AHN Announces Leadership Appointments

Brian Johnson, MD, named medical director and chief population health officer for clinically integrated network; AHN West Penn Hospital appoints interim president

New CMOs take roles at AHN Allegheny General Hospital & AHN Forbes Hospital  

PITTSBURGH (January 12, 2026) — Allegheny Health Network announced today that Brian Johnson, MD, has been appointed medical director and chief population health officer for its clinically integrated network, Physician Partners of Western PA. 

Dr. Johnson is a long-time AHN physician leader and had most recently served as the president of AHN West Penn Hospital. Dr. Johnson has been a part of the West Penn leadership team for nearly two decades, serving as medical director of West Penn’s Clinical Decision Unit, and site director of the hospital’s Internal Medicine Residency Program, among other roles. In 2017, he was appointed West Penn’s chief medical officer (CMO).

An internal medicine physician, Dr. Johnson has served as the hospital's president since 2020.

In his new role, Dr. Johnson will be the top clinical officer at Physician Partners of Western PA, a regional network of clinically affiliated physicians and medical practices. PPWPA, launched in 2017 by AHN, now includes 3,500 AHN and non-AHN providers in Pennsylvania and neighboring states. The collaborative arrangement allows its members to develop mutually accountable clinical initiatives that improve care quality and efficiency.

“The more clinicians work together, the better we can serve our communities and our patients,” Dr. Johnson said. “Clinically integrated networks like PPWPA aim to improve patient experience, enhance coordination of care between providers and insurers, and support clinicians as they adjust to new value-based medicine arrangements.

• Lou Baverso, AHN’s chief operating officer, will serve as interim hospital president at AHN West Penn until a permanent successor is named. Mr. Baverso joined AHN in 2025.

Also today, AHN announced:

• Saad Mahmood, DO, has been appointed CMO at AHN Allegheny General Hospital. Dr. Mahmood brings significant experience to this role, having served as the hospital’s associate CMO since 2023. He succeeds Al Philp, MD, the hospital’s long-time CMO and network director for Trauma. Dr. Philp will remain on staff at AGH and will transition back to a full-time clinical role.
• Alan Murdock, MD, a trauma, critical care and emergency general surgeon who has served as director of the General Surgery residency program since 2017, will assume the role of interim network director, Trauma.
• Giath Shari, MD, has been appointed CMO for AHN Forbes Hospital. Dr. Shari, who has served as chief of the AHN Forbes Medicine Department since 2022, is a pulmonary and critical care physician. He succeeds Ezz-Eldin Moukamal, MD, the long-time Forbes CMO who last year was named AHN’s Chief Quality Officer.