Wellstar Health System CEO salary and executive pay
Wellstar Health System paid its CEO, Candice Saunders, $5,069,923 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $483,115 (10.5%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. Total revenue on that return was $3,081,488,520, up 20.9% from $2,548,342,593 for the fiscal year ending June 2024. Wellstar Health System ranks 62nd of 229 hospital systems on this site by CEO pay. Wellstar Health System has 4 Form 990 returns on record, for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025.
Last updated from IRS e-file data. EIN 58-1649541, Marietta, GA.
CEO, fiscal year ending June 2025
$5,069,923
- Total revenue
- $3,081,488,520
- CEO pay vs. peers
- Higher than 60%
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202611359349308811.View the filing
Peers: the 183 other hospital systems on this site. Ranked 73rd of 184 by top pay as a share of revenue. Pay is 0.16% of revenue, our calculation from the same return. Revenue is Part I, line 12; peers are compared on their latest full-year returns.
Highest-paid people on the latest return
On the latest return, 45 people were paid more than $500,000, 18 of them more than $1 million.
| Name and title | Total |
|---|---|
| Candice Saunders CEO President & CEO | $5,069,923 |
| Richard MyungMD Physician Group | $2,548,226 |
| James BurkeMD Physician Group | $1,905,460 |
| Marcus GatesMD Physician Group | $1,846,496 |
| Jeffrey DonahueMD Physician Group | $1,682,169 |
Also paid on the latest return: Edward Hsu (MD Physician Group), $1,643,061; Leo Reichert (EVP & General Counsel), $1,619,966; Richard Capps (EVP Chief Info & Digital Offcr), $1,579,418; David Jones (EVP CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER), $1,459,519; Mary Chatman (EVP Acute Care Operations), $1,458,099; Kem Mullins (EVP Ambulatory Ops & Bus Dev), $1,431,987; Michael McCullough (SVP Supply Chain), $1,280,716; Susan Grant (EVP CHIEF NURS EXEC (END 1/25)), $1,210,351; Alan Muster (SVP Specialty Division WMG), $1,088,142; William Bellando (SVP Chief Info Officer), $1,086,618; Joseph Reppert (SVP Finance & CFO), $1,058,485; Valery Akopov (SVP Hospital Division WMG), $1,037,518; Julie Teer (SVP & WELLSTAR FOUNDATION PRES), $1,018,339; Arif Aziz MD (TRUSTEE & PHYSICIAN(End 12/24)), $962,839; Catherine Andrews (SVP & COO KH), $908,760; and 67 more.
Also listed in Part VII of the latest return, with no pay reported: John Kerndl (EVP & CFO (AS OF 2/25)).
CEO pay by year
Each row is the CEO on that year's return.
| Fiscal year ending | Name and title | Total | Revenue | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2025 | Candice Saunders CEO President & CEO | $5,069,923 | $3,081,488,520 | Filing |
| Jun 2024 | Candice Saunders CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $4,586,808 | $2,548,342,593 | Filing |
| Jun 2023 | Candice Saunders CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $4,821,669 | $2,119,074,995 | Filing |
| Jun 2022 | Candice Saunders CEO PRESIDENT & CEO | $3,735,812 | $1,852,805,994 | Filing |
How this pay was reported
The parts of each total, as reported on the return for the fiscal year ending June 2025.
Source: Form 990, fiscal year ending June 2025, IRS object ID 202611359349308811.View the filing
| Part VII | Schedule J | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Name and title | From org | Other | Base | Bonus | Other | Deferred | Nontaxable | Total |
| Candice SaundersPresident & CEO | $4,958,202 | $111,721 | $2,000,953 | $1,367,578 | $1,589,671 | $60,350 | $51,371 | $5,069,923 |
| Richard MyungMD Physician Group | $2,428,229 | $119,997 | $1,627,946 | $794,306 | $5,977 | $53,500 | $66,497 | $2,548,226 |
| James BurkeMD Physician Group | $1,794,775 | $110,685 | $1,159,546 | $629,173 | $6,056 | $52,596 | $58,089 | $1,905,460 |
| Marcus GatesMD Physician Group | $1,736,645 | $109,851 | $741,834 | $991,985 | $2,826 | $46,000 | $63,851 | $1,846,496 |
| Jeffrey DonahueMD Physician Group | $1,573,910 | $108,259 | $757,007 | $814,677 | $2,226 | $42,474 | $65,785 | $1,682,169 |
These figures come from Wellstar Health System's Form 990 returns, as the IRS publishes them. The methodology page explains how they're chosen. To report an error, email corrections@ceopaycheck.com.
How Wellstar Health System compares
Ranked 62nd of 229 hospital systems by CEO pay.
- Previous in this ranking: 61st, Endeavor Health, $5,191,626
- Next in this ranking: 63rd, Sanford Health, $4,999,360
Closest in revenue among the hospital systems on this site:
Seattle Children's$2,856,316 (highest-paid), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
MemorialCare$7,083,129 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
UF Health Shands$1,608,122 (CEO), fiscal year ending Jun 2025
AdventHealth$9,855,391 (CEO), fiscal year ending Dec 2024
Boston Medical Center$2,199,373 (CEO), fiscal year ending Sep 2025
Common questions
Candice Saunders (President & CEO) was paid $5,069,923 for the fiscal year ending June 2025: $4,958,202 from Wellstar Health System and $111,721 in other compensation (Part VII columns D and F).
The CEO, Candice Saunders, was the highest-paid person on the latest return, at $5,069,923.
Wellstar Health System paid its CEO, Candice Saunders, $5,069,923 for the fiscal year ending June 2025. That is up $483,115 (10.5%) from the fiscal year ending June 2024. The earliest return on record is for the fiscal year ending June 2022, when the CEO was Candice Saunders, paid $3,735,812. By fiscal year end: June 2022, $3,735,812 (Candice Saunders); June 2023, $4,821,669; June 2024, $4,586,808; June 2025, $5,069,923.
Wellstar Health System's return for the fiscal year ending June 2025 reports total expenses of $2,685,321,206 and total revenue of $3,081,488,520 (Part I, lines 18 and 12), so revenue exceeded expenses by $396,167,314. Expenses were $2,099,063,476 for the fiscal year ending June 2024, so they rose 27.9%. The CEO's pay of $5,069,923 equals 0.19% of expenses, our calculation.
From the 4 Form 990 returns Wellstar Health System filed with the IRS for fiscal years ending 2022 to 2025. The latest full-year return was filed on May 15, 2026. Schedule J of the fiscal year ending June 2025 return breaks down pay for all 5 people in the pay breakdown above.