The classic American Dream, globally diversified today, involves European immigrants crossing the Atlantic on a freighter, working hard and sacrificing in America so their children can succeed. Say hello to Marc Boom, MD, whose parents came over on a freighter from Belgium and whose mother learned to speak English from watching TV in her adopted homeland. Now president and CEO of Houston Methodist, a Houston-based, seven-hospital integrated delivery system with about 15,000 employees and annual revenue of $2.4 billion, Boom, 47, has made the most of it. He earned an undergraduate degree in biology from the University of Texas and an MD from Baylor College of Medicine before returning to his east-coast roots to earn an MBA from Wharton. He completed a residency in internal medicine at Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and fellowships in geriatric and general medicine at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to taking the top job at Houston Methodist, Boom was executive VP of The Methodist Hospital, president and CEO of Methodist Diagnostic Hospital and president/CEO/medical director of Baylor-Methodist Primary Care Associates, a network of primary physicians. His wife of 23 years, Julie, is a pediatrician at Texas Children’s Hospital and they have two daughters and a son. Oh, yes, he is also a gourmet cook.