Innovation Hub

Stanford Medicine, USA

Priya Singh

EVP and Chief Strategy Officer

Priya Singh serves as Stanford Medicine’s Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy Officer – an enterprise-wide role across the $12.3 billion academic health system where she leads strategic planning, global strategy, industry relations, and public relations and communications. She came to this position with extensive multi-disciplinary experience, having previously held leadership roles at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, Oracle, Respond.com, and Levi Strauss & Co.

Leveraging her tenure across academia, technology, and retail, Priya spearheaded Stanford Medicine’s inaugural strategic plan, uniting education, research, and clinical care to enhance patient outcomes, expedite research breakthroughs, and streamline educational offerings. As a senior advisor to more than 50 C-suite executives and senior leaders, Priya also crucially aligned Stanford Medicine’s COVID-19 response and was instrumental in helping the institution carry out over a million COVID-19 tests by February 2022 and distributing 500,000+ vaccine doses by March 2023.

Priya’s career includes managing global business operations, assessing international market potential, driving innovation, and executive education initiatives. Notably, she founded the Stanford Ignite program: operating in seven global cities, providing essential business training to entrepreneurs and start-ups in emerging markets. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in establishing the Stanford Institute for Innovation in Developing Economies: delivering business training to entrepreneurs in emerging markets.

Recognized for her leadership and impact, Priya has been honored by Becker’s Hospital Review, Fortune’s Most Powerful Women, and the Silicon Valley Business Journal’s Women of Influence.

Priya earned her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Business Management at the Bombay University in India.

Strategic Ventures for Stanford Medicine

Sean Hennessey-Hsieh

Managing Director

As Managing Director of Strategic Ventures for Stanford Medicine, Sean leads a team that incubates and operationalizes strategic priorities in areas including responsible AI in health and medicine, executive education, and global collaborations. Sean first joined Stanford Medicine in 2015 and helped lead the creation of the first Integrated Strategic Plan across the three entities comprising Stanford Medicine: Stanford School of Medicine, Stanford Health Care, and Stanford Children’s Health.

Prior to joining Stanford Medicine, Sean was an Associate Principal at McKinsey & Company in London, where he led consulting engagements with healthcare systems across Europe, particularly the NHS in England. He subsequently worked in strategy at Kaiser Permanente.

Sean earned his A.B. mcl in East Asian Studies at Harvard and M.B.A. at Harvard Business School, where he was a Baker Scholar. He also holds an MSc in International Relations from the London School of Economics and Political Science.

Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Sweden

Lina Strand Backman

Head of the Innovation Platform

As Head of the Innovation Platform, an organisation situated within Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Lina leads a multidisciplinary team responsible for strengthening the healthcare system’s capacity for innovation at both operational and strategic levels.

Lina has developed the Innovation Platform since its establishment in 2015. Today, the organisation encompasses expertise across a wide range of fields relevant to innovation management in healthcare, including medicine, law, quantum technology, medical technology, project management, and finance.

Among its responsibilities, the Innovation Platform manages the region’s Innovation Fund, which allocates 20 million SEK annually to innovation projects. The organisation leads a variety of innovation initiatives both within the region and at the national level. One example is its responsibility for integrating drones into healthcare across multiple applications. The organisation is also tasked with ensuring sustainable and value‑creating collaboration between the healthcare system and external stakeholders, such as industry and academia. This includes everything from supporting small start‑ups seeking to collaborate with healthcare, to leading strategic partnerships between the hospital and major global life science companies.

Before joining Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Lina worked for many years at a large global hygiene company, where she held several managerial positions in R&D as well as in the company’s patent department.

Lina holds a Master of Science in Industrial Engineering and Management from Chalmers University of Technology. She has recently commenced doctoral studies in innovation management at the same institution, alongside her professional role.

Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital, France.

Olivia Chauvel

Hospital Pharmacist

Dr Olivia Chauvel

Hospital pharmacist specialized in Medical Devices - Adolphe de Rothschild Foundation Hospital, France.

IHF Representative in GS1 Healthcare Leadership Team, Belgium.

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center

Yashodhara Dash

Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization, Strategy and Growth

Dr. Yashodhara Dash leads the Office of Entrepreneurship and Commercialization (OEC). As MSK’s Vice President of Entrepreneurship & Commercialization, she supervises OEC’s Life Sciences, Digital Health, Product Development, and Finance & Operations teams, whose responsibilities include managing MSK intellectual property, supporting technology development, and facilitating new company formation.

While providing strategic oversight for MSK’s extensive life sciences and digital health innovation portfolio, Dr. Dash collaborates closely with MSK’s leadership and laboratory and clinical researchers. She is actively committed to nurturing the institution’s culture of innovation, as well as its strong and productive relationships with corporate and investment partners.

Dr. Dash joined MSK in 2007 and she has held management positions within OEC since 2014. She holds a PhD in immunology from the University of Connecticut Health center, an MBA from the University of Connecticut, and an MBBS degree from India’s SCB Medical College.

Polish Hospital Federation (PFSz)

Michal Dybowski

Chief Sustainability Officer

Michał Piotr Dybowski is a healthcare innovation and policy expert with nearly 20 years of experience evaluating, governing, and implementing digital and organizational innovation in highly regulated healthcare environments. He currently serves as President of the Global Healthcare Travel Council (GHTC) and is President and Co-Founder of the Healthcare Poland Foundation (HCPL). He is also the world’s first Chief Sustainability Officer of a Hospital Federation, serving at the Polish Hospital Federation (PFSz).

His professional work focuses on the assessment of healthcare innovations at system level, including digital health, AI-enabled solutions, cybersecurity, sustainability, and organizational transformation. Michał has led and reviewed initiatives supporting hospitals in piloting and scaling innovations, with particular attention to regulatory compliance, patient safety, real-world impact, and operational feasibility.

He has contributed to national AI governance as Head of the AI Regulatory Sandboxes Section within the AI Working Group (GRAI) at the Ministry of Digital Affairs of Poland, where he supported the design of controlled testing environments for emerging technologies in regulated sectors. He is actively engaged in policy and implementation work related to the EU Cross-Border Healthcare Directive, focusing on interoperability, patient mobility, and cross-border service delivery. Michał regularly contributes to European and international healthcare forums.

Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City, Abu Dhabi

Craig Edwards

Senior Facilities Director

Craig John Edwards is a Chartered Engineer and senior healthcare infrastructure leader with over 25 years of experience leading complex hospital estates and engineering operations across the UK and Middle East.

He has served at Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City (SSMC) in Abu Dhabi for the past decade and currently leads facilities management, biomedical engineering, and capital development for the 732-bed tertiary Medical City. Craig provides strategic oversight of large-scale infrastructure programmes, operational transformation initiatives, and performance-based service models that directly support high-acuity clinical care. He also serves as Chair of the SSMC Sustainability Committee, driving alignment with UAE NET Zero agenda and embedding environmental stewardship within healthcare operations.

He holds a BSc (Hons) in Healthcare Building Services Engineering and an MBA focused on Healthcare Estates Strategy. Craig is committed to advancing practical, scalable innovation that strengthens system resilience, enhances patient safety, and enables clinical teams to deliver world-class care.

Czech Rehabilitation Hospital, UAE

Dr Samia Lakhdar Filali

Director of Quality

Dr Samia Lakhdar Filali, a Medical Doctor by background with more than 25 years of experience in clinical practice, holder of 2 Masters: Analysis and Management of Healthcare and an Executive Master in Healthcare Management.

Dr Filali is a certified professional in healthcare Quality by the National Association for Healthcare Quality (NAHQ), a Certified professional in Lean Management, a Fellow at the The International Society for Quality in Health Care (FISQua) and a CARF international surveyor.

National University Hospital, Singapore

Yujia Gao

Consultant Surgeon and Assistant Group Chief Technology Officer

A/Prof Gao Yujia is a Consultant Surgeon in Liver, Pancreas, and Liver Transplant Surgery at the National University Hospital in Singapore. As the Assistant Group Chief Technology Officer for the National University Health System, A/Prof Gao is involved in the research and development of immersive technology and its application in clinical care and education, and digital-twin projects. He works extensively with Mixed Reality (MR) technology, utilising MR devices to deliver cutting edge capabilities to clinicians including 3D holographic imaging, real-time computer-vision based imaged analysis, and multisource data integration. He is also responsible for the integration and implementation of 5G wireless technology for hospital infrastructure development and building of secured high-speed integrated data networks. As part of his work, A/Prof Gao is heavily involved in leveraging on MR and wireless communication technology to help advance global surgery initiatives including remote surgical assistance and education. A/Prof Gao also serves as the Vice Chairman of the HIMSS APAC Advisory Board and is a member of the Southeast Asia Public Policy Committee of HIMSS APAC.

Apollo Hospitals and Apollo eACCESS TeleICU Service, India

Dr Sai Praveen Haranath

Senior Consultant, Pulmonology and Critical Care; Medical Director

Dr. Sai Praveen Haranath is a US board-certified pulmonary and critical care physician with over two decades of international clinical, academic, and leadership experience. Based at Apollo Hospitals in Hyderabad, India, he serves as Senior Consultant in Pulmonary and Critical Care, Medical Director of Apollo eACCESS TeleICU, and Senior Vice President for Medical and Strategy at Apollo Health Axis—the new division of Apollo Hospitals Group focused on becoming the provider’s provider partner . In these roles, he has helped pioneer scalable, tech-enabled healthcare models that bridge the gap between urban tertiary centers and underserved communities across India and beyond.

After graduating from Madras Medical College, Dr. Haranath completed his residency and fellowship training in the United States, where he became board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pulmonary Medicine, and Critical Care Medicine. He also earned a Master of Public Health (MPH) degree and remains actively involved in global professional societies. He is a Fellow of the American College of Chest Physicians (CHEST) and previously served on its Board of Regents.

Returning to India in 2011, Dr. Haranath helped launch and scale Apollo eACCESS, a teleICU service that has supported hundreds of beds across multiple states in India and several international locations.  Dr Sai is intricately involved in Apollo Health Axis as it evolves into a Global Capability Center (GCC) for healthcare, offering virtual nursing, remote clinical intelligence, AI-enabled monitoring, and back-end clinical services for partners globally including across Asia, the Middle East, and the United States.

Dr. Haranath’s thought leadership in digital health has been recognized globally. He was invited to speak at TEDx in 2018 on the future of remote critical care and addressed the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) Confederation in 2021 on virtual ICU models. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he played a pivotal role in remote patient management, ventilator resource planning, and critical care staffing strategies for Apollo’s national response.

He is Chair of the Virtual Care Special Interest Group (SIG) at the International Hospital Federation (IHF), where he leads initiatives on standardizing virtual care delivery, facilitating cross-border clinical collaboration, and building trust in technology-driven healthcare systems. In this role, he has convened global experts to draft consensus recommendations and design capacity-building workshops, including a high-impact session at the upcoming IHF World Hospital Congress.

A strong advocate for ethical, evidence-based care and system transformation, Dr. Haranath contributes to several peer-reviewed publications and multinational research initiatives. His academic work spans topics such as telecritical care best practices, sepsis outcomes in low- and middle-income countries, and AI-supported mortality prediction. He has co-authored major studies in journals like Critical Care Medicine, Neurology India, and Apollo Medicine .

Beyond research and strategy, he actively mentors healthtech startups, advises on AI regulation and clinical workflow integration, and promotes tobacco cessation efforts, having been selected for the Johns Hopkins Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program in 2016. His guiding principle is to create sustainable, equitable, and human-centered healthcare models that harness the best of clinical expertise and digital innovation. Virtual Care is care too - allowing healthcare to be available for everyone , anytime and everywhere.

Changhua Christian Hospital, Taiwan

Dr Nina Kao

Chief Executive Officer, Overseas Medical Mission Center

Dr Nina, Kao Hsiao Ling is the CEO of Overseas Medical Mission Center of Changhua Christian Hospital and the Executive Director of Taiwan AID Board Members, the international cooperation alliance of Taiwan's NGOs. Dr  Nina is a professional international project manager and has been devoting herself to international works for more than 15 years. She makes an effort to mobilize the public and private sectors' resources to conduct the international programme in developing countries. Dr  Nina also concerns about the development effectiveness and effective cooperation development. She joined the regional networking of CPDE (CSOs Partnership for Development and Effectiveness) to organize the workshop for CSOs in Taiwan to promote Enabling Environment, SDGs implementation, transparency, and accountability.

Dubai Health Authority

Dr Mohammad Mansoor

Chair of Oral Health in Dubai Health, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at Hamdan Bin Mohammad College of Dental Medicine, Vice chair of Dental Malpractice in Dubai Health Authority.

Dr Mohammad Mansoor is a Diplomate of the American board of Pediatric Dentistry. He obtained his speciality degree from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine, Boston U.S.A. He then sub specialized in cleft lip and palate where he obtained a Fellowship degree in Craniofacial Pediatric Dentistry from Institute of Reconstructive Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Medical Center.

Dr Mansoor has several publications in medical journals and textbooks in the field of pediatric dentistry & cleft lip and palate. He gave talks in numerous regional and international conferences.

Currently he is the consultant and Chair of Oral Health in Dubai Health and the Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs at Hamdan Bin Mohammad College of Dental Medicine and the Vice chair of Dental Malpractice in Dubai Health Authority.

SSMC, Abu Dhabi

Ram Kumar Narain

Chief Administrative Officer

Dr. Ram Kumar Narain, chief administrative officer, brings a wealth of expertise to his role at SSMC, both in terms of his medical expertise and in his primary role of strategic planning and administrative operations. Dr. Narain oversees the operational and clinical services at the facility alongside the development and activation of the annual operating plan with SSMC’s long-term strategy in mind.

Dr. Narain’s academic journey includes cardiac surgery training at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff, UK, and Toronto General Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada. Complementing his clinical acumen, he pursued management training at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and Singapore Management University.

After eight years abroad, Dr. Narain returned to India in 1999 as the CEO and medical director of a 110-bed heart institute. Subsequently, he joined the Reliance Group in 2006 to lead a team establishing the Kokilaben Hospital, an 875-bed quaternary facility in Mumbai. Holding the position of executive director for more than 14 years, he played a pivotal role in design, planning, project management, commissioning, operations, clinical governance and strategic planning for the hospital.

Dr. Narain went on to take up the position of chief operating officer at the Emirates Hospitals Group, Dubai, from 2019 to 2023, overseeing a vast network of hospitals, medical centres and pharmacies across multiple emirates, in the UAE.

Prior to joining SSMC, he served as the chief medical officer at The Medical Office, PureHealth.

Narayana Health, India

Dr Pradeep Narayan

Senior Consultant Cardiac Surgeon and Chief Scientific Officer

Dr Pradeep Narayan, MD (Bristol), FRCS (Edin), FRCS (Glasgow), FRCS (CTh)

Dr Pradeep Narayan is a senior cardiothoracic surgeon and academic leader with over two decades of international experience across India and the United Kingdom. Trained in the UK with Fellowships from the Royal Colleges of Surgeons of Edinburgh and Glasgow and holding an MD (Research) from the University of Bristol, he brings a strong foundation in clinical excellence, translational research, and health system outcomes.

His work focuses on the integration of digital innovation and artificial intelligence into cardiac surgery and perioperative care, including machine learning–based risk prediction models and AI-enabled ECG interpretation. He has authored numerous peer-reviewed publications in leading international journals and serves on multiple editorial boards, including as Editor-in-Chief of the Indian Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.

National Department of Health, South Africa

Dr Relebohile Ncha

Chief Director of Hospitals and Tertiary Health Services

Dr Relebohile Ncha graduated with her medical degree from University of Cape Town in 2006 in South Africa. She furthered her studies in the field of Public Health Medicine where she obtained her master’s degree in public health as well as the College of Medicine Fellowship in Public Health Medicine. Dr Ncha is a health system and preventative medicine specialist and has extensive experience within the public and private health sector. These include working at various public hospitals within the Gauteng Department of Health in South Africa as a medical officer, then ventured into public health and worked for the National Institute for Communicable Diseases. She then embarked on the journey into Health Management as a clinical manager at a tertiary hospital in Gauteng South Africa, then served as Chief Executive Officer at Helen Joseph Provincial Tertiary Hospital. Currently, she holds the position of Chief Director of Hospitals and Tertiary health services at the National Department of Health, South Africa.

Almora General Hospital, Philippines

Serene Samuel

Chief Operating Officer

Serene Samuel is the Chief Operating Officer of Almora General Hospital in the Philippines and a global management professional with over 20 years of leadership across healthcare, technology, FMCG, and service sectors. His experience spans startup environments, growth-stage enterprises, and mature institutions, equipping him with a cross-sector perspective on innovation, scalability, and organizational resilience.

Throughout his career, Serene has co-founded and scaled technology-enabled ventures, applying strategic planning, ecosystem design, and operational optimization to drive sustainable growth. At Almora General Hospital, he authored and implemented the Nurse Training Program (NTP), reimagining workforce development to address evolving healthcare demands. The program integrates structured capability-building, purpose-driven formation, and systems alignment, and was presented at the 48th World Hospital Congress in Geneva in 2025.

His leadership approach emphasizes evaluating innovation not only for novelty, but for sustainability, workforce integration, governance strength, and measurable long-term impact. He is committed to advancing healthcare solutions that align human capital, operational excellence, and strategic foresight to build resilient institutions.

ARC Innovation Center at Sheba, Israel

Dr Lee Aviram Shoshany

Director of Startups

Lee Aviram Shoshany is a seasoned business development and innovation leader with a strong track record of fostering strategic partnerships between startups and global corporations. Currently serving as the Director of startups at ARC Innovation at Sheba Medical Center, Lee plays a pivotal role in guiding emerging ventures through the complexities of growth and innovation. Her career encompasses significant roles, including Innovation Ecosystem Cooperation Manager at the Israel Export Institute, where she was instrumental in promoting Israeli innovation on an international scale. Lee’s academic background includes a Master of Arts in Labor Studies from Tel Aviv University, equipping him with a deep understanding of organizational dynamics and stakeholder engagement.

MP Shah Hospital, Kenya

Agnes Thuo

Risk and Quality Improvement Manager

Agnes is a seasoned quality improvement and patient safety leader, with over 10 years of experience leading healthcare Quality Improvement, Risk management and patient safety. She is passionate about patient safety, quality improvement and health systems strengthening. Her belief is that every day presents an opportunity to improve and offer the very best in that which has been entrusted to her to do.

Agnes is a registered nurse with a Bachelor’s degree in Health Systems Management. She has gained experience in infection prevention and control, pediatric nursing, quality improvement and accreditation compliance.

She is currently the Risk and Quality Improvement Manager at the MP Shah Hospital, Nairobi Kenya.

Portuguese Association for Hospital Development (APDH)

Hugo Vizinha

Project Management Office Lead

Hugo Vizinha is a healthcare management professional with expertise in digital transformation and strategic project leadership across the health sector. He currently leads the Project Management Office (PMO) at the Portuguese Association for Hospital Development (APDH). In parallel, he serves as Editor Digital Heatlh  & Innovation Lead at Salus Magazine and as Digital Health Scientific Coordinator and Trainer in Twofold. He also provides independent consultancy in digital transformation and operational management with a focus on audit, compliance and regulatory affairs. 

He holds a PharmD and advanced postgraduate training in Health Management from National School of Public Health of NOVA and a Digital Transformation executive education from NOVA School of Business and Economics. Lean Six Sigma Black Belt and certified in Project Healthcare Management by the Project Management Institute. His professional work includes international projects in wearable usability, generative AI and medical devices. 

Gillette Children's Specialty Healthcare

Dr Coen A. Wijdicks

Vice President of Research

Dr. Coen A. Wijdicks, PhD, MBA is an accomplished biomedical scientist, educator, and research executive with more than two decades of experience in translational clinical science. His background includes a PhD in Biomedical Science, a postdoctoral fellowship in BioMedical Engineering, and an Executive MBA with advanced training in strategy and leadership. His doctoral and post-doctoral training earned numerous academic awards, including the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine (AOSSM) Excellence in Research Award, twice.

He currently serves as Vice President of Research at Gillette Children’s, where he oversees a $5M research portfolio and more than 100 active clinical, translational, and outcomes‑based studies across pediatric orthopedics, neuroscience, pain, gait and motion analysis, and rare neuromusculoskeletal conditions. His responsibilities span FDA/IRB compliance, biostatistics and data governance, research operations, clinical trials infrastructure, and multi‑site academic partnerships.

Dr. Wijdicks’ academic record includes 178 peer‑reviewed publications with an H-Index of 68, extensive podium and poster presentations, invited national and international teaching, and nine U.S. patents that have shaped surgical fixation and ligament reconstruction practices. He has a sustained record of mentoring undergraduate students, medical students, fellows, and research staff, and has contributed to structured educational programs in orthopaedic biomechanics and surgical research methods.

Joint Commission

Scott Williams

Vice President, Innovations

Scott Williams, PsyD, is Vice President for Innovations at Joint Commission. In this role, he is responsible for investigating and developing tools and resources that continuously add value for the healthcare organizations served by Joint Commission. Dr. Williams has been with Joint Commission since 1998. Prior to his current role, he served as the organization’s Director of Enterprise Research. In this capacity, he provided oversight for a broad range of evaluation research, operations support research, and health services research topics. During his tenure, he served as a principal investigator or co-investigator on numerous research projects, published in multiple peer-reviewed journals, and supported the development, field testing, and implementation of nationally standardized performance measures. Most recently, Dr. Williams led the development of Joint Commission’s SAFER® Peer Benchmarking report and served as interim Editor-in-Chief of the Joint Commission Journal on Quality and Patient Safety. He earned his undergraduate degree from the University of South Carolina, a Master of Arts from the University of Denver, and a doctoral degree in counseling psychology from the University of Northern Colorado.