, you know, my desire to be a leader. Back to, you know, being part of health care and helping, you know, helping, you know, people who are in need and that I really had this passion to go be a leader inside of an organization, but huge risk, right? I mean, you just make equity partner at this big firm, your career is essentially set for the next 20 years. You, your family could live in one place financially, you're going to be well off, you're going to do interesting work. And in that year when you make it to say, you know what, I'm jumping out of this and I'm jumping over to do something totally different. I'm moving my family, I'm uprooting my kids from school. That was a huge, huge risk. And thankfully I always say I way over married. And my wife, she, Stephanie, she knew that about me. And when we were talking about, she's like, let's do this. And I'm like, it's a huge risk. She goes, I know, but we only live once. And you, let's go for something that, you know, I think, you know, you'll really, will really be great for us. So I took that risk. And you know, when I did, and of course the past since I did that, you know, wasn't exactly as linear. Wasn't linear. But I look back and say, had I not taken that big risk, I wouldn't be sitting here talking to you right now as the CEO of this amazing organization. But that was really, really a huge risk. And I do tell when I'm trying to coach people who are coming up, I'm like, you do have to just take risk and you got to follow your passion and you've got to recognize that there's something that's really important to you, that's going to make you happy and that you feel like is your calling. It's worth taking a risk to go after that. But I look back on that moment and at the time I had a lot of people who thought I was crazy. And there were moments I thought I was crazy too. But obviously it was the right thing to do.

[A]

So crazy that it just might work.

[B]

Yeah, it just might work. Exactly. Yeah. Just might work.

[A]

That is so wonderful, Pete. I think that's a great place to call it a day here. Pete, you've been so generous and candid with with us today and we very much appreciate that. Certainly we're going to see you at our Beckers events. That's going to be terrific, too. But yeah, just thank you again for being here. And, you know, we look forward to the next time we cross paths.

[B]

Right. Chris, thanks so much for having me. Appreciate being with you and I appreciate everything that Beckers does. And. And I look forward to seeing you soon and seeing you at one of the events.

[A]

Likewise.