Executives across healthcare are tasked with crafting, deploying and scaling AI strategies and tools at their hospitals and health systems, with the goal of easing clinician burnout and improving patient outcomes.
Below are 38 AI leaders to know in 2026.
Note: Becker’s Healthcare developed this list based on editorial research. This list is not exhaustive, nor is it an endorsement of the leaders, hospitals, health systems or companies mentioned. Leaders are presented in alphabetical order.
For questions and comments on this list, contact Anna Falvey at afalvey@beckershealthcare.com.
Sponsored by:
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John Rares Almasan, MD. Senior Vice President and Chief AI, Data and Infrastructure Officer at Banner Health (Phoenix). Dr. Almasan was selected for Banner Health’s newly created chief AI, data and infrastructure role to unify the technology foundation, data environment and AI capabilities of one of the nation’s largest integrated health systems. Dr. Almasan brings more than 20 years of AI and technology leadership, including senior roles at TIAA, McKinsey, Nationwide, American Express and Bank of America, as well as experience as a patent inventor, published author and adjunct professor. Dr. Almasan is now charged with guiding Banner’s major investment in AI, robotics, telemedicine and cloud technology while prioritizing patient safety, access and workforce efficiency.
David Arnold. Senior Vice President and Chief AI and Data Officer for Hackensack Meridian Health (Edison, N.J.). Mr. Arnold was named senior vice president and chief AI and data officer for Hackensack Meridian Health in early August 2026. Previously, he was chief data analytics officer for New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center since 2023. In that role, he was charged with modernizing enterprise data and analytics and AI. Prior, he was the inaugural chief data and analytics officer at West Orange, N.J.-based RWJBarnabas Health, a promotion from his earlier vice president data and analytics role at the system. Earlier in his career, Mr. Arnold spent eight years at Hackensack Meridian Health.
Ashley Beecy, MD. Chief AI Officer at Sutter Health (Sacramento, Calif.). Dr. Beecy is leading the enterprisewide deployment of AI across Sutter Health, combining clinical expertise with deep experience in AI governance, implementation and measurable adoption. As Sutter’s first chief AI officer, Dr. Beecy oversees a growing portfolio of clinical and operational applications designed to improve outcomes, reduce clinician burden and enhance the patient experience. A nationally recognized speaker, researcher and Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society AI adviser, Dr. Beecy has also been recognized by Reuters as a “Trailblazing Woman in Healthcare” for her leadership in scaling trusted AI.
Michael Burns, MD, PhD. Associate CMIO of AI at Michigan Medicine (Ann Arbor). Dr. Burns provides clinical governance and implementation leadership for AI across Michigan Medicine. As associate CMIO for AI and chair of the clinical intelligence committee, Dr. Burns oversees the review and support of predictive models, machine-learning tools and AI algorithms used in clinical decision systems. Dr. Burns’ work with Michigan Medicine’s precision health initiative and the multicenter perioperative outcomes group combines rigorous research, responsible governance and real-world implementation across perioperative care.
Alok Chaudhary. Vice President and Chief Data and AI Officer for VCU Health (Richmond, Va.). VCU Health named Mr. Chaudhary as its vice president and chief data and AI officer in July 2024. He develops and leads high-powered teams in alignment with the system’s culture of innovation, aiming to empower a data platform that suits both patients and team members. In his executive leadership role and his position as chair of the system’s data steering committee, his ultimate goal is to promote innovation and improve outcomes, efficiency and equity. Mr. Chaudhary joined VCU Health with over two decades of healthcare data, analytics and IT experience under his belt, with 18 of those years in leadership roles. Most recently, he was chief data and analytics officer at Johnson City, Tenn.-based Ballad Health.
Sumeet Chugh, MD. Vice Dean and Chief AI Health Research Officer at Cedars-Sinai (Los Angeles). Dr. Chugh leads Cedars-Sinai’s efforts to accelerate rigorous, clinically meaningful AI research and translate discoveries into improved patient outcomes. A renowned cardiac electrophysiologist and scientist, Dr. Chugh has pioneered the use of AI, genomics, proteomics and large-scale clinical data to better predict and prevent sudden cardiac arrest. Dr. Chugh also directs Cedars-Sinai’s Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Research Center and has convened international experts to develop practical road maps for the safe implementation and integration of AI across healthcare. Dr. Chugh’s scientific contributions were recognized with the Heart Rhythm Society’s “Distinguished Scientist Award” for 2025.
Dylan Clark. Chief Analytics and AI Officer for Bon Secours Mercy Health (Cincinnati). In February 2026, Mr. Clark became Bon Secours Mercy Health’s chief analytics and AI officer. The role entails oversight of the system’s data, analytics and AI strategies, as well as the development of an AI governance framework. Along with other system leaders, he helps to assess and scale out technology solutions that better patient care, safeguard patient information, aid operational efficiency and further responsible innovation. Before taking on the newly created position, Mr. Clark was leading data and analytics at Columbia, Md.-based MedStar Health.
Warren D’Souza, PhD. Chief AI Officer for UT Southwestern Medical Center (Dallas). In early July 2026, Dr. D’Souza became UT Southwestern Medical Center’s inaugural chief AI officer. In his role, he aims to position the medical center as a national leader in responsible, mission-driven AI use in academic medicine. Before assuming this new position, he was senior vice president and chief innovation officer for Baltimore-based University of Maryland Medical System and co-director of the University of Maryland Institute for Health Computing, where he founded and directed a center focused on digital health and AI innovation and incubation. Dr. D’Souza has also authored more than 100 peer-reviewed articles and has various patents.
Nasim Eftekhari. System Vice President and Chief AI and Analytics Officer for City of Hope (Duarte, Calif.). Ms. Eftekhari built City of Hope’s AI program from the ground up, rising from individual contributor to chief AI and analytics officer in March 2025. She leads a horizontally integrated applied AI and data science department that improves efficiency and quality across clinical decision support, patient care, research, precision medicine and core business operations. In 2025, she led the development and deployment of a novel generative AI platform that streamlines patient onboarding, matches patients to clinical trials and transforms clinical decision-making across City of Hope’s network. Her team’s real-time predictive models are embedded in the Epic EHR, and enable proactive risk detection for sepsis and surgical complications, with measured impact including reduced ICU admissions and lower rates of postoperative complications. A computer scientist by training, she leads AI-driven tools for revenue cycle optimization contributing to margin growth alongside clinical and research capabilities.
Adil Haider, MD. Chief AI Officer at Carle Illinois College of Medicine (Urbana, Ill.). Dr. Haider is the inaugural chief AI officer of Carle Illinois College of Medicine, the world’s first engineering-based medical school. A globally recognized surgeon-scientist, academic leader and founder of Boston Health AI, Dr. Haider is building a strategy that integrates responsible AI into medical education, translational research and clinical innovation. Dr. Haider’s work is also distinguished by a global-health vision of using AI to broaden access to medical knowledge, reduce inequities and enable healthcare systems around the world to learn from one another.
Kensaku Kawamoto, MD, PhD. Chief Health AI Transformation Officer for University of Utah Health (Salt Lake City). Dr. Kawamoto took on the chief health AI transformation officer role at University of Utah Health in spring 2026. The new role was created to progress system efforts to drive the adoption of AI solutions systemwide, enhancing care, operational performance, education and research. Dr. Kawamoto also oversees the system’s innovation lab, which launched in January 2026 to help develop and deploy leading-edge technologies. Dr. Kawamoto is a fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics and the American Medical Informatics Association.
Joe Kelly. Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Technology Officer at Mercy (Saint Louis). Mr. Kelly is Mercy’s executive vice president and chief strategy and technology officer. There, he directs and aligns business model transformation, including AI, data management and analytics, digital transformation, IT, and platform, experience and technology partnerships. Mr. Kelly built Mercy’s AI culture, including tools like consumer-facing immediate scheduling and access points, AI-driven operational solutions and more, documenting their return-on-investment and value, and then scaling them across the system. He joined the system in 2014 as senior vice president and chief marketing officer. Before coming to the system, he was senior vice president at CVS/Aetna and held similar positions at Swiss Re and General Electric.
Rajiv Kolagani. Chief Data and AI Officer for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. Mr. Kolagani has spent the last two decades in leadership roles where he has scaled Medicare Advantage programs, put in place risk-based reimbursement models, and improved patient outcomes via AI-powered population health analytics. At Lurie Children’s Hospital, he serves as chief data and AI officer, leveraging knowledge he’s gained over the past decade using AI on both the provider and vendor side. Since joining the hospital, he has helped to modernize the technology stack, build a talented team, and govern AI centrally while implementing it on a local level.
Daniel Kortsch, MD. Associate Chief of AI and Digital Health Denver (Colo.) Health. Dr. Kortsch has been with Denver Health, a $1.4 billion safety-net system, for nearly 17 years. In January 2025, he became associate chief of AI and digital health. In the role, he assesses whether AI and digital health tools build trust, serve their intended purpose and make the lives of the users easier. Dr. Kortsch has run validation studies, built a hospital AI governance framework, co-authored national AI standards, aided in the rewriting of Colorado’s AI law, and deployed the rollout of an intuitive ambient AI tool.
Paul J. Lukac, MD. Chief AI Officer for UCLA Health (Los Angeles). In May 2025, Dr. Lukac became UCLA Health’s very first chief AI officer. In this role, he’s responsible for the strategic creation and implementation of AI across the system. He first joined UCLA Health in 2022 as an ambulatory physician informaticist, then became director of applied AI at the system in 2024. Alongside his executive role, he is assistant clinical professor in the department of pediatrics. Dr. Lukac believes AI will help improve research and clinical care in brain cancers, a cause close to his heart as a cancer survivor himself.
Alda Mizaku. Vice President and Chief Data and AI Officer for Children’s National Hospital (Washington, D.C.). Ms. Mizaku became Children’s National Hospital’s chief data and AI officer in June 2024. Her role entails combining data analytics and AI with operations, thus enhancing the patient experience and improving operational efficiencies. She is continuously evaluating potential use-cases for new tools already on the market, and filling potential gaps in tools internally when possible. She also considers the ethical implications of AI when deciding how to proceed. Before taking on her current role, she held a leadership role in data engineering and analytics at St. Louis-based Mercy Health for over a decade. She is a biomedical engineer by training.
Sara Murray, MD. Vice President and Chief Health AI Officer for UCSF Health (San Francisco). Dr. Murray took on the vice president and chief health AI officer role at UCSF Health in July 2023. Additionally, she is associate CMIO for inpatient care at the system, as well as associate professor of clinical medicine and associate chief for health system partnerships in the division of clinical informatics and digital transformation. In her roles, she blends strategy, informatics, digital health and data science in order to create infrastructure and governance processes that aid in the deployment of ethical AI. She also assesses tools and algorithms to determine whether they are a good fit for implementation at the system, and creates novel machine learning models to address system issues where applicable. In addition to scaling AI across the system, she uses her clinical time to attend on the hospital medicine service.
Girish Nadkarni, MD. Chief AI Officer at Mount Sinai Health System (New York City). Dr. Nadkarni is a physician-scientist working at the intersection of AI, digital health and clinical care. Dr. Nadkarni leads Mount Sinai’s Windreich Department of Artificial Intelligence and Human Health, which is the first department of its kind at a U.S. medical school. He also directs the Hasso Plattner Institute for Digital Health. Dr. Nadkarni has published more than 375 peer-reviewed articles, secured approximately $40 million in research funding, holds multiple AI-related patents and co-invented the first FDA-authorized AI bioprognostic tool for kidney disease. Dr. Nadkarni’s work spans clinical translation, multimodal predictive models, precision medicine, and the identification and mitigation of bias in healthcare AI.
Mouneer Odeh. Vice President and Chief Data and AI Officer for Cedars-Sinai (Los Angeles). In December 2024, Cedars-Sinai announced that Mr. Odeh would take on the system’s first chief data and AI officer role. He is tasked with driving the system’s data analytics and AI projects, ensuring they align with broader digital and IT goals. He aims to advance a data-driven, innovative culture at the system, overseeing a range of team members across advanced analytics, research, infrastructure, governance, data science and business intelligence. Mr. Odeh brought to the role over 25 years of prior leadership experience in the field. Most recently, he was vice president of analytics at Falls Church, Va.-based Inova. He also held previous roles at Thomas Jefferson University and Jefferson Health, both in Philadelphia.
Deborah O’Dell. Chief Data and Analytics Officer at BJC HealthCare (St. Louis). Ms. O’Dell has served as BJC HealthCare’s chief data and analytics officer. She is one of two primary leaders of the joint Center for Health AI, launched by St. Louis-based Washington University School of Medicine and BJC HealthCare. The center, created in 2024, helped position both organizations as leaders in AI technology. Ms. O’Dell is passionate about using AI to meaningfully enhance the patient experience while lessening provider burnout.
Brett Oliver, MD. Chief Medical Information and AI Officer for Baptist Health System (Louisville, Ky.). A family physician and executive leader, Dr. Oliver wants all team members and patients at Baptist Health System to benefit from technology solutions. He has progressed through a number of roles at the system, including medical director of integrated EHR development, CMIO, and as now both a family physician and chief medical information and AI officer. He assumed his latest executive role in April 2026, where he is tasked with aligning clinical care, physician workflow, information systems, digital health, training and support, and AI strategy organizationwide. This entails overseeing the governance, intake, prioritization, evaluation, piloting, deployment, monitoring and optimization of AI tools.
Deepti Pandita, MD. Vice President of Clinical Informatics and Chief Medical Informatics and AI Officer for UCI Health (Orange, Calif.). Since April 2026, Dr. Pandita has been UCI Health’s chief medical informatics and AI officer. Prior, she served as vice president of clinical informatics and CMIO since joining the system in 2023. The promotion helped align clinical expertise with informatics and AI strategy, indicating that they are now deeply intertwined. Dr. Pandita has championed enterprise AI governance, digital transformation, and initiatives designed to reduce administrative burden and improve clinician efficiency. A nationally recognized informatics leader and frequent industry speaker, Dr. Pandita received the 2026 “Physician Executive Leader Award” from the Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society and the Association of Medical Directors of Information Systems. She also co-authored the American College of Physicians’ policy position on the responsible use of AI in healthcare.
Bhavik Patel, MD. Chief AI Officer for Mayo Clinic Arizona (Phoenix). Mayo Clinic Arizona named Dr. Patel to its chief AI officer role in 2023. He leads multiple deep learning, natural language processing and generative AI initiatives. Under his leadership, the system has implemented predictive AI models that have real-life implications for patients, including risk-identification for several diseases that make early intervention possible and more effective. Dr. Patel advocates for the responsible adoption of AI. He wields tools with caution while embracing the progress they are making.
Mangesh Patil. Chief AI Officer at HCA Healthcare (Nashville, Tenn.). Mr. Patil leads AI strategy for Nashville-based HCA Healthcare, bringing advanced analytics and machine learning into one of the nation’s largest healthcare delivery networks. Mr. Patil has championed practical, workforce-centered applications such as an AI-enabled nursing handoff tool that synthesizes relevant information from the EHR to improve communication and reduce administrative effort. Mr. Patil has also represented HCA Healthcare publicly on the data architecture and cloud infrastructure required to support enterprise analytics and AI at scale.
Philip R.O. Payne, PhD. Chief Health AI Officer for WashU Medicine and BJC Healthcare (St. Louis). Dr. Payne serves as the chief health AI officer for BJC Health and WashU Medicine, and he is the founding director of their joint Center for Health AI, working alongside Deborah O’Dell. He also holds the Janet and Bernard Becker Professorship and is the founding director of the Institute for Informatics, Data Science and Biostatistics at WashU Medicine. Dr. Payne also serves as a professor of general internal medicine, computer science and engineering, and has over 300 publications to his name. Dr. Payne is an elected fellow of the American College of Medical Informatics, American Medical Informatics Association, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, and the International Academy of Health Sciences Informatics. He also became the president and board chair of American Medical Informatics Association in January 2026.
Rob Purinton. Chief AI Officer at AdventHealth (Altamonte Springs, Fla.). Mr. Purinton is responsible for AdventHealth’s enterprise AI strategy, governance and responsible deployment across one of the country’s largest health systems. Mr. Purinton has become a prominent industry voice for moving healthcare AI from experimentation to measurable value, with a focus on clinical outcomes, operational performance and reducing administrative burden for caregivers. Mr. Purinton’s approach emphasizes “augmented intelligence,” which entails using predictive and generative AI to help clinicians work more effectively while maintaining appropriate human oversight and trust. Mr. Purinton first assumed the role in January 2025.
Karthik Raja. Chief Analytics and AI Officer at Ascension (St. Louis). Mr. Raja leads analytics and AI across Ascension’s highly complex, multistate care-delivery network. Mr. Raja’s work stands out for its disciplined, problem-centered approach. He is responsible for selecting the right AI, analytical and mathematical methods for specific clinical, operational and financial challenges. Mr. Raja is helping build the enterprise capabilities required to apply AI responsibly and consistently across one of the country’s largest nonprofit health systems. He took on his current role in July 2024 after serving as the system’s senior vice president of analytics and chief data science officer since November 2019.
Joseph Sanford, MD. Chief Clinical Informatics Officer at University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (Little Rock). Dr. Sanford has helped establish the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences as a leader in clinically grounded digital transformation through his dual role as chief clinical informatics officer and director of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Institute for Digital Health & Innovation. An anesthesiologist, informaticist and educator, Dr. Sanford bridges clinical practice, data and technology while overseeing programs designed to translate digital and AI-enabled tools into care delivery. Dr. Sanford has also contributed to national conversations about health-system AI strategy, governance, and the practical path from experimentation to sustained clinical value. Dr. Sanford ensures that AI tools have a daily impact on clinicians and patients, that the tools are measured to evaluate success, and that they are worth the time and resources needed to implement them.
Vijay Sankararaman. Chief AI Officer at Novant Health (Charlotte, N.C.). Mr. Sankararaman is leading Novant Health’s enterprisewide AI transformation across patient experience, clinical workflows and operations. Under Mr. Sankararaman’s leadership, the system is moving beyond isolated pilots to develop predictive, generative and agentic AI capabilities, including a secure virtual-care agent, AI-enabled outreach to patients at elevated clinical risk, and generative AI for claims appeals and patient advocacy. Mr. Sankararaman has also emerged as a national voice sharing how the chief AI officer can orchestrate responsible, patient-centered transformation across a health system.
Nirav Shah, MD. Associate Chief Medical Informatics Officer, AI and Innovation at Endeavor Health (Evanston, Ill.). Dr. Shah is helping Endeavor Health evolve from individual AI pilots toward an AI-first operating model supported by enterprise governance, workflow redesign and clinician trust. Dr. Shah leads the translation and implementation of AI, digital and clinical tools across the health system, while also conducting National Institutes of Health-funded research in AI, population health and digital health. A frequent industry speaker, Dr. Shah has been especially vocal about avoiding “pilotitis” by designing AI initiatives for scalability and sustained clinical adoption from the outset. He took on the executive leadership role in December 2024.
Ben Shahshahani, PhD. Vice President and Chief AI Officer for Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic named Dr. Shahshahani as its first chief AI officer in 2024. Prior, he held roles in science, machine learning and product analytics at SiriusXM and Pandora. Upon entering healthcare, he helped define the scope of work for a chief AI officer, which is still a relatively new role. The position entails the strategic implementation of AI systemwide, in both clinical and mundane areas of healthcare. A large part of his job is ensuring that stakeholders understand, trust and embrace the solutions that the system is rolling out. Drawing on more than two decades of AI and machine-learning leadership, Dr. Shahshahani is building the governance, infrastructure and cross-functional partnerships needed to improve outcomes, support caregivers and expand access while maintaining a strong focus on safe and responsible innovation.
Karandeep Singh, MD. Chief Health AI Officer for UC San Diego Health. Dr. Singh serves as chief health AI officer for UC San Diego Health, as well as the Joan and Irwin Jacobs Chancellor’s Endowed Chair in Digital Health Innovation. He’s also an associate professor in biomedical informatics at UC San Diego. These dual roles enable him to lead AI initiatives for the Jacobs Center for Health Innovation, and handle AI strategy and governance for the health system. Before assuming his current executive role, he was the system’s associate CMIO for inpatient care. He also spent time at Michigan Medicine in Ann Arbor, where he was associate CMIO for AI from 2022 to 2023.
Barry Stein, MD. Vice President and Chief Clinical Innovation Officer and CMIO at Hartford HealthCare (Conn.). Dr. Stein founded and now leads Hartford HealthCare’s Center for AI Innovation in Healthcare, giving the health system a dedicated structure for identifying, evaluating and translating AI into clinical practice. As both chief clinical innovation officer and CMIO, Dr. Stein brings together physicians, researchers, technology partners and operational leaders to advance responsible AI, digital health and precision care. Dr. Stein brings practicing-clinician credibility, informatics expertise and institution-building to his role, helping move AI from concept to real-world healthcare application. He is also a founding member of the U.K.’s National Commission on the Regulation of AI in Healthcare.
Dominica Tallarico. Executive Vice President and COO at Allina Health (Minneapolis). Ms. Tallarico has made AI-enabled transformation an operating priority at Allina Health rather than treating it solely as an IT initiative. Ms. Tallarico has championed the use of AI to improve surgical growth, patient flow, clinical operations and access to specialty care, including expanding Allina’s work with Qventus from a targeted surgical-growth program into a broader enterprise AI Solution Factory partnership. Since joining the system in 2023, Ms. Tallarico has worked to connect innovation to measurable operational results, sustained adoption and systemwide strategy.
Micky Tripathi, PhD. Chief AI Implementation Officer for Mayo Clinic (Rochester, Minn.). Dr. Tripathi was hired as Mayo Clinic’s chief AI implementation officer in the spring of 2025. In the role, he handles technology development and adoption. Prior to accepting the role, he was assistant secretary for technology policy and the national coordinator for health IT, leading the government’s push to create guardrails for AI usage by federal health agencies and private businesses. Since joining Mayo, he has helped the system implement various AI tools that are now used daily, models for early disease detection, and foundations for precision medicine and digital twins. As chief AI implementation officer, Dr. Tripathi is helping translate Mayo’s extensive AI research and innovation portfolio into safe, sustainable solutions that can be integrated into clinical practice.
James Whitfill, MD. Senior Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer at HonorHealth (Scottsdale, Ariz.). Dr. Whitfill leads an especially broad transformation portfolio at HonorHealth, spanning AI and analytics, IT, clinical informatics, process improvement, digital care, venture development and strategic partnerships. Dr. Whitfill has championed the use of AI in imaging, diagnostic care and health system operations, all while consistently emphasizing that technology must improve rather than replace the human experience of care. A frequent speaker and podcast guest on healthcare innovation, Dr. Whitfill has also been recognized for advancing interoperability, patient mobility and digital health strategy.
Daniel Yang, MD. Vice President of AI and Emerging Technologies for Kaiser Permanente (Oakland, Calif.). As vice president of AI and emerging technologies, Dr. Yang helps ensure quality standards are met for all organizationwide AI applications, spanning clinical operations, research, education and administrative functions. He is also a practicing internal medicine physician. Before joining Kaiser Permanente, Dr. Yang served as a program director of patient care at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. There, he created and led a $120 million philanthropic program aimed at diagnostic excellence.
Byron Yount, PhD. Chief Data and AI Officer and Vice President of Transformation Operations for Mercy (St. Louis). Dr. Yount is Mercy’s chief data and AI officer, as well as the system’s vice president of transformation operations. He leads strategy, responsible use, engineering and ongoing maturity for Mercy’s data, analytics, decision intelligence and AI capabilities. He is tasked with oversight of these functions both internally and through strategic partnerships with start-ups, seasoned organizations and global collaboratives. Additionally, Dr. Yount serves on the advisory board of the Coalition on Health AI, and is co-chair of a national initiative aimed at ensuring that humans flourish in the age of AI. He first joined Mercy in 2014.
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