Stephen Klasko
Transformative leader and advocate for a revolution in our systems of healthcare and higher education.
Dr. Klasko is an author, an entrepreneur and a believer in the creative and optimistic
transformation of healthcare and higher education. He has been a CEO, a university
president, and a dean of two medical colleges. Currently he is pursuing his passion to
bridge academic health centers with the emerging world of digital medicine and
innovation. As President of Thomas Jefferson University, he directed a merger between
an almost two century old health science university and a nationally ranked university
for design and architecture, heralded by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the
“few successful mergers between academic entities.” As CEO of Jefferson Health, he
presided over the growth of the system from $1.5 billion to $9 billion including the
acquisition of Health Partners Plan, making Jefferson the first integrated delivery and
financial system in Philadelphia history.
His most recent book, Feelin’ Alright: How the Message in the Music Can Make
Healthcare Healthier uses music and creativity to tackle some of the thorniest issues in
healthcare, academics and health equity. His fifth book (with Hemant Taneja of General
Catalyst) in 2021, UnHealthcare: A Manifesto for Health Assurance has become the
manual for both founders and health system CEOs for bringing together the venture
capital world with the traditional healthcare ecosystem and has been translated in
several languages.
Dr. Klasko serves as an Executive in Residence at General Catalyst, North American
ambassador for Sheba Medical Center in Israel, and as CMO and Operating Partner of
Abundant Venture Partners. He is also the lead independent director of Teleflex, a
seventy year old NYSE medical device company. In 2022, President Biden appointed
him to the National Board of Education Sciences.
Over the past five years he has been awarded by Fast Company as one of the “top 25
most creative people in business,” by Modern Healthcare as the “#2 most influential
person in healthcare” and by Ernst and Young as the “entrepreneur of the year.”
Dr. Klasko is an author, an entrepreneur and a believer in the creative and optimistic
transformation of healthcare and higher education. He has been a CEO, a university
president, and a dean of two medical colleges. Currently he is pursuing his passion to
bridge academic health centers with the emerging world of digital medicine and
innovation. As President of Thomas Jefferson University, he directed a merger between
an almost two century old health science university and a nationally ranked university
for design and architecture, heralded by the Chronicle of Higher Education as one of the
“few successful mergers between academic entities.” As CEO of Jefferson Health, he
presided over the growth of the system from $1.5 billion to $9 billion including the
acquisition of Health Partners Plan, making Jefferson the first integrated delivery and
financial system in Philadelphia history.
His most recent book, Feelin’ Alright: How the Message in the Music Can Make
Healthcare Healthier uses music and creativity to tackle some of the thorniest issues in
healthcare, academics and health equity. His fifth book (with Hemant Taneja of General
Catalyst) in 2021, UnHealthcare: A Manifesto for Health Assurance has become the
manual for both founders and health system CEOs for bringing together the venture
capital world with the traditional healthcare ecosystem and has been translated in
several languages.
Dr. Klasko serves as an Executive in Residence at General Catalyst, North American
ambassador for Sheba Medical Center in Israel, and as CMO and Operating Partner of
Abundant Venture Partners. He is also the lead independent director of Teleflex, a
seventy year old NYSE medical device company. In 2022, President Biden appointed
him to the National Board of Education Sciences.
Over the past five years he has been awarded by Fast Company as one of the “top 25
most creative people in business,” by Modern Healthcare as the “#2 most influential
person in healthcare” and by Ernst and Young as the “entrepreneur of the year.”
