Verana Health exists to accelerate medical research by empowering the healthcare community with data insights. We are a team of technologists and healthcare enthusiasts committed to bringing the best treatments and care possible to patients by learning from the experience of all patients.
Our Leadership
Sujay Jadhav, MBA
Andrea Sim
Lawrence Whittle
Chris Reiling
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER
PRESIDENT
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
Sujay Jadhav, MBA
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Sujay Jadhav is the Chief Executive Officer at Verana Health where he is helping to accelerate the company’s growth and sustainability by advancing clinical trial capabilities, data-as-a-service offerings, medical society partnerships, and data enrichment.
Sujay joins Verana Health with more than 20 years of experience as a seasoned executive, entrepreneur, and global business leader. Most recently, Sujay was the Global Vice President, Health Sciences Business Unit at Oracle, where he ran the organization’s entire product and engineering teams. Before Oracle, Sujay was the CEO of cloud-based clinical research platform goBalto, where he oversaw the acquisition of the company by Oracle. Sujay is also a former executive for the life sciences technology company Model N, where he helped to oversee its transition to a public company.
Sujay holds an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of South Australia.
Why Verana?
“We are at an inflection point in digital health. We now have the opportunity to transform patient care and cure by extracting quality insights from unfiltered, real-world healthcare data. Verana Health is poised to affect real change by defining and delivering the highest standards of data integrity to power healthcare."
Andrea Sim
CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER
Andrea Sim is the Chief Product Officer at Verana Health where she oversees product management, program management, clinical informatics, and data normalization.
Andrea has more than two decades of product management and healthcare technology experience. Prior to joining Verana Health, Andrea was the Vice President of Product for the Health Sciences Business Unit at Oracle. Andrea came to Oracle through the acquisition of goBalto, Inc., where she also was the Vice President of Product. Before that, Andrea was with RelayHealth for nearly a decade, where she most recently served as Vice President of Product Management. She was part of the product management team for more than six years, holding responsibility for product strategy, research, and strategic initiatives for Health Information Exchange (HIE) and clinical integration. Before that, Andrea served in various product management and consulting roles for Oracle, WebMD, and First Consulting Group.
Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Molecular Cell Biology from University of California Berkeley.
Why Verana?
“Getting to use my experience in healthcare technology product management to make an impact on the quality of patient care is rewarding. What Verana Health is doing is important, difficult, and exciting. Each day is a challenge that’s full of opportunities to grow and innovate."
Lawrence Whittle
PRESIDENT
Lawrence Whittle is president of Verana Health. Lawrence is responsible for driving market positioning and customer success. His remit spans a multitude of stakeholders, leading the healthcare clinician experience, medical society engagement, and life sciences collaborations, as well as the marketing and quantitative sciences functions to elevate awareness and value across the care continuum.
Lawrence has 25+ years experience as a senior executive within technologies companies spanning different industries, including Data Analytics and Life Sciences. His deep expertise in commercialization has covered elevating company positioning, driving sustainable customer value through deep in-market partnerships, and nurturing strong collaborations across all key functions of the business. His experience in early- and mid-stage companies has resulted in two IPOs and two M&A transactions.
Lawrence was born in London and is a true global citizen, having worked across many countries. He has been based in California since 2008 where he lives with his wife and three children.
Why Verana?
“I have been fortunate to work at several amazing companies that have used advanced technology to enhance business outcomes, but the Verana Health mission is truly unique and inspirational. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to utilize a significant and highly differentiated data set to drive major improvements to the speed and efficacy of healthcare across multiple therapeutic areas. I am honored to be part of this motivational Verana Health mission to help improve healthcare outcomes."
Chris Reiling
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
Chris Reiling is the Chief Revenue Officer for Verana Health. Chris leads the sales team and is responsible for the company’s revenue generation strategy and execution as well as its go-to-market approach.
Chris is a sales and account management executive with more than 15 years of experience scaling revenue and growth by optimizing sales processes, business development, strategic alliances, market positioning, and commercialization—primarily focused on healthcare data and technology. Prior to joining Verana Health, Chris held varying sales leadership roles at IQVIA across its life sciences and MedTech business, with his most recent responsibilities leading the U.S. Real World Data & Technology sales team.
Chris holds a BA in Economics from The University of Connecticut.
Why Verana?
“I have always been fascinated by the power of what data can bring to decision making, specifically in healthcare and drug development. Verana Health’s mission to leverage deep real-world data in conjunction with scientific rigor and technology excites me. It’s an honor to be part of this journey and support our efforts in unlocking the promise of reducing clinical development costs, so life enhancing therapeutics can get to patients faster."
Our Leadership
Sujay Jadhav, MBA
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Sujay Jadhav, MBA
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Sujay Jadhav is the Chief Executive Officer at Verana Health where he is helping to accelerate the company’s growth and sustainability by advancing clinical trial capabilities, data-as-a-service offerings, medical society partnerships, and data enrichment.
Sujay joins Verana Health with more than 20 years of experience as a seasoned executive, entrepreneur, and global business leader. Most recently, Sujay was the Global Vice President, Health Sciences Business Unit at Oracle, where he ran the organization’s entire product and engineering teams. Before Oracle, Sujay was the CEO of cloud-based clinical research platform goBalto, where he oversaw the acquisition of the company by Oracle. Sujay is also a former executive for the life sciences technology company Model N, where he helped to oversee its transition to a public company.
Sujay holds an MBA from Harvard University and a bachelor’s degree in electronic engineering from the University of South Australia.
Why Verana?
“We are at an inflection point in digital health. We now have the opportunity to transform patient care and cure by extracting quality insights from unfiltered, real-world healthcare data. Verana Health is poised to affect real change by defining and delivering the highest standards of data integrity to power healthcare."
Andrea Sim
CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER
Andrea Sim
CHIEF PRODUCT OFFICER
Andrea Sim is the Chief Product Officer at Verana Health where she oversees product management, program management, clinical informatics, and data normalization.
Andrea has more than two decades of product management and healthcare technology experience. Prior to joining Verana Health, Andrea was the Vice President of Product for the Health Sciences Business Unit at Oracle. Andrea came to Oracle through the acquisition of goBalto, Inc., where she also was the Vice President of Product. Before that, Andrea was with RelayHealth for nearly a decade, where she most recently served as Vice President of Product Management. She was part of the product management team for more than six years, holding responsibility for product strategy, research, and strategic initiatives for Health Information Exchange (HIE) and clinical integration. Before that, Andrea served in various product management and consulting roles for Oracle, WebMD, and First Consulting Group.
Andrea holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Molecular Cell Biology from University of California Berkeley.
Why Verana?
“Getting to use my experience in healthcare technology product management to make an impact on the quality of patient care is rewarding. What Verana Health is doing is important, difficult, and exciting. Each day is a challenge that’s full of opportunities to grow and innovate."
PRESIDENT
Lawrence Whittle
PRESIDENT
Lawrence Whittle is president of Verana Health. Lawrence is responsible for driving market positioning and customer success. His remit spans a multitude of stakeholders, leading the healthcare clinician experience, medical society engagement, and life sciences collaborations, as well as the marketing and quantitative sciences functions to elevate awareness and value across the care continuum.
Lawrence has 25+ years experience as a senior executive within technologies companies spanning different industries, including Data Analytics and Life Sciences. His deep expertise in commercialization has covered elevating company positioning, driving sustainable customer value through deep in-market partnerships, and nurturing strong collaborations across all key functions of the business. His experience in early- and mid-stage companies has resulted in two IPOs and two M&A transactions.
Lawrence was born in London and is a true global citizen, having worked across many countries. He has been based in California since 2008 where he lives with his wife and three children.
Why Verana?
“I have been fortunate to work at several amazing companies that have used advanced technology to enhance business outcomes, but the Verana Health mission is truly unique and inspirational. It’s exciting to have the opportunity to utilize a significant and highly differentiated data set to drive major improvements to the speed and efficacy of healthcare across multiple therapeutic areas. I am honored to be part of this motivational Verana Health mission to help improve healthcare outcomes."
Chris Reiling
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
Chris Reiling
CHIEF REVENUE OFFICER
Chris Reiling is the Chief Revenue Officer for Verana Health. Chris leads the sales team and is responsible for the company’s revenue generation strategy and execution as well as its go-to-market approach.
Chris is a sales and account management executive with more than 15 years of experience scaling revenue and growth by optimizing sales processes, business development, strategic alliances, market positioning, and commercialization—primarily focused on healthcare data and technology. Prior to joining Verana Health, Chris held varying sales leadership roles at IQVIA across its life sciences and MedTech business, with his most recent responsibilities leading the U.S. Real World Data & Technology sales team.
Chris holds a BA in Economics from The University of Connecticut.
Why Verana?
“I have always been fascinated by the power of what data can bring to decision making, specifically in healthcare and drug development. Verana Health’s mission to leverage deep real-world data in conjunction with scientific rigor and technology excites me. It’s an honor to be part of this journey and support our efforts in unlocking the promise of reducing clinical development costs, so life enhancing therapeutics can get to patients faster."
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DATA & SCIENCE
Ashish Gupta
CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER
Ashish is the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) at Verana Health, leading the finance and legal functions. He has extensive experience scaling companies and developing growth initiatives. Ashish also possesses margin efficiencies and cash management expertise. He specializes in advancing companies to the next level and has worked across multiple verticals (edtech, martech, restaurant-tech) with startups that range in stage and size. He has also built and supported Sales Operations, Human Resources, Legal, Supply Chain, and Inventory Management teams. Ashish's most recent CFO role was at Presto, where he managed several fundraises through COVID-19 and helped lead the organization from Series B to a public company on Nasdaq in a very challenging market.
Why Verana?
“I am excited about Verana Health's potential to leverage real-world data and analytics in the health tech vertical with the support of a seasoned investor base."
Kirk Fjeldheim
CHIEF INFORMATION SECURITY OFFICER
Kirk Fjeldheim is Chief Information Security Officer, where he is responsible for Verana Health’s data, infrastructure and corporate protection strategies, which include identifying, developing, implementing, and maintaining processes across product and corporate systems. Kirk also manages corporate IT and Compliance. Kirk Fjeldheim brings several decades of experience at high-growth technology companies to Verana Health. Prior to joining Verana Health, Kirk was Chief Information Security Officer at Syapse, Inc. and Chief Information Officer at SugarCRM. As Vice President of IT and Security at Rally Health, he led Security, compliance and IT for more than 1,400 employees and developed and implemented HIPAA compliance and risk management efforts for a customer application reaching 38 million users. He has also held senior IT positions at Zynga, Xsigo Systems, Openwave Systems, and Siebel Systems.
Why Verana?
“Insights from health data are a critical component of improving the lives of people all over the world. I am thrilled to work at a company where technologists and data scientists are working together to improve quality of care and to advance medical research."
Chidambaram Arunachalam
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING
Chidambaram “Chidhi” Arunachalam is Senior Vice President of Engineering, where he is responsible for leading the ingestion, curation, and applications teams at Verana Health.
Chidhi has more than 20 years of experience in engineering management, which includes leading product development across life sciences, healthcare, product lifecycle management and computer-aided design domains. Prior to joining Verana Health, Chidhi was the Global Vice President of Product Development for the Health Sciences Business Unit at Oracle, where he was responsible for various functions of software development and deployment. The products he helped to develop include a complete set of clinical and safety solutions that supported critical processes throughout the clinical development lifecycle – from study design and startup to conduct, close-out, and post-marketing.
Why Verana?
“Utilizing technology and building upon teams to help solve problems is exciting. Verana Health is helping to accelerate the delivery of quality of care, which will help ease the burden on patients and healthcare providers. It is a privilege to be involved in such a critical mission."
Aracelis Torres, PhD, MPH
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, DATA & SCIENCE
Aracelis Torres, PhD, MPH, is Senior Vice President of Data & Science, where she oversees the Quantitative Sciences team working on rigorous methodology to generate sound scientific evidence from real-world data, as well as the commercial services and operations team that manage client deliverables. Dr. Torres is an epidemiologist with over ten years of academic and industry experience. Prior to joining Verana Health, she was a Director of Quantitative Sciences at Flatiron Health, where her work focused on translation of real-world oncology data to generate evidence. While at Flatiron Health, she led efforts related to the development of real-world endpoints, novel study designs, and prospective evidence generation while also serving as the Quantitative Sciences lead for the organization’s broader research collaboration with the FDA. She is also currently an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, where she teaches a course on large-scale data processing and analysis.
Dr. Torres received a PhD in Cancer Epidemiology from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, an MPH in Chronic Disease Epidemiology from Yale University’s School of Public Health, and a BS in Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology from Yale University.
Why Verana?
“Verana’s mission to rigorously generate insights from real-world data is both inspiring and exciting. It provides a unique opportunity to tackle some of the toughest challenges in clinical research while keeping patients at the forefront of our work."
CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING
VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING
GENERAL COUNSEL
Jennifer Farris
CHIEF PEOPLE OFFICER
Jennifer is the Chief People Officer at Verana Health, leading the overall experience and talent strategy for the organization. She supports both the Talent and People & Culture teams to ensure crucial Human Resources (HR) strategies come to fruition. Jennifer is a seasoned HR executive and consultant. She has been a part of the technology start-up space for nearly 20 years and has led many organizations through some of their highest growth and infrastructure scaling needs. Prior to joining Verana Health, Jennifer was the Chief People Officer for Terminal. Prior to joining Terminal, she led her own consulting firm, where she collaborated with companies such as Virgin Galactic, Flexport, Grammarly, Ampush and Udemy. Jennifer has a master’s degree from University of Edinburgh, Scotland and a bachelor of arts degree from Santa Clara University.
Why Verana?
"I don't believe there are many missions more worthy than trying to ensure the acceleration of healthcare data and research. We all know someone who is impacted by significant health concerns. Verana Health's commitment can help ensure some of those conditions are being researched more effectively and, in turn, lead to the development of improved therapies for patients."
Ray Goforth
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT OF MARKETING
Ray has more than 15 years of digital marketing experience and has led marketing strategies for lean startups, as well as global enterprise organizations. She excels in creating meaningful experiences for targeted audiences that drive engagement, return on investment, and customer loyalty. She’s led various digital engagements, including developing and overseeing large multifaceted growth strategies, global product launches, and go-to-market programs. She also has helped facilitate multiple successful acquisitions. Ray has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology from the University of Oklahoma.
Why Verana?
"I chose to join Verana Health because of the opportunity to apply my marketing skills at an organization that strives to positively impact the health and wellbeing of patients. I’m also fortunate to work alongside talented individuals who have expertise in multiple areas of digital health technology."
Yana Nikitina
VICE PRESIDENT OF ENGINEERING
Yana Nikitina is Vice President of Engineering, where she leads technology strategy and product development.
Yana brings over two decades of experience of building scalable, compliant, resilient, interoperable products. In the past years, she focused on accelerating growth in the Fintech space (LendingClub, Varo Bank and Braintree/PayPal). Yana held leadership roles in Data Platform, Actionable Insights, Mobile bank app, Payment Processing and Commerce Payment Platform.
Yana holds a BS in Computer Science from UC Davis.
Why Verana?
“Verana's mission strongly aligns with my personal values. I believe it will make a positive real-world impact and improve lives and I am excited to advance the application of innovative technologies to accelerate research in medicine."
Michelle McGovern, Esq, MS
GENERAL COUNSEL
Michelle McGovern is the General Counsel at Verana Health, where she works to find solutions that help set the market standard for data privacy in an increasingly complex legal environment. Michelle was previously the Deputy General Counsel at Redesign Health, a venture-backed incubator that, during her tenure, raised $350M, and built, launched and scaled more than two dozen healthcare companies. Michelle also worked at Pfizer, where her roles included supporting clinical trials and pharmacovigilance, building sustainable markets for pharmaceutical products in the developing world, and serving as the North America Legal Lead for Upjohn, Pfizer’s $12B legacy products and generics business.
Michelle completed Northwestern University’s accelerated journalism degree program, graduating in four years, magna cum laude, with a Bachelor’s of Science and Master’s of Science in Journalism, and received her JD, cum laude, from Northwestern University’s Pritzker School of Law. Michelle has been credentialed by the International Association of Privacy Professionals as a Certified Information Privacy Manager. Michelle is also the President of the Board of Directors of 826NYC, a charity that helps under-resourced youth write their own paths forward, regardless of circumstance.
Why Verana?
“It is a privilege to work for a company that strives to improve the lives of patients, while serving as a steward of their health information. The importance of what we do, and of who we serve, inspires me to approach legal questions with both creativity and care."
VICE PRESIDENT CONTROLLER
SENIOR MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Almer Mendoza, MBA
VICE PRESIDENT CONTROLLER
Almer Mendoza, Vice President Controller, brings more than 20 years of experience in corporate finance, accounting, and auditing. Prior to joining Verana Health, Almer was VP Corporate Controller at Navis LLC – a leading provider of global cargo handling software, where he managed the worldwide accounting in more than 20 countries. Prior to Navis, he was VP Finance or Corporate Controller in several public and private technology companies, where he built accounting teams, completed first audits, helped prepare for initial public filings, implemented ERPs, and integrated acquired companies. He started his career as an auditor at Ernst and Young LLP.
Almer received his MBA from Pepperdine University, and his BS in Accounting from Northwestern State University. He is a licensed Certified Public Accountant.
Why Verana?
“Verana’s data platform that helps accelerate healthcare innovation and drug development excites me. I have been wanting to join a Company that help people. I am motivated to contribute to the success of the Company."
Michael Mbagwu, MD
SENIOR MEDICAL DIRECTOR
Michael Mbagwu, MD, Senior Medical Director, leads Verana Health’s Medical Team and oversees projects within the American Academy of Ophthalmology IRISⓇ Registry (Intelligent Research in Sight). Dr. Mbagwu attended The Ohio State University where he completed a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Science and graduated Summa Cum Laude. Dr. Mbagwu subsequently attended Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, where he received a Doctor of Medicine and graduated Cum Laude in Scientia Experimentalis. Dr. Mbagwu also completed a Transitional/Medical internship year at Presence Resurrection Medical Center before returning to Northwestern to complete his residency training in Ophthalmology, where he served as Chief Resident. He went on to complete an Ophthalmic Innovation Fellowship at the Byers Eye Institute/Stanford University School of Medicine. Dr. Mbagwu currently holds the academic rank of Adjunct Clinical Instructor of Ophthalmology at Stanford University School of Medicine and is an attending physician with the Department of Veterans Affairs, Palo Alto Health Care System.
Why Verana?
“Verana Health resides at the unique intersection of clinical data, real-world evidence expertise, and creation of innovative solutions. As a practicing ophthalmologist, it is inspiring for me to collaborate on projects that I know will improve quality of care for the patients I see. There's truly no place like it, and I'm excited to be a part of the important work we do."
Our Medical Advisors
Urology
Ophthalmology
Ophthalmology
Neurology, Ophthalmology
Our Medical Advisors
Our Advisors
Co-Founder,
Verana Health and Lagunita Biosciences
Strategic Advisor
Ahmanson Professor in Ophthalmology,
Stein Eye Institute, UCLA
Our Advisors
Ahmanson Professor in Ophthalmology,
Stein Eye Institute, UCLA
Our Board
Former Chief Executive Officer,
American Academy of Ophthalmology
David W. Parke II, MD (Executive Chairman)
FORMER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Dr. Parke served from 2009 to 2022 as the Chief Executive Officer of the American Academy of Ophthalmology. He is now Executive Chairman of Verana Health, Inc. and remains CEO Advisor at the Academy.
After undergraduate education at Stanford University and medical school of Baylor College of Medicine, Dr. Parke completed residency training and chief residency at Baylor’s Cullen Eye Institute followed by fellowships in diseases and surgery of the retina and vitreous. He served for 17 years as president and chief executive officer of the Dean McGee Eye Institute and Professor and Chair of the Department of Ophthalmology at the University of Oklahoma. After serving as president of the American Academy of Ophthalmology in 2008, Dr. Parke was chosen to become its full-time CEO. He has served on the boards of companies in the insurance and digital health space. He is Past-President of the Council of Medical Specialty Societies.
Dr. Parke has been president of the Association of University Professors of Ophthalmology and director of the American Board of Ophthalmology. In 2009 he was elected to Academia Ophthalmologica Internationalis. His most recent professional and scholarly activities have centered on health policy and economics, on biomedical organizational leadership and development, and on big data analytics.
Founding Partner,
Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers
CEO,
Verana Health
Principal,
Novo Growth
Chief Executive Officer,
American Academy of Neurology
Chief Executive Officer,
American Urological Association
VP of Venture Investments, Johnson & Johnson Innovation - JJDC, Inc.
Managing Partner, GV
Partner, GV
Chief Investment Officer and Founder,
Casdin Capital
Managing Director,
Merck Global Health Innovation Fund
Our Investors
Verana Health is backed by leading institutional investors and industry veterans:
Brook Byers, founding member and senior partner of Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield, and Byers.
