Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase announced Atul Gawande, MD, MPH, as the new CEO for its partnership on U.S. employee healthcare. A surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and professor at Harvard Medical School, he will begin his new role July 9.
“I’m thrilled to be named CEO of this healthcare initiative,” said Atul, “I have devoted my public health career to building scalable solutions for better healthcare delivery that are saving lives, reducing suffering, and eliminating wasteful spending both in the U.S. and across the world. Now I have the backing of these remarkable organizations to pursue this mission with even greater impact for more than a million people, and in doing so incubate better models of care for all. This work will take time but must be done. The system is broken, and better is possible.”
The 52-year-old founded Ariadne Labs, an innovation lab focused on public health. He is also a staff writer for The New Yorker and has written four best-selling books.
“Talent and dedication were manifest among the many professionals we interviewed,” said Warren Buffett, Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO. “All felt that better care can be delivered and that rising costs can be checked. Jamie, Jeff and I are confident that we have found in Atul the leader who will get this important job done.”