“Though healthcare is in the midst of a major transformation, Cleveland Clinic is very well positioned for the future,” Dr. Mihaljevic said. “Our ongoing success will hinge on our ability to maintain high-quality outcomes, while reducing healthcare costs, encouraging innovation, and improving access and affordability for patients.”

A native of Croatia and a naturalized American citizen, Dr. Mihaljevic earned his medical degree from the University of Zagreb, before moving to the United States in 1995 to join Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. He moved to Cleveland Clinic in 2004 as a cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive and robotically assisted cardiac surgeries – particularly robotic mitral valve repair – complex valve operations and reoperations, heart failure surgery, and heart transplantation. He helped to build Cleveland Clinic into the world’s largest robotic practice.


Dr. Mihaljevic has been on the editorial review board for prestigious medical journals. He is the author or co-author of more than 145 articles in medical and peer-reviewed scientific journals, and is the author of a numerous textbook chapters on robotic and minimally invasive mitral valve surgery, and heart valve disease. In 2005, Dr. Mihaljevic received a patent for a novel cardioscopy system for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. He earned the Cleveland Clinic Innovation Award in both 2006 and 2007.

As CEO of Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi since September 2015, Dr. Mihaljevic has led an organization of more than 5,000 caregivers – delivering Cleveland Clinic-quality care to Abu Dhabi; providing alternatives to traveling abroad for complex and critical care requirements; and developing the next generation of Emirati leaders. The 364-bed hospital has five clinical floors, three diagnostic and treatment levels, and 13 floors of critical and acute inpatient units.

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