Fighting to Make the World a Better Place

I was reading up on your background and it is a fascinating one. You are a Rhodes Scholar, you hold a master’s degree from Oxford University in philosophy, politics and economics. And nowhere in there does it say health care. So how did you get into the field of health care? And why has this become your greater purpose?

Well, it’s interesting, when I was interviewing for that Rhodes scholarship, one of the questions that I got asked is, “What is the world’s fight?” So, they’re looking for people who are going to make a difference, contribute, make the world a better place. I was always wired that way. But that was a highly clarifying question. I was 22 years old when I was answering it. I don’t remember how I answered it. I must have done a decent job because they gave me the scholarship. But it was always in the background in my mind, crystallizing what was already an instinct to try and make the world a better place. And I believe firmly we all have an obligation in our finite time here on the planet to try and make this world a better place in some way.
What happened is that it all came together for me as I was working as a consultant. I was doing some work in financial services. And then some people approached me about working in health care. And I realized, this is something that we all need. We’re all human, which means we’re all mortal. At some point, we’re all going to need the health care system. Improving it is something that would universally help people out.
It’s clearly a dysfunctional and broken system, and it’s complex to sort of figure out solutions. So, I felt like I could grow intellectually, personally by studying and trying to help and thenI could make a difference. Like to me, this was the world’s fight. Transforming a dysfunctional health care system into one that’s worthy of our family and friends and sustainably affordable for everyone. That’s the world’s fight for me, and I just haven’t looked back since I’ve made that realization.