Cleared for Takeoff: Health Pilots & Partnerships

Alisha A. Alaimo is President of Biogen, U.S. Organization and a Board Member of the Biogen Foundation.Ms. Alaimo is an accomplished global executive with extensive experience in leading strategy, sales, marketing, market access, key account management, advocacy and medical functions. Prior to joining Biogen in 2017 to lead the company’s U.S. business, Ms. Alaimo spent 17 years at Novartis Pharmaceuticals in global product development, global brand strategy and regional leadership roles in Switzerland, the United Kingdom and the U.S. With increasing roles of responsibility, Ms. Alaimo focused on driving growth and people development in the company’s high-profile, priority franchises including cardiovascular, metabolic, autoimmunity, rare disease, transplant and neuroscience. Ms. Alaimo started her career in commercial roles at Johnson & Johnson.Ms. Alaimo holds a Bachelor of Science from Emory University and has completed courses at Harvard University and Tufts University in clinical pharmacology, drug development and regulation and business finance.

Dr. Ralph de la Torre is the Chairman and CEO of Steward Health Care Systems LLC. Prior to founding Steward, Dr. de la Torre was CEO of Caritas Christi Health Care, where he led the transformation of a six-hospital system and developed the business model for Steward, which was subsequently invested in by Cerberus Capital Management.Previously, Dr. de la Torre was founder and CEO of the Cardiovascular Institute at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) and of Cardiovascular Management Associates, one of the nation's first totally integrated systems for treating cardiac patients. At the same time, Dr. de la Torre was Chief of Cardiac Surgery at BIDMC and a Harvard Medical Faculty Physician at BIDMC ‒ he was widely recognized as one of the top cardiac surgeons in the nation.He has founded several health care-related businesses and has numerous issued or pending patents. A frequent commentator on national health care policy issues, Dr. de la Torre has bylined and/or been featured in Businessweek, Fortune, CNBC, The Wall Street Journal, and Fox Business, among other outlets. He was recently voted one of the 25 most powerful physician executives in the United States by Modern Healthcare magazine. Dr. de la Torre graduated from Duke University in 1988 (B.S.E.), where he was a member of Phi Beta Kappa and Tau Beta Pi, and from a joint program between Harvard Medical School (M.D.) and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (M.S.) in 1992.

As Chief Commercial Officer, Arpa Garay leads Moderna’s global commercial organization.  Ms. Garay joined Moderna from Merck & Co., Inc. (MRK) where she most recently served as Chief Marketing Officer for Merck's Human Health business; she reported to Merck's Chief Executive Officer and was a member of Merck's Executive Committee. In this role, she was responsible for long-term portfolio strategy and global marketing for Merck's in-line and pipeline human health medicines and vaccines, including global market access and pricing strategy, data and analytics, digital marketing, and commercial business development.  During Ms. Garay's 16-year tenure at Merck, she gained broad international enterprise with increasing responsibility across oncology, vaccines, specialty, and chronic care. Prior to her role as Chief Marketing Officer, Ms. Garay served as President of Global Oncology and Digital at MSD. Additionally, she was responsible for data & analytics, digital marketing, and precision medicine worldwide. She also served as President of Global Pharmaceuticals, Analytics, and Digital Marketing; SVP & Head of U.S. Vaccines; and General Manager of Merck & Co. in Norway. Ms. Garay has lived in five countries including Hong Kong, India, Norway, Singapore, and the U.S.  Ms. Garay received her Bachelor of Science in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where she focused on medicine, public health and public policy.

Chitra Nawbatt is a strategic advisor to several venture capital and private equity backed portfolio companies in the areas of healthcare, enterprise, consumer and fintech. Chitra’s unique multi-industry and multidisciplinary expertise powers her work as an investor and business builder, with a track record as a value creation and growth leader. Recently, Chitra was the Global Head of Health Assurance and Innovation at General Catalyst, a leading global venture capital firm. She led the expansion and execution of General Catalyst’s Health Assurance thesis to transform the healthcare industry to make quality care more affordable and accessible. This involved developing new investment theses, and originating and executing investments. Chitra created and led an inaugural value creation and ecosystem business development function. She originated, commercialized and managed strategic innovation partnerships for General Catalyst and its 75+ portfolio companies to accelerate value creation. Previously, Chitra was the Global Head of Market Solutions at Genpact, an artificial intelligence, digital transformation, analytics and design thinking consulting firm. She was responsible for driving Fortune 500 new customer acquisition, partnerships, innovation and operational improvement in industries such as technology, financial services, media, healthcare and consumer/retail. Before her career as a growth strategist, Chitra was the New York based Anchor for Reuters International TV where her live broadcasts were seen by millions of households across the world. Her reporting focused on companies, markets and consumers globally. She conducted exclusive domain driven and in-depth interviews with global leaders such as the Citigroup CEO, Governor of the Bank of England and World Boxing Council Heavyweight Champion. Prior to media, Chitra spent more than a decade in financial services. Chitra was a C-level leader at Deutsche Bank where she delivered impact by inventing working capital analytics and efficiency software, which enabled CFOs and Treasurers of Fortune 1000 clients to optimize their cash conversion cycle. Her career started at EY in Advisory and Assurance. Chitra has her Certified Public Accountant designation, and is a graduate of Harvard Business School, Harvard University and Rotman School of Management, University of Toronto.

Paul Markovich is president and chief executive officer of Blue Shield of California, a nonprofit health plan with $22 billion in annual revenue serving 4.6 million members in the state's commercial, individual, and government markets. Markovich has launched and led numerous initiatives to drive innovation and help reimagine health care, including funding support for a statewide provider directory to make it easier for Californians to find physicians and facilities in their plan; supporting the development of a statewide health information network for patients’ records, enabling more seamless and holistic care; and investing in a partnership with the California Medical Association to help physicians pilot new care delivery models and leverage technology.In December 2019, Markovich became chair of the board of Altais, a subsidiary company created under his leadership to invest in physician practices and equip them with the tools and technology they need for a sustainably affordable, high-quality health care system.His mission-driven executive approach is known for leading enterprise-wide efforts to transform health care, facilitating growth, and managing operational risk.A 25-year Blue Shield veteran, Markovich previously served as a chief operating officer (2009-2012), responsible for health care services, network management, e-business, marketing, product development, and customer operations. He was senior vice president of the large group (2004-2008) and CalPERS business units (2002-2004). In the late 1990s, he led the company’s product development unit, introducing numerous products and services such as the first California Health Maintenance Organization to allow self-referrals to specialists and initiating online access to member benefits.He recently became a member of California’s new Health and Human Services Data Exchange Framework Stakeholder Advisory Group; a group intended to create policies and procedures that will become the framework for the secure exchange of health records throughout California’s health care ecosystem. In addition to chairing the Altais board, Markovich serves on the boards of Manifest MedEx, America’s Health Insurance Plans, and the California Association of Health Plans. Markovich served as the board chair of the Chicago-based Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, the national umbrella organization across the country. Together, these plans provide health coverage for more than 100 million Americans.