Health:Further 96 - Empowering Nurses: Innovation and Retention in Healthcare w/ Merrill Anovick & Shawn Dastmalchi
Shawn Dastmalchi, CEO, Gratia Health
Mr. Shawn Dastmalchi, Ph.D., is a serial entrepreneur and the current CEO of Gratia Health, a company specializing in workforce intelligence and optimization in healthcare. He is also the Founder and Director of Data Expanse Ventures, a firm that advises early-stage digital health startups in Silicon Valley. With over 25 years of experience spanning life sciences, medical devices, health IT, and the Internet, Shawn has established himself as a leading figure in healthcare analytics and AI.
Before his role at Gratia Health, Shawn was the Co-founder and CEO of Ark.one Health. This company emerged from his work as an Entrepreneur in Residence at Sutter Health, where Ark.one developed AI and predictive analytics solutions to help hospitals improve patient outcomes and manage payer risk. Shawn's expertise in AI and machine learning has been pivotal in driving these innovations and enhancing healthcare delivery.
Shawn is also a Co-founder of Apixio Inc., the foremost provider of big data-enabled risk assessment solutions for Medicare Advantage plans. He served as CEO of Apixio for over five years and was a board member for six years. Under his leadership, Apixio achieved significant growth and was ultimately acquired by Centene, a leading healthcare enterprise. Prior to founding Apixio, he was the Director of the Informatics Business at Carl Zeiss Meditec, Inc. There, he helped establish a new division, overseeing sales, marketing, service, and support for Zeiss' health IT solutions in the U.S. market. In a previous role at Zeiss, he was instrumental in introducing and growing their highest-grossing diagnostic device product.
Earlier in his career, Shawn held senior positions at Alpha Innotech Corp. and aPeerance Inc., and served as a business strategy consultant for companies including Yahoo Inc. In addition to his industry experience, he has nine years of academic experience at UCSF and UC Berkeley, where he co-authored several publications and grants. He is also the co-author of 12 patents.
Shawn holds an undergraduate degree in Genetics from UC Davis and a Ph.D. in Vision Science from UC Berkeley.
Merrill Anovick, Co-Founder and President, 25m Health
Merrill is the President and COO of 25m Health. He launched 25m Health in partnership with Apollo, Lifepoint Health, and Scion in November 2021. He sits on the 25m Health Investment Committee and oversees both the investing and incubation strategies.
Merrill co-founded and sits on the board of 25m Health's first incubation, Kouper Health, a platform focused on creating an integrated transition of care experience for patients, providers, and payors. Kouper’s most recent financing round was led by General Catalyst.
Merrill also led investments in Thrive Health Tech, Midi Health, Peer Supply, Keragon, Operait, and Swap Health. Merrill sits on the Boards of Kouper Health, Gratia Health, Swap Health and Peer Supply.
Merrill previously worked at Google across Product Management, Business Development, and Marketing leadership roles. Merrill was part of the founding team of Google Fi, now a +$1B top-line business. As a Business Development Manager on the early Android Go team, he negotiated distribution deals with wireless carriers in Nigeria, South Africa, and India.
Merrill graduated from the Johns Hopkins University with a B.A. in Economics and Political Science, and earned an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He sits on t