In this episode of Leadership Rounds, Oxeon’s Dr. Reena Pande sits down with Laura Medford-Davis, MD, MS, a practicing emergency physician and Partner at McKinsey & Company, to unpack one of healthcare’s most urgent leadership challenges: the disconnect between physician leadership ambition and CEO representation.

Laura shares her path from clinical training to health services research, federal policy work, and ultimately McKinsey, where she leads clinician-focused work and co-leads clinical operations. Together, Reena and Laura explore why clinicians are often perceived as “not ready” for top leadership, how that perception becomes self-reinforcing, and what both individuals and institutions can do to build a stronger clinician-to-CEO pipeline.

More on Laura: https://www.linkedin.com/in/laura-medford-davis/

More from Reena: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/⁠⁠⁠⁠   

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation #healthcareinnovation #clinicianleadership #digitalhealth

Leadership isn’t always about becoming more confident. It’s about becoming more self-aware.

In this episode of Leadership Rounds, physician executive Dr. Reena Pande sits down with Sheila Gujrathi, MD (multi-time biotech CEO, board leader, and best-selling author) for a candid conversation about leadership beyond credentials. Drawing from her book The Mirror Effect, Sheila shares her journey from academic medicine to McKinsey, Genentech, and the C-suite, unpacking why fear, insecurity, perfectionism, and shame often intensify (not disappear) as leaders rise. Together, they explore how to recognize toxic work environments, negotiate with integrity, and show up fully and authentically, especially when the stakes are high.

A must-listen for clinician executives, founders, biotech leaders, and anyone rethinking what real power looks like.

You’ll learn:

• Why technical excellence stops being enough in leadership roles

• How to recognize toxic work environments (and leave or work to improve them them sooner)

• What executive presence really means (without losing authenticity)

• How to negotiate compensation, authority, and influence without apology

• Why self-awareness is the foundation of real power

🔔 Subscribe to Leadership Rounds for more candid conversations with the leaders redefining healthcare.

Leadership Rounds with Dr. Reena Pande closes out the year with a powerful conversation featuring Rebecca Mitchell, MD, a product leader, global health practitioner, and now co-founder of Scrub Capital, an early-stage venture firm built around the expertise of clinician-operators.

Rebecca shares her path from growing up in a rural healthcare desert to working in global health and training at UCSF, where she witnessed firsthand the power of diverse, cross-functional teams through the LifeWrap project, an innovation that has saved mothers’ lives around the world. These experiences inspired her transition from traditional clinical paths into clinical product leadership, where she helped scale high-growth digital health companies serving millions of patients.

In this episode, Dr. Pande and Rebecca explore:

• How clinical training strengthens product, strategy, and operational decisions

• The implicit and explicit biases clinicians face entering tech and executive roles

• Why high-performing teams require both clinician “insiders” and operator/technologist “outsiders”

• The founding thesis behind Scrub Capital and its clinician-builder LP community

• Why embracing technology, product thinking, and business rigor is the future of practicing “at the top of your license”

This conversation is a must-listen for everyone shaping the future of healthcare and care delivery.

More on Rebecca: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebeccalynnmitchell/

More from me:     

- LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/⁠⁠⁠⁠    

- Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://reenapande.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠    

- Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reena_pande/⁠⁠⁠⁠    

- Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/reena.pande⁠⁠⁠⁠      

🔔 Subscribe to Leadership Rounds for more candid conversations with the leaders redefining healthcare.

📍 Learn more at Oxeon.com

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation #healthcareinnovation #clinicianleadership #digitalhealth

Psychologist-turned-operator Dana Udall (CCO, Nourish) joins Oxeon’s Dr. Reena Pande to demystify how clinician leaders scale distributed care, align clinical quality with business outcomes, and bring an intentional, ACT-informed leadership style to cross-functional teams. She urges clinicians to help inform and govern the next wave of AI-enabled care delivery.

Key Topics & Takeaways

1. From practice to platform: A packed waiting room revealed the limits of 1:1 care and pushed Dana toward scalable, data-driven models (Ginger/Headspace → Included Health → Nourish).
   

2. Intentional > “pure authentic”: Drawing on Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dana favors intentional responses over impulsive “authenticity,” fostering relationships while advancing goals.
   

3. Operating at scale in distributed telehealth:
   

• Design intentional touchpoints from recruiting to QA.

• Build data infrastructure to see quality and act early.

• Treat culture (leader vulnerability, whole-self norms) as a competitive moat.
  

4. Break clinical silos with the “first-team” mindset: Clinical execs must speak Product, Commercial, Finance and be healthcare executives who happen to be clinicians.
   

5. Personal story, public leadership: In sharing her eating-disorder recovery, Dana aimed to reduce shame and inform her work at the mental–physical health intersection (e.g., food relationship + metabolic goals).
   

6. Career navigation for clinician leaders:

• “Always take the call.” Have many conversations with companies, founders, VCs.

• Evaluate mission integrity, leadership chemistry, true clinical quality, traction/runway, and your stage/risk tolerance.
  

7. The future of AI in care delivery: Beyond scribes, AI will influence treatment decisions. Clinicians, ethicists, and legal partners must co-design guardrails to keep patient safety central. 

Dr. William Shrank is CEO of Aradigm, launched in November 2024 and funded by Andreessen Horowitz, a carve-out insurance product for cell and gene therapy aimed at improving access and affordability of transformative therapies. Prior to launching Aradigm, Dr. Shrank served as Venture Partner, Bio and Health at Andreessen. Previously, Dr. Shrank served as Chief Medical Officer for Humana, where his responsibilities included implementing Humana’s integrated care delivery. He previously held the position of Chief Medical and Corporate Affairs Officer, during which time he oversaw government affairs. Dr. Shrank joined Humana from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC) where he served as Chief Medical Officer, Insurance Services Division. His prior experience includes serving as Senior Vice President, Chief Scientific Officer, and Chief Medical Officer of Provider Innovation at CVS Health and as Director, Research and Rapid-Cycle Evaluation Group, for the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. Dr. Shrank began his career as a practicing physician with Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston and as an Assistant Professor at Harvard Medical School.

In their candid conversation, they explore:

- How an "unplanned" career led to extraordinary impact and continuous growth, and learning

- Why clinicians can't afford to stay on the sidelines

- The reality of transitioning from big corporate roles to startup life

More on Will: ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/william-shrank-1a727147/

More from me:

- LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://reenapande.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reena_pande/⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/reena.pande⁠⁠⁠⁠

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation

Dr. Jasik is a board-certified pediatrician with a career spanning health technology startups, multidisciplinary care, education, and research. Prior roles in digital health include serving as Chief Medical Officer at Omada Health. At Verily, Carolyn supports the clinical and research teams to create and test the next generation of precision medicine solutions for chronic disease. She also holds a post as an Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). She completed her medical degree at the University of Chicago and her residency, fellowship and research training at UCSF. In their candid conversation, they explore:

- The framework for integrating clinical voices into product development and the importance of alignment

- How to turn “healthy conflict" into breakthrough innovation

- The importance of cultural alignment

- Practical strategies for clinicians entering the tech world

More on Carolyn: ⁠ https://www.linkedin.com/in/carolyn-bradner-jasik-md-67107b7/

More from me:

- LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Substack: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://reenapande.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reena_pande/⁠⁠⁠⁠

- Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/reena.pande⁠⁠⁠⁠

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation

As Chief Medical Officer of OncoHealth, Dr. Norden leads clinical affairs and strategy, a cancer digital health company helping health plans, employers, oncologists, and patients navigate the physical, mental, and financial complexities of cancer. An accomplished neuro-oncologist, Dr. Norden previously served as CMO of COTA, an oncology company focused on the curation and use of real-world data and as Deputy Chief Health Officer and lead physician for oncology and genomics at IBM Watson Health. Dr. Norden’s career began at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston, where he served as Associate CMO and led clinical trials for patients with glioma, meningioma, and seizures in brain tumor patients.  

 Dr. Norden attended medical school at Yale School of Medicine and completed his residency training at Massachusetts General and Brigham and Women’s Hospitals, before completing a neuro-oncology fellowship at Dana-Farber. Dr. Norden also earned an MPH from the Harvard University and an MBA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. 

• How to network authentically and build meaningful professional relationships  

• How to translate clinical expertise into business impact from day one 

• What makes CMO-CEO relationships truly effective   

• Hard lessons from both successes and setbacks in healthcare technology 

More on Andrew: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrew-norden/  

More from me:    

- LinkedIn: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/⁠⁠⁠   

- Substack: ⁠⁠⁠https://reenapande.substack.com/⁠⁠⁠   

- Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reena_pande/⁠⁠⁠   

- Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/reena.pande⁠⁠⁠   

- X: ⁠⁠⁠https://x.com/reena_pande⁠⁠⁠   

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation

Dr. Feifer has dedicated his career to improving the quality and efficiency of healthcare and the health of populations served. Most recently, he served as Chief Medical Officer at InnovAge, a multi-state provider of PACE programs, serving frail dual-eligible seniors by delivering comprehensive patient-centric care, enabling them to age independently for as long as possible. Prior to joining InnovAge, he was executive vice president at Genesis HealthCare, one of the nation’s largest skilled nursing, rehabilitation, and long-term care providers. Before Genesis, Dr. Feifer was Aetna’s Chief Medical Officer of National Accounts and previously served as Vice President of Clinical Program Innovation and Evaluation at Medco, where he was responsible for the organization’s portfolio of care enhancement programs. Dr. Feifer’s experience extends to various boards and committees, providing strategic and fiduciary leadership. He currently is a director at the Accreditation Commission for Health Care, one of the largest healthcare accreditors. A graduate of Brown University and the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Dr. Feifer is a board-certified internist with experience in population health, primary care, geriatrics, and urgent care medicine at the Fallon Clinic. He received his MPH in Health Services Management from Columbia University, and is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut. 

In their candid conversation, they explore:  

• Why physician executives face higher standards—and how to exceed them  

• The art of building allies and mastering pre-meeting dynamics that drive real organizational change  

• Why being "multilingual" as a leader is essential for physician executives  

•  Moving toward compelling opportunities rather than away from clinical frustration  

•  The importance of bringing both clinical expertise and business acumen to leadership roles 

More on Rich: https://www.linkedin.com/in/richard-feifer/  

More from me:   

- LinkedIn: ⁠⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/⁠⁠  

- Substack: ⁠⁠https://reenapande.substack.com/⁠⁠  

- Instagram: ⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/reena_pande/⁠⁠  

- Facebook: ⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/reena.pande⁠⁠  

- X: ⁠⁠https://x.com/reena_pande⁠⁠  

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation 

Dr. Liz Kwo, MD, MBA, MPH, is the Chief Commercial Officer of Everly Health, a digital health company serving millions of people annually by expanding access to virtual-first disease prevention, diagnosis and treatment. Before this, Dr. Kwo served as Deputy Chief Clinical Officer for Elevance. Dr. Kwo has founded several venture-backed companies throughout her career, including InfiniteMD (acquired by Consumer Medical) and New Pathway Education and Technology Group (acquired by EIC Education), and she has also held leadership positions at American Well and Medtronic. As a Harvard-trained and practicing Preventive Medicine physician and health tech pioneer, she's at the forefront of integrating A.I. and emerging technologies in healthcare. Dr. Liz's book Digital MD: Revolutionizing the Future of Healthcare, published by Forbes, dives into digital health's future. Dr. Kwo holds a BA in Human Biology from Stanford University, an MD from Harvard Medical School, an MBA from Harvard Business School, and an MPH from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health.

In their candid conversation, they explore:

• The intersection of business, medicine, and tech in healthcare
• What it means to be a clinician in the Chief Commercial Officer role, owning a P&L and leading growth
• Cultivating self-awareness and curiosity for career growth, and channeling personal experiences into a professional purpose
• Reinventing your career at any stage

More on Everly: https://www.everlyhealth.com/

More on Liz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lizkwo/

More from me:  

- LinkedIn: ⁠https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/⁠ 

- Substack: ⁠https://reenapande.substack.com/⁠ 

- Instagram: ⁠https://www.instagram.com/reena_pande/⁠ 

- Facebook: ⁠https://www.facebook.com/reena.pande⁠ ⁠ 

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation 

Dr. Neel Shah, MD, MPP, FACOG, is Chief Medical Officer of Maven Clinic, the largest virtual clinic for women's and family health, and visiting scientist at Harvard Medical School. He is also the co-founder of the March for Moms Association, a coalition of more than 20 leading organizations dedicated to increasing public and private investment in the wellbeing of mothers, and the founder of Costs of Care, an NGO that curates insights from clinicians and patients to help delivery systems provide better care. His work to build equitable, trustworthy systems of care is featured in the documentaries “Color of Care,” produced by Oprah Winfrey, and “Aftershock,” which is currently streaming on Hulu. Dr. Shah serves on the advisory board of the National Institutes of Health, Office of Women's Health Research. 

In this episode, we explore:  

• The transition from clinical practice to entrepreneurship  

• What it truly means to be a Chief Medical Officer in healthcare tech  

• How clinicians can leverage their unique skills in business environments  

• Finding your path when the "obvious" career trajectory doesn't feel right 

More on Maven: https://www.mavenclinic.com  

More on Neel: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neeltshah 

More from me:  

- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/reenapande/ 

- Substack: https://reenapande.substack.com/ 

- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reena_pande/ 

- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/reena.pande 

#leadershiprounds #prescribingleadership #conversationswithclinicians #clinicians #leaders #leadership #leadershipdevelopment #healthcare #healthcareexecutive #clinicianexecutive #entrepreneurship #health #innovation