Executive with diverse experiences at the intersection of digital transformation, strategy and healthcare.
June marked a bittersweet month for me, as I made the decision to leave Microsoft Healthcare & Life Sciences to join Optum as their Senior Vice President of Clinical Data, where I'll be leading the cross-company effort to consolidate and pursue efficiencies across its various data assets, as well as explore new data centric partnerships and business models. I will be forever thankful for my time at Microsoft, and in particular want to say a special thank you to Peter Lee whose HealthNeXT incubator at Microsoft stands out as one of the unique incubators in big tech that has spun out a series of ground breaking AI innovations and market-making strategic partnerships. On the partnership front, I'd be remiss to not say how much I enjoyed working w/ Joe Petro and Peter Durlach as we worked through the messy early days of the Microsoft-Nuance Communications partnership. I'm really excited to see where these two senior leaders take Microsoft's HLS platform over the next several years. For those of you at Microsoft who I may have missed saying "good-bye" to as I transitioned out of the company, know how special each of you are, and how rare this moment in time is at the company: you're at the intersection of an industry-making integration at the same time you're driving the development of new Generative AI use cases which hold the potential to impact everything from much needed advances in front-line healthcare worker productivity gains, to sophisticated novel molecule discovery in pharma. There are so many to say thank you to, but let me make a point of saying how much I've enjoyed working w/ Ann Corrao, Alex Staddon-Smith, Desney Tan, Umesh Rustogi, Naveen Valluri, Hadas Bitran, Robert Dahdah, Gareth Hall, Suzy Obst, Jill Seidman, Andrew Smith, Elena Bonfiglioli, Steve Ramsay, Kevin O'Leary, David Houlding CISSP, CIPP plus so, so many others, too numerous to name here! Microsoft is an incredible company, and I'm excited to see where it goes in healthcare!
Peter Lee
3w
Congrats, Ben, and best wishes! Microsoft won't be the same without you. Thank you for all you have done to advance healthcare for all.
Joe Ramieri
4w
Congrats and best wishes in the new adventure, Benjamin Shobert! I look back fondly at some of the very early meetings where Microsoft's industry position in Healthcare was still forming, and working with you was always a huge highlight for me. It's great to see what you and the team have been able to build, and I'll continue cheering you on in your new challenge.
Bill Cox
3w
Congrats, Ben! I'm so glad we had that random meeting years ago and mutually realized that the topic of the meeting (whatever it was) was less important than the idea of you joining us to build the healthcare business at Microsoft.
Congrats Benjamin! Excited to hear about your next step in your career! Will certainly miss you at Microsoft but know you'll do great things at Optum! 🥂
Congrats Benjamin Shobert!! I'm so grateful for all that I learned from you over the years. Thanks for the collaboration on many fronts. All the best at Optum--they are lucky to have you!!
Best of best always find new homes and are missed by those they leave behind…🙏
Trent Norris
4w
Microsoft lost a good one today but I’m sure you’ll remain a good steward of their growth mindset and partner friendly approach to enterprise. The new role sounds like an ideal fit for you Ben. Congrats. Be well. Talk soon.
Microsoft Cloud + AI, Health & Life Sciences
4wBen, I vividly remember our interview five years ago, when you asked me if I was sure about joining Microsoft. At the time, I wasn’t entirely sure how to interpret that question given you were interviewing me, but in hindsight, I realize that you were ensuring I would find intellectual curiosity and satisfaction here. Your commitment to fostering your colleagues’ whole selves has been invaluable, not just to me but to my peers as well. Your support has significantly contributed to our growth and fulfillment at Microsoft. As you transition to this new and exciting phase in your career, I wish you all the best. I am confident that your dedication and insight will bring you continued success and fulfillment in your new role.