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When I came to Harvard Business School (HBS) to participate in the Executive Education General Management Program, I wasn’t looking for a career change, I was looking for a way to create real, lasting impact in health care.
As a physician anesthesiologist and pharmacist, I had spent years advocating for access to care, navigating complex health care systems, and working on policies to address the opioid crisis. But I knew that solving these challenges required more than frontline experience. I needed a broader perspective, new strategic tools, and a stronger network to drive systemic change.
What I gained at HBS went beyond business strategy or policy frameworks—it was a fundamental shift in how I saw leadership. I had spent much of my career making hands-on, high-stakes decisions, from treating critically ill patients to advising global health organizations. But at HBS, I realized that leadership wasn’t just about what we do, it’s about how we empower others to drive change.
Some of my most valuable lessons came not from textbooks, but from conversations with classmates—leaders across industries who were grappling with their own challenges. We weren’t just analyzing case studies; we were discussing the real human impact behind them. Those discussions shaped my thinking in ways I never expected.
Then, COVID-19 hit, a crisis that tested everything I had learned.
As an anesthesiologist, I was back on the frontlines, intubating patients, managing critical care, and witnessing firsthand how fragile our health care system could be. At the same time, policies I had spent years advocating for—like telehealth expansion and rapid medication approvals—were being implemented at scale. Seeing those changes take effect reinforced the power of strategic leadership in moments of crisis.
Since then, my work has expanded beyond the clinical setting. I’ve collaborated with organizations like the World Economic Forum, the Gates Foundation, the Milken Institute, and the USFDA to drive breakthrough progress in women’s health, oncology, pain management, mental health, and the opioid epidemic response. I’ve seen how innovation can transform patient outcomes, but also how much work remains.
If there’s one thing HBS taught me, it’s that leadership isn’t just about pushing progress forward, it’s also about resilience, adaptability, and staying true to your purpose through setbacks. Whether in the operating room or the boardroom, my most enduring lesson has been this: leadership is not measured by titles or recognition, it’s measured by impact.
HBS wasn’t just a chapter in my career, it was a turning point. It gave me the tools to think bigger, build solutions at scale, and drive change in ways I never imagined. Today, my journey continues with the same mission that brought me here: to build a health care system that works for all.