Julia Haller, MD, Named CEO of Wills Eye Hospital

Julia A. Haller, MD, Ophthalmologist-in-Chief at Wills Eye Hospital, will also become the hospital's next Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Haller assumed the expanded leadership post on July 18, succeeding longtime CEO Joseph P. Bilson, who retired in May after more than four decades of service.

In her dual role, Dr. Haller will oversee the organization’s overall strategy, financial performance, philanthropic efforts, and clinical operations. She will work closely with the Wills Eye leadership team, physicians, and staff to uphold the hospital’s legacy of excellence and innovation in ophthalmic care, research, and education.

“Julia is a trailblazing retina surgeon, internationally renowned ophthalmologist, and remarkable individual,” said Hon. Michael A. Nutter, President of the Board of Directors of City Trusts, which administers the James Wills Trust overseeing the hospital. “The next era of Wills Eye is in excellent hands with her. She brings a unique level of continuity and deep understanding of Wills Eye Hospital’s influence on global ophthalmology to this role.”

Dr. Haller’s expanded responsibilities will include stewardship of Wills Eye’s flagship Center City campus in Philadelphia and its extensive network of regional physician practices, surgical centers, and optical shops, which together serve more than 350,000 patients annually.

“After serving as Ophthalmologist-in-Chief for nearly 20 years, it is an honor to become yet more deeply embedded in this venerable institution,” said Dr. Haller. “I look forward to growing our impact locally, regionally, and internationally, serving as a champion for the hundreds of thousands of patients who walk through our doors each year, and continuing to elevate the Wills Eye name as a relentless force for excellence and innovation, shaping the future of ophthalmology across the globe.”

Dr. Haller has led Wills Eye’s medical team since 2007. She holds the position of Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at the Sidney Kimmel Medical College at Thomas Jefferson University and serves as a consultant to the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. A graduate of Princeton University and Harvard Medical School, she completed her residency and retina fellowship at the Wilmer Eye Institute at Johns Hopkins.