Rasu B. Shrestha, M.D., M.B.A.

Current Position

Title: Executive Vice President & Chief Innovation and Commercialization Officer Company: Advocate Health Location: Not publicly specified

Professional Background

Dr. Rasu B. Shrestha is a transformative physician leader with nearly 30 years of industry experience across strategy, innovation, health information technology, marketing, communications, strategic investments, and commercialization. He earned his medical degree from CCS University in India, completed specialized training in radiology and informatics, and holds an MBA from USC's Marshall School of Business.

Shrestha joined Advocate Health (formerly Atrium Health) in January 2019 as Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy and Transformation Officer. In this role, he spearheaded the strategic transformation of the merged organization and led the creation and implementation of IMPACT 2025, an ambitious multi-year enterprise strategic plan. His current position as Chief Innovation and Commercialization Officer reflects his expanded mandate to drive innovation, emerging technology adoption, and commercialization across the enterprise following the Advocate-Atrium megamerger.

Prior to Advocate Health, Shrestha served as Chief Innovation Officer at UPMC (University of Pittsburgh Medical Center), where he fundamentally transformed the organization's approach to innovation. As EVP of UPMC Enterprises, he built the industry's largest and most successful innovation, commercialization, and venture capital engine. During his tenure at UPMC, he established a venture capital platform across four strategic domains: clinical tools leveraging data at the point of care, population health for payer-provider risk management, business services supporting infrastructure and supply chain efficiency, and consumer-facing healthcare technologies. His work at UPMC positioned him as a thought leader in healthcare innovation and digital transformation.

Career Timeline

Education

• M.D., CCS University, India
• M.B.A., Marshall School of Business, USC
• Fellowship in Informatics, University of London
• Training in Radiology

Public Presence

Social Media

Note: All profiles documented are publicly accessible.

Published Writings

• "Humanizing Health Care: Innovation as a Strategic Imperative" — LinkedIn Pulse (2018)
• "Taming the Data Beast" — AcademyHealth Blog (January 2018)
• "Health Data: Busting Silos, Building Bridges" — LinkedIn Pulse (2019)
• "The Rise of Genomics - Are You Ready?" — LinkedIn Pulse (2019)
• "Reflecting on Health Datapalooza 2019" — LinkedIn Pulse (2019)
• "Becoming Hyperaware" — About Digital Health (January 2020)
• "Technology, Innovation and Transforming Healthcare Faster, Smarter and Together" — Patient Experience Journal (2022)
• "You're Already Your Own Doctor" — Healthcare IT Today (2018)
• "Embracing Generative AI: Transforming Health Care Through Innovation and Human Connection" — NEJM Catalyst (2024)

Public Speaking

• "Healthcare Shouldn't Be About Survival But About Thrival" — SXSW (2019)
• "Everybody Wants to Innovate, Nobody Wants to Change" — Future for Health at SXSW (keynote)
• "Scaling Up: How Dr. Rasu Shrestha is Steering AI & Innovation After the Megamerger That Created Advocate Health" — LRVHealth Podcast (2024)
• "The Rise of the Robots" — Digital Orthopaedics Conference (DOCSF) Podcast (April 2019)
• Health IT Resiliency Experience — EXPO.health (2020)
• Healthcare is Hard: A Podcast for Insiders (Keith Figlioli interview)
• Going Deep with Aaron Watson Podcast (Chief Transformation Officer discussion, 2016)
• Pitchwerks Podcast Episode #72 — UPMC Enterprises discussion
• "Delivering on the Promise of Healthcare Innovation" — Siemens Healthineers Interview
• AsiaCarolinas Interview Series (Parts 1 & 2) — Atrium Health leadership discussion
• American College of Radiology — Leadership Insider Podcast Episode 12
• Primafila Board & Executive Advisory Series (2018)

Communication Style

Tone: Professional yet visionary, approachable, forward-thinking; balances technical depth with accessible language for mixed audiences. Simultaneously pragmatic about organizational constraints and ambitious about transformation possibilities.

Recurring themes: Data interoperability and breaking down organizational silos; humanizing healthcare through technology enablement; behavior change as the true driver of innovation; patients as active participants in their care; organizational transformation and change management; AI and emerging technology adoption with critical perspective; healthcare equity and health disparities; the need to make technology "invisible" to enable human connection.

Notable positions: Strong advocate for participatory healthcare models where patients are engaged as co-creators of their care journey. Believes innovation succeeds only when organizations genuinely commit to behavior change, not just technology implementation. Champions the concept of "augmented intelligence" over artificial intelligence, emphasizing that technology should enhance clinician-patient relationships rather than replace them. Publicly critical of data silos as a systemic healthcare problem and advocate for rapid interoperability and data liberation. Positions healthcare as fundamentally a human business that has lost sight of humanization in pursuit of efficiency.

Dr. Shrestha communicates with a blend of clinical credibility and strategic business acumen. His writing exhibits clarity and conviction, grounded in both personal clinical experience and evidence-based strategic thinking. He frequently employs metaphorical language—"taming the data beast," "freeing the data," "technology should be invisible"—to make complex concepts memorable and actionable. His social media presence is professional yet personable, occasionally referencing his South Asian heritage ("Desi buddies" reference on X) to build connection with diverse audiences. In interviews and podcasts, he demonstrates genuine enthusiasm for transformation but maintains pragmatic acknowledgment of implementation challenges. His communication style prioritizes outcomes over process, focusing stakeholders on the "why" of innovation rather than the mechanics. He positions himself as a bridge-builder between clinicians, technologists, and administrators, using inclusive language that emphasizes collective progress. His recent content increasingly emphasizes critical engagement with AI—neither dismissing nor overselling its potential, but framing it within human-centered healthcare values.

Notable Achievements

• Recognized as "Executive of the Year" by Healthcare Dive (2017)
• Acknowledged as one of the "Top 20 Health IT Leaders Driving Change"
• Named as a "Top Healthcare Innovator" by InformationWeek; recipient of multiple InformationWeek 500 Awards
• Built and scaled UPMC Enterprises, the industry's largest healthcare innovation, commercialization, and venture capital engine
• Led strategic transformation and created IMPACT 2025 strategic plan for Advocate Health post-megamerger
• Board of Directors, Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS)
• Chairman, HIMSS Innovation Committee
• Board of Directors, AcademyHealth (Washington DC-based national catalyst at intersection of public, private, and policy)
• Board/Advisory roles at multiple healthcare innovation companies including Cynerio (Chairman of Board)
• Recognized as Top Healthcare IT Influencer with 15,000+ LinkedIn followers
• Co-chair (past), Health Datapalooza
• Member, Clinical Advisory Board, Atropos Health
• Consulted by Flare Capital Partners on health tech investments and strategy

Key Relationships

• HIMSS: Board member and Innovation Committee Chair; positioned as influential voice in healthcare IT standards and innovation agenda
• AcademyHealth: Board member, connecting to national health services research and policy community
• Atropos Health: Clinical Advisory Board member alongside leaders from Stanford Health Care, Johns Hopkins Medicine, UNC Health, representing validation of real-world evidence approaches
• Advocate Health: Leadership team member post-megamerger, working closely with system-level strategy and operations
• Healthcare IT Innovation Community: Active participant in Health Datapalooza, Health 2.0, HIMSS Asia Pacific, and emerging tech forums
• Venture Capital/Investment Community: Flare Capital Partners and broader health tech venture ecosystem; respected advisor on innovation strategy and investment thesis
• Academic/Teaching Roles: Contributes to NextMed Health and teaching institutions focused on reimagining healthcare delivery and education
• Clinical/Academic Health Systems: Connected to Stanford, Johns Hopkins, UNC Health through Atropos advisory board; positioned as peer to other enterprise health system leaders

Information Availability Assessment

High public information availability. Dr. Shrestha maintains active professional profiles across multiple platforms, regularly publishes thought leadership content, frequently engages in speaking engagements and podcasts, and his career trajectory and current role are well-documented through official channels, press releases, and industry publications. His communication style and professional philosophy are clearly articulated through published articles and recorded interviews, enabling substantive analysis of his approach to healthcare innovation and leadership.