Amazon, Berkshire and JPMorgan reveal CEO of new healthcare company

Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway and JPMorgan Chase have appointed Atul Gawande as the chief executive officer (CEO) of their newly-formed healthcare company in the US.

In January 2018, the companies announced that they were together forming a new non-profit company aimed at improving healthcare options for their US workers while improving their satisfaction and reducing costs.

The new company will be headquartered in Boston and will operate as an independent entity that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints.

Gawande is a surgeon, writer and public health innovator. He practices general and endocrine surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and is professor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and Harvard Medical School. He is founding executive director of the health systems innovation center, Ariadne Labs. He also is a staff writer for The New Yorker magazine, has written four New York Times bestsellers: Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal, and has received numerous awards for his contributions to science and healthcare.

“I’m thrilled to be named CEO of this healthcare initiative,” Gawande said. “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 US 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.”

Jamie Dimon, chairman and CEO of JPMorgan Chase, commented: “As employers and as leaders, addressing healthcare is one of the most important things we can do for our employees and their families, as well as for the communities where we all work and live. Together, we have the talent and resources to make things better, and it is our responsibility to do so. We’re so grateful for the countless statements of support and offers to help and participate, and we’re so fortunate to have attracted such an extraordinary leader and innovator as Atul.”

Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of Amazon, added: “We said at the outset that the degree of difficulty is high and success is going to require an expert’s knowledge, a beginner’s mind, and a long-term orientation. Atul embodies all three, and we’re starting strong as we move forward in this challenging and worthwhile endeavor.”

According to Berkshire Hathaway chairman and CEO, Warren Buffett, “Talent and dedication were manifest among the many professionals we interviewed. 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.”