Andrew Kress
Current Position
Title: Co-Founder & CEO Company: HealthVerity Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Professional Background
Andrew Kress is a healthcare data technology entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in building and scaling healthcare data and analytics businesses. His career trajectory shows consistent focus on unlocking the value of healthcare data while maintaining privacy and interoperability standards. Starting as CEO of SDI Health, which became recognized as a leader in clinical and transactional healthcare data analytics, Kress successfully led the company through its acquisition by IMS Health in 2011. At IMS, he elevated his scope as Senior Vice President of Healthcare Value Solutions, overseeing multiple divisions including Real World Evidence Solutions, Clinical Trial Optimization, and emerging strategic initiatives like mobile health and genomics. In 2014, recognizing continued fragmentation in healthcare data ecosystems, Kress co-founded HealthVerity with fellow executive Andrew Goldberg to build the next generation of privacy-preserving data connectivity technologies. Under his leadership, HealthVerity has scaled to a Series D company with $142 million in total funding, establishing itself as the infrastructure layer for real-world evidence in pharmaceutical research and clinical development.
Kress's business philosophy centers on solving structural data problems rather than simply aggregating data. His career reflects a consistent pattern: identifying market inefficiencies in data accessibility, building technologies to solve them, and then scaling these solutions to influence industry standards. His approach emphasizes both commercial viability and regulatory compliance, understanding that healthcare data businesses must simultaneously satisfy customers, data providers, and regulatory requirements.
His educational background in English from Yale University provides an interesting contrast to his technical career, suggesting comfort with narrative communication and conceptual thinking alongside data science and technology leadership.
Career Timeline
| Period | Role | Company |
|---|---|---|
| 2014-Present | Co-Founder & CEO | HealthVerity |
| 2011-2014 | SVP Healthcare Value Solutions | IMS Health |
| 1992-2011 | CEO | SDI Health |
Education
- B.A. in English, Yale University
Public Presence
Social Media
| Platform | Handle/URL | Activity Level |
|---|---|---|
| https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewekress | Moderate | |
| HealthVerity Blog | https://blog.healthverity.com/author/andrew-kress-ceo-healthverity | Active |
| X/Twitter | Limited public business presence | Inactive |
Note: Only publicly accessible profiles are documented.
Published Writings
- "The Marketplace model is winning: key insights from our webinar" — HealthVerity Blog (June 2025)
- Multiple company announcements and quotes regarding HealthVerity Notes, taXonomy Pathways, and HealthVerity eXOs product launches
- Company bio and thought leadership content on HealthVerity website and blog
Public Speaking
- HealthVerity Marketplace Webinar — HealthVerity (2025)
- DIA 2019 Global Annual Meeting — Drug Information Association (2019)
- DIA 2018 Global Annual Meeting — Drug Information Association (2018)
- UT McCombs MBA Board Fellows Showcase — University of Texas McCombs School of Business
Communication Style
Tone: Data-driven, solutions-oriented, authoritative yet collaborative, pragmatic with strategic vision Recurring themes: Healthcare data fragmentation, privacy and interoperability, marketplace economics, real-world evidence quality and completeness, pharmaceutical R&D efficiency Notable positions: Strong advocate for marketplace-based data access models rather than centralized aggregation; emphasizes data quality and completeness over raw volume; champions the need for data control and analytical independence for customers
Andrew Kress communicates with a direct, problems-first approach. Rather than leading with product features or company announcements, he frames his public statements around industry challenges and market realities. His 2025 webinar article exemplifies this: he opens by identifying that open medical claims now capture only 35-45% of market activity, then presents the data stacking and marketplace solution. This structure—problem, evidence, solution—appears consistently across his written and spoken content. His language is accessible to industry professionals without oversimplifying technical concepts; he uses specific metrics (2.5 billion clinical notes, 75 interoperable sources, 98% Census alignment) to anchor claims rather than speaking in generalities. He frames market evolution as inevitable ("The Marketplace model is winning") while positioning HealthVerity as the solution to real structural problems, not as a vendor selling incremental improvements. This positions his communication as thought leadership on industry direction rather than promotional material. His background in English may contribute to his facility with narrative and conceptual framing—he appears equally comfortable explaining abstract concepts like data interoperability as he is discussing concrete business metrics.
Notable Achievements
- Co-founded and scaled HealthVerity to $142M in total funding (Series D), establishing it as the infrastructure leader for privacy-protected real-world data exchange
- Successfully led SDI Health through acquisition by IMS Health in 2011, developing one of the largest linked de-identified healthcare data assets in the U.S.
- Created and launched HealthVerity's core product suite: Verified data ecosystem, taXonomy Pathways, HealthVerity Notes, and HealthVerity eXOs (with Medeloop)
- Served as SVP at IMS Health overseeing Health Economics and Outcomes Research, Real World Evidence Solutions, Clinical Trial Optimization, and Government Services divisions
- Featured in Harvard Business School case study examining strategic scaling decisions in healthcare data marketplace business models
- Established HealthVerity's marketplace model as an alternative to traditional data aggregation, influencing industry standards for data control and transparency
Key Relationships
- Co-Founder & Partnership: Andrew Goldberg, Co-Founder & COO of HealthVerity — long-standing partnership since founding in 2014; Goldberg previously held corporate development leadership at Dialogic
- Board Memberships: Trustee, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) — elected to board in September 2018; serves on Marketing and Technology committees
- Advisory & Board Service: Board member, Pennsylvania Ballet; Board member, The Agnes Irwin School
- Investor & Advisor: Angel investor and advisor to multiple healthcare startups
- Conference Relationships: Regular speaker at Drug Information Association events, indicating deep engagement with pharmaceutical R&D and clinical development communities
- Academic Recognition: HealthVerity case study subject at Harvard Business School, indicating recognition from business education leaders
Additional Context
Kress's 30+ year tenure in healthcare data, combined with his experience navigating the complex intersection of privacy regulation, data science, and business model innovation, positions him as a respected voice on real-world evidence and healthcare data infrastructure. His ability to build and scale multiple healthcare data companies suggests operational expertise alongside strategic vision. The breadth of his current involvement—from direct company leadership to board service in arts, education, and healthcare sectors—suggests investment in both commercial success and community contribution in the Philadelphia region.