Officers (2012-2013)

President William A. Zoghbi, MD, FACC, a leader in the field of cardiovascular imaging and echocardiography, Zoghbi, is the William L. Winters endowed Chair of Cardiovascular Imaging at The Methodist DeBakey Heart & Vascular Center and director of the Cardiovascular Imaging Institute at the Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas.

Vice President Patrick T. O’Gara, MD, FACC, is director of clinical cardiology and the executive medical director of the Shapiro Cardiovascular Center at Brigham and Women’s Hospital (BWH), as well as professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

Secretary Dipti Itchhaporia, MD, FACC, holds the Robert and Georgia Roth Chair for Excellence in Cardiac Care and is the medical director of disease management for Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute, a position she has held since 2001. In her role as director of Disease Management, Dr. Itchhaporia leads the congestive heart failure management program and the anticoagulation clinic at Hoag Heart and Vascular Institute.

Treasurer C. Michael Valentine, MD, FACC, is an interventional cardiologist in Lynchburg, Va. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa and named the University's outstanding senior. He attended the University of Virginia School of Medicine and completed his medicine and cardiology training at Emory University in Atlanta.

Immediate past President David R. Holmes, Jr., MD, FACC, is professor of medicine, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and has Master’s Faculty Privileges in Clinical Research at the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine, Rochester, Minn.

Thomas E. Arend, Jr. Esq., CAE, serves as the ACC’s Interim Chief Staff Officer. Prior to this interim role, Tom served as ACC’s General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer. Tom continues to serve as General Counsel.  As the ACC General Counsel, Tom is responsible for all legal risk management for the organizations, ensuring compliance with applicable laws, internal governance processes and procedures, and for providing general legal oversight for all ACC/ACCF activities.

New Members of the Board of Trustees

George D. Dangas, MD, PhD, FACC, has devoted his career to education for physicians and health care professionals. A professor of medicine and director of Cardiovascular Innovation at Mount Sinai Medical Center, Dangas has chaired the ACC Interventional Scientific Council since its inception in 2007. In addition, he has served on the Program Executive Committee of the ACCi2 Summit Conference since 2007. His position on the Interventional Council has allowed him to pursue his dedication to the quality initiatives and outcomes clinical research.

Huon H. Gray, MD, FACC, qualified from St. Thomas' Hospital in London and did postgraduate doctoral research there as a British Heart Foundation Junior Fellow. He is the honorary civilian consultant adviser on cardiology to the Army, chair of the International Council of the ACC and holds an honorary professorship at Barts and the London School of Medicine at the University of London.

Richard J. Kovacs, MD, FACC, is professor of clinical medicine at the Indiana University (IU) School of Medicine and the clinical director of the Krannert Institute. He is also medical director of the IU Health and Methodist Chest Pain Center and is acting chief of cardiology service at Wishard Memorial Hospital.

John S. Rumsfeld, MD, PhD, FACC is the national director of cardiology for the U.S. Veterans Health Administration as well as the VA Assessment, Reporting and Tracking Program. Rumsfeld is professor of medicine at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, staff cardiologist at the Denver Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and co-director of the Colorado Cardiovascular Outcomes Research group.

Howard T. Walpole, Jr., MD, FACC is the chief of cardiac sciences at Saint Thomas Hospital in Nashville, Tenn. He served as managing partner of Saint Thomas Heart for 10 years and was instrumental in its integration with Saint Thomas Heart Services. He served as governor of the Tennessee ACC Chapter and currently serves on the Cardiovascular Leadership Institute Work Group and as chair of the ACC Political Action Committee.

Complete BOT Biographies