The Tampa Bay area has no shortage of young talent. This ongoing special section seeks to celebrate the rising talent in our workplaces and the community.
We have selected another group of professionals to highlight, but don’t fret if you turned in materials, or were nominated, and don’t see your recognition yet. We will feature these quarterly and will continue to accept nominations on a rolling basis.
Selection is done internally and is based on both your nomination form and your letters of recommendation. Want to submit? Email Managing Editor Jo-Lynn Brown at [email protected].
Lijah P. Lokenauth
Vice president of accounting and finance, Tampa General Hospital
Lokenauth has more than a decade of experience. His professional background includes auditing and accounting in both the public and private sector. Before joining Tampa General Hospital, he led internal controls and finance teams at New York-Presbyterian Hospital where he partnered with operational leaders to promote financial stewardship initiatives and education. His work resulted in enhanced reporting and multimillion-dollar savings. In 2018, Lokenauth joined Tampa General’s finance team as a corporate controller.
In his leadership role at TGH, Lokenauth oversees the areas of general ledger, reporting, tax, payroll, treasury, grant compliance, accounts payable and decision support.
What makes you a TBBW Up & Comer? Success in business through financial results, career growth, etc.?
Lokenauth’s most important professional accomplishment at Tampa General is the organization’s robust financial technology transformation. He and his team successfully managed expense growth and improved operational user experience by implementing new productivity and financial reporting tools. Lokenauth thoughtfully distributed information and instruction to secure organizational buy-in for the necessary changes. During this process, Lokenauth cultivated an engaged workforce and provided his team with opportunities to amplify their strengths and reaffirmed their drive—most notably through promotions and expanded roles. As a result of Lokenauth’s leadership in encouraging open dialogue, professional trust was firmly established throughout the department.
This year, Tampa General began the process of certification as a high-reliability management organization. Lokenauth joined the first cohort of leaders chosen to attend the train-the-trainer sessions, which assessed risk and established roadmaps to mitigation. Upon completion, he volunteered to help other leaders within the organization understand how to reduce the probabilities of error, risk and harm.
Additionally, Lokenauth was selected to present a healthcare financial literacy session to Tampa General’s internal leadership development program, Lead TGH. This session communicated how team members and leaders can best receive financial data, interpret results and determine actionable steps to drive meaningful financial change.
What is the biggest challenge you have overcome as a young professional?
As an executive and young professional at a two-billion-dollar academic medical center, gaining the trust and confidence from key stakeholders was one of the biggest challenges Lokenauth has been able to overcome. Accountability to patients, community, board of directors and senior executives takes intentional cultivation of relationships and transparency. Lokenauth has been able to navigate a complex healthcare landscape, throughout the pandemic, while continuing to support growth and expansion initiatives for the enterprise.
NOTE: Lokenauth’s answers were submitted by the individual who nominated him. TBBW does not disclose the names of nominators for awards programs or for Up & Comers.