College of Business honors Larry Kloess at recent Heroes of Business event
Lacey Klotz |
Lipscomb’s College of Business seeks to surround its students with business leaders who have not only achieved great success in their industry, but who also demonstrate their faith and character through their organizational leadership.
Since 2009, Lipscomb’s College of Business has recognized these individuals as Heroes of Business, year-after-year.
On Thursday, March 3, the college honored Larry Kloess as its latest Heroes of Business recipient.
“Larry Kloess has an impressive record as a major Healthcare CEO and is a distinguished model for what a Christian business leader in Nashville looks like,” said Ray Eldridge, dean of Lipscomb’s College of Business. “It is an honor to recognize Larry because his faith is embedded in his character and it is evident in the way he does business.”
Kloess is a healthcare executive with nearly 40 years of leadership experience in hospital and physician group management, as well as venture capital management.
Kloess retired from Hospital Corporation of America (HCA) in December 2011 after 28 years of senior leadership responsibility. During his tenure with HCA, Kloess served as the CEO of Centennial Medical Center from 1998-2005, as well as the president of HCA’s TriStar Division from 2005-2011.
In January 2012, Kloess transitioned to Clayton Associates, a Nashville-based venture capital firm with special emphasis in healthcare, as its Senior Advisor, and in May 2015, became the Chairman, with approximately $200m in investor funds deployed across 30 portfolio companies.
While on campus, Kloess spoke to several groups including fellow business leaders at a community breakfast, and then to students in a business class. He also 
shared his faith with students in the College of Business chapel before having lunch with the College of Business faculty.
“During his time with our College of Business, Larry encouraged students to see business as mission and to be ethical in every way,” said Eldridge. “He explained that when making tough decisions in business, it is important for each student to always rely on their faith.”
Eldridge also explained that Kloess spent a lot of his time talking about the book, “The Go-Giver.”
“The book was given to Kloess from his long-time mentor and Nashville Healthcare pioneer, Clayton McWhorter,” said Eldridge. “Kloess gave each student a copy of their own, so they could learn the important lessons of service that he had been encouraged to learn by McWhorter.”
The next Heroes of Business event will honor Donald S. Freeman Jr., chairman of Freeman, on Thursday, April 21.
For more information about Lipscomb’s College of Business visit: https://secure.lipscomb.edu/business.