Putting Patients First

07 Dec 2022

Putting Patients First

DaVita CEO Javier Rodriguez (MBA 1998) on his company's unique model and plans for growth

Re: Javier Rodriguez (MBA 1998); Chitra Nawbatt (GMP 6)

Topics: Health-Health Care and Treatment Leadership-Leadership Style Innovation and Invention-General

Javier Rodriguez (DaVita)

Chitra Nawbatt (Linkedin)

DaVita CEO Javier Rodriguez (MBA 1998) recently spoke to HLTH Daily Show host Chitra Nawbatt (GMP 6, 2009) about his company's growth and trajectory.

In response to Nawbatt's inquiry about how DaVita, which is focused on kidney care, differentiates itself, Rodriguez notes that his company's solution is a salve for a fragmented health care market. "Our patient population is unique enough that we can take care of the entire continuum, from education to diagnosis to models of care," he says. "So we're going to take [patients] from end-to-end instead of a point-to-point solution—which I believe to be part of the problem with health care."

Asked about his personal thoughts on leadership, Rodriguez characterized himself as an enabler. "I love people, and I like to see people thrive in whatever they do," he says. "And so my job is to actually look at the skill sets and make sure that we have the best players on the field so that they can thrive—and that just totally energizes me."

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