Amar A. Desai, M.D.

Dr. Amar A. Desai was named chief executive officer of Optum Health in July 2023. In this role, he’s responsible for accelerating a patient-centered, value-based care model to achieve quality outcomes and improved experiences for patients, while lowering the total cost of care.

Prior to Optum Health, Desai served as president of Health Care Delivery at CVS Health. Before that, Desai served as president and CEO of Optum Pacific West, building and operating the largest multi-payer, value-based care delivery organization on the West Coast. Prior to joining Optum, he was CEO of University of Southern California (USC) Care and a senior executive at DaVita, a global leader in dialysis care. Earlier in his career, Desai served as an engagement manager at McKinsey & Company.

Desai earned his bachelor’s and medical degrees from Brown University and his master’s degree in public health from Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. He has previously served as associate clinical professor of medicine at Keck School of Medicine at USC and held faculty appointments at Stanford School of Medicine and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA.