Dear Members of the AACD,

It is my great honor and privilege to serve as your next AACD President. I am grateful for the opportunity to continue to work with each of you over the next two years. My commitment to the continued flourishing of the AACD is unwavering, and I am excited to see how we can further develop our small but mighty organization. It is certainly humbling to follow in the footsteps of extraordinary past AACD presidents, particularly Dr. Mitchell Tsai, our immediate Past President. When you first meet Dr. Tsai, you are likely struck by his vast knowledge base, infectious optimism, and energetic approach to perioperative leadership. Having considered Dr. Tsai a good friend and close colleague for many years, I can also attest to his steadfast leadership, dedication to this organization, and executive efficacy. Thank you, Dr. Tsai, for your extraordinary leadership over the past two years!

As we consider the AACD's future, I think it's important to first reflect on the past and assess the current state of our organization. The AACD was formed in 1988 by a group of anesthesiologists who sought to build a forum to tackle the complex task of operating room throughput. Though OR management remains at the core of the AACD, the past two decades have seen the organization grow to address many common concerns shared by anesthesiologists across the globe. These topics include staffing challenges, budgetary constraints, team dynamics, and expansion of clinical services. The annual AACD Perioperative Leadership Summit, held each Spring, has served as a physical forum where anesthesiologists convene to listen to renowned speakers share their expertise about the most pressing issues facing anesthesiologist leaders at the nexus of clinical care and business operations. The vigorous discussions and debates that follow each session, driven by both novice and seasoned members in the audience, have been the hallmark of our organization's annual meeting.

The current state of the AACD can be described as strong, stable, and primed for growth. The Board of the AACD has made significant progress over the past two years. Following the financial tumultuousness of the COVID epidemic, the AACD has emerged fiscally stable under the leadership of our Treasurer, Dr. Richard Urman, and has received strong backing from industry sponsorships and new institutional memberships. Though it was difficult to staff the AACD Board just a few years ago, the 2025 AACD Board is strong, diverse, and mission-aligned. The Board has recently updated our Mission and Vision Statements, which can be found on our newly updated website. Our newly elected Secretary, Dr. Matthew Sherrer, fostered a partnership with UAB Medicine to produce our ever-engaging Fresh Flow Podcast. Lastly, the Board very recently approved funds to grow the AACD's social media presence, and AACD posts will soon be seen on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and X thanks to the creative minds of our Communication Co-Chairs, Drs. Chinyere Archie and Veronica Zoghbi.

The future of the AACD is promising; it is undoubtedly an exciting time to be an AACD member! Though anesthesiologists founded the AACD, effective perioperative care is clearly a team sport. Given that highly cohesive, interdisciplinary teams produce the best patient outcomes, a focus of the AACD moving forward will be to invite surgeons, nurses, advanced practice nurses, business leaders, and other healthcare team members to become part of the AACD. Promoting positive synergy within our diverse teams is what we do daily in our careers as healthcare leaders. Therefore, the AACD will aim to emulate this in the core of our organization. While the Perioperative Leadership Summit will remain our organization's highlight of the year, we will strive to continue the vibrant discussions throughout the year on our new social media platforms. I encourage you to subscribe and share your views on our new social media sites, as we begin posting content relevant to our membership. Though anesthesiologists from large academic medical centers have largely led the AACD in the past, we will strive to be more inclusive of healthcare providers in private practice by expanding our AACD Board, inviting private practice speakers, and offering institutional memberships. Along these lines, any committed AACD member may apply to be a Fellow of the AACD. Finally, the long-term health of our organization (and our specialty) is critically dependent on the engagement of our medical trainees and junior partners. To this end, I encourage each AACD member to ask a medical trainee to submit an abstract to our annual Summit, consider adding a junior colleague to your institutional membership, and/or let us know if you have an up-and-coming star in your organization that would be a great speaker.

I want to thank the AACD board and membership for entrusting me to lead this wonderful organization during an exciting phase of growth and opportunity. I look forward to handing the Presidential gavel and an even more energized, thriving AACD to our President-Elect, Dr. Thomas Schulte, in 2027. Please don't hesitate to email me directly (andrew.franklin@vumc.org) if there is anything I can do for you regarding the AACD.