David M. Leonard is senior vice president, strategic partnerships and chief legal officer of Spectrum Health System, a $8 billion not-for-profit integrated health system based in West Michigan. He has extensive experience in structuring and maintaining collaborative relationships with other organizations, general health law and business transactions involving health systems, hospitals, physicians and health plans, and governance of nonprofit health care organizations. David has worked closely with executive and board leadership on numerous hospital integrations, physician affiliations and health plan transactions.
In his role as senior vice president, strategic partnerships, David is responsible for structuring and maintaining strategic relationships, including joint ventures, between Spectrum Health business units and other organizations, as well as providing executive leadership to Spectrum Health’s community health outreach and partnership activities. In his role as chief legal officer, David is responsible for the leadership of legal, risk management and government affairs functions of all business units within Spectrum Health, and he advises governing boards and executive leadership regarding legal, legislative, regulatory and governance matters. David is passionate about the importance of inclusion, equality and diversity within our communities and serves executive sponsor for Spectrum Health’s commitment to promote health equity. He also serves as secretary of the Spectrum Health System Board of Directors.
Before joining Spectrum Health in 2002, David was a partner with the nationally recognized health law firm Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman, headquartered in Indianapolis. He also served as majority attorney for the Indiana House of Representatives in 1996. David earned his undergraduate degree from Indiana University in Bloomington and his Juris Doctor at Indiana University’s Robert H. McKinney School of Law in Indianapolis, where he also served as an editor for the Indiana Law Review.
David is a member of the American Health Law Association and the State Bar of Michigan. He has served in numerous community organizations and on governmental boards and commissions, and he currently serves on the boards of trustees for the Grand Rapids Public Museum Foundation (chair, audit committee), the Ada Christian School Education Foundation (past president and board chair).