Hough

Florida Digestive Health Specialists has named a Meridian native its new senior corporate executive.

The organization’s corporate controller, Michelle Blackwell Hough, MBA, CHFP, CCRA, FMC, has been promoted to chief financial officer.

Hough grew up in Meridian and much of her family still lives in the community. She attended K-12 at Clarkdale, earning numerous accolades, including senior accounting and leadership awards. Hough was on the cheerleading and basketball teams, as well as the National Honor Society and Spanish Honor Society.

Hough earned her associate’s degree at Meridian Community College before transferring to the Meridian campus of Mississippi State University. She went on to earn her master’s degrees at MSU while working as an accountant at Rexel, Inc.

Hough joined Florida Digestive Health Specialists in 2016, overseeing the central billing office and providing comprehensive financial reviews of the corporate office, 26 clinics, pathology lab, research institute and a variety of additional ancillary service lines.

“I credit my success to my upbringing in Meridian, which taught me to work hard, remain principled and value community,” Hough said in a news release. “I’m honored to be in the position I am today, and I look forward to advancing further growth for patients throughout Florida.”

Prior to joining Florida Digestive Health Specialists, Hough worked for Roper Technologies, Inc., where she managed the corporate accounting division, including assisting with tax restructuring ventures in Canada, France and the UK, and providing analyses for subsidiaries in Mauritius, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Denmark and Canada.

“Michelle has been an integral part of our team and her impressive results as corporate controller makes her a great fit for her new role,” said Vincent Hayes, Florida Digestive Health Specialists chief operating officer. “We look forward to her further contributions to our rapid statewide expansion.”