Becker’s Healthcare Podcast Clay Holderman, Chief Executive Officer & Neil Gomes, Executive Vice President at AVIA
Nov 22, 2025
Clay Holderman, CEO of AVIA and former CEO of UnityPoint Health, teams up with Neil Gomes, AVIA's Executive Vice President specializing in digital transformation. They delve into the challenges of managing healthcare capacity and labor shortages. Highlighting the potential of agentic AI, they discuss its impact on operational efficiency and the significance of human oversight in AI processes. Clay emphasizes the importance of real-world evidence for tech adoption, while Neil shares practical steps for implementing effective AI strategies in health systems.
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Network-Scale View Of Digital Transformation
- Avia serves one in nine U.S. hospitals and reaches over 42 million patients, giving it broad vantage on digital transformation trends.
- That scale lets Avia identify common pitfalls and accelerate proven change across systems.
From Customer To CEO
- Clay described leading UnityPoint and using Avia as a customer to reduce provider friction at Presbyterian.
- That practical experience prompted him to join Avia as CEO nine months ago.
Use A Five-Step Playbook For Transformation
- Use Avia's five Cs: calibrate, curate, connect, catalyze, celebrate to structure digital transformation work.
- Move from strategy to measurable outcomes quickly through time-bound programs like Avia Nexus.