Aztec Finance Alum Works to Improve Lives in the Community

Leadership and analytical skills learned as an SDSU business student help Rick King to make solid financial decisions in his role as the CFO at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center.

Rick King

By Suzanne Finch

Rick King’s work quietly impacts human lives every day. 

King, a double Aztec (’88, finance, ’93, MBA), serves as the CFO at Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, and, though he is not on the front lines in patient care, his work plays a significant role in developing and expanding the healthcare to the San Diego region. 

“During my tenure as CFO, I was an integral part of expanding the services provided to the community, with the largest and most recent example being the opening of the medical center’s $300 million Ocean View Tower in 2020,” said King. “Ocean View Tower was able to handle the surge of COVID-19 patients during the pandemic and it saved — and continues to save — countless lives.” 

To get to that point in his long career, King, a native San Diegan, acquired many of the skills he needed through his degree programs at the Fowler College of Business at San Diego State University.  He initially enrolled at SDSU’s Fowler College of Business in the mid-1980’s knowing that he wanted to establish a business career. As he started taking his core business classes, he chose to pursue a finance degree so that he could utilize his love of math and statistics.  “A finance major was a perfect fit,” he said.

Shortly before graduating in 1988, King leveraged the services of SDSU’s career services center to assist with his post-graduation job search, leading to a position with Robinson-May department stores’ local corporate office in the company’s executive training program. 

However, King soon came to realize that if he wanted to see significant career advancement, he’d need to further his education. “I wanted to advance to a senior level executive position, so I knew I would need an MBA to do that,” he said. “After gaining a couple of years of on-the-job experience, I decided to return to SDSU to pursue my MBA.” 

It was during his MBA program that King gained additional insight into successful leadership skills. “The MBA program emphasized the importance of collaborating with many individuals on numerous projects,” he said. “These skills are especially beneficial since I’ve encountered this type of collaboration in the workplace on a daily basis.” 

 Shortly after earning his MBA in 1993, King wanted to make a career change, and he began exploring his options. “I wanted to stay in San Diego and one of the largest industries in the region was healthcare,” said King. “Additionally, I felt a calling to serve the community — the aging population, in particular — and I wanted to contribute to the growing need for healthcare service.” 

His previous work experience and MBA degree paid off within a matter of two years when King accepted his first CFO position at Fallbrook Hospital at the age of 30. Within five years, he started his current position as the CFO of Sharp Chula Vista Medical Center, where he uses his collaboration skills and other leadership lessons learned at SDSU on the job each day. “A CFO is like an internal financial consultant and must understand how the institution is reimbursed and is cost effective while evaluating programs and services,” he said. “I was able to learn the necessary technical and analytical skills during my undergraduate studies at SDSU, and I developed my leadership and strategic planning skills during my MBA program.” 

For those wanting to pursue a career in hospital administration, King discussed the current challenges faced by those in the healthcare industry and offered some words of advice as well. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, healthcare teams had to solve major problems I had not seen in my 30 years in the field,” he said. “Some of those issues include — but are not limited to — worker burnout, labor shortages, and supply chain and equipment shortages. So, if you want to succeed, you need to be nimble, embrace change and bring innovative ideas to solve the healthcare challenges of the future. The work done in the industry is very rewarding since you can literally make a positive impact in the lives of many individuals.”