Leadership at Acadia Healthcare has changed hands several times since the company started. The January 2026 appointment of Debbie Osteen added the latest chapter. Reeve Waud, who helped launch the company and now chairs its board, has been the constant through every change.

Trace the chief executive line and you can see how the company matured from a startup into a national behavioral health operator.

The Early Years

Joey Jacobs led Acadia Healthcare through its formative stretch. When the company completed its merger with PHC, Inc. in 2011, Jacobs was chairman and chief executive of the combined entity. That era made Acadia Healthcare the leading publicly traded pure-play inpatient behavioral provider by licensed beds.

Reeve Waud, as Managing Partner of founding investor Waud Capital Partners, backed that growth from the start. The early leadership set the company on a path of acquisition-driven expansion.

Osteen, Hunter, and the Return

Debbie Osteen took the chief executive role from December 2018 through March 2022. She brought experience from her time leading the behavioral division at Universal Health Services. Chris Hunter followed her. He started in April 2022.

The story came full circle in January 2026. Osteen returned to the role she’d held before, and Hunter left. Reeve Waud called her the right person to lead Acadia Healthcare while the board searches for a long-term successor. That closed a loop he’s helped shape throughout.