Atul Gawande, M.D.

Dr. Atul Gawande is an acclaimed surgeon, public health leader and writer, and a preeminent voice on improving healthcare. His lessons from the field of medicine have made him one of the country’s most sought-after speakers across all industries.

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Dr. Gawande recently stepped down from leading the Global Health Bureau at the U.S. Agency for International Development as Assistant Administrator. There, he led a staff of 900 experts in Washington, D.C., working with 1,600 health officers in over 65 countries; they deployed $10 billion in annual foreign assistance to advance public health and protect Americans and the world against emerging health threats. In this role, he oversaw all USAID global health programs, including work to end HIV, TB, malaria, and polio; to advance primary health care and maternal and child health; to sustain health systems in conflicts worldwide from Ukraine to Haiti; and to stop 21 deadly disease outbreaks during his tenure.

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Gawande was a practicing general and endocrine surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, the Samuel O. Thier Professor of Surgery at Harvard Medical School, and professor of Health Policy & Management at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He founded Ariadne Labs, a joint center for health systems innovation, and Lifebox, a nonprofit organization making surgery safer globally. From 2018-2020, he was CEO of Haven, the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase healthcare venture. He now returns to the Brigham and Women’s Hospital as the John and Cyndy Fish Professor of Surgery, and to Ariadne Labs as Distinguished Professor in Residence.

As a writer, Dr. Gawande is celebrated for his eloquence, depth of thought and research, and broad influence. He was a longtime staff writer on medicine and science for The New Yorker magazine. He has also written four award-winning New York Times best-sellers: Complications (a National Book Award finalist), Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and the runaway global bestseller, Being Mortal. He is the winner of two National Magazine Awards and the Lewis Thomas Award for writing about science.  He is now working on his next book, on the art and science of implementation and behavior change, due out in 2026.

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Dr. Gawande’s approach is both comprehensive and universally relevant. With his extensive experience in medicine, he offers valuable insights on a wide array of topics, including making complex decisions, enhancing personal performance, improving organizational effectiveness, and scaling innovation. His work resonates across disciplines, providing actionable guidance for individuals and organizations alike.