Chris Clark is taking over as Chief Executive Officer of the Florida Medical Association, effective Friday.

Clark has worked for FMA since 2014, taking a brief leave in 2018 from the FMA to serve as Director of Recruiting for Gov. Ron DeSantis' Transition Team. He most recently served as the senior vice president of public affairs for the nearly 150-year-old association, which represents physicians statewide.

"Thank you to the FMA Board for the honor of naming me to serve as Chief Executive Officer," said Clark. "Leading the association's more than 25,000 members through these unprecedented times, providing support to our physicians and their patients, and collaborating with other healthcare practitioners and medical support staff has allowed our state to protect Florida's more than 21 million residents through quality and affordable health care."

Before joining FMA, Clark worked as Chief of Staff to Senate President Don Gaetz, as the governmental affairs director for the Florida Department of Corrections and as legislative affairs director for The Florida Lottery, among other positions.

His political experience also includes serving as special assistant to then-candidate Jeb Bush in 1997 and as a personal assistant to Bush during his time as Governor.

"Chris Clark has proven time and again to be an integral part of the Florida Medical Association's success through the development and implementation of our legislative, policy, and political agenda since he joined the FMA in 2014," said Dr. Douglas R. Murphy Jr., the president of FMA.

"Chris's leadership positions in state and federal agencies, the Florida Senate, and local, statewide political campaigns and party committee work, have not only elevated the level of service within the association, but also positioned the FMA as the premier voice of medicine."