Amar A. Desai

Amar A. Desai, MD, MPH, is a practicing doctor, public health leader and health care executive. He has extensive experience in changing the health care system and helping patients lead healthier lives.

Through his work, he has helped improve patient outcomes and made health care more affordable.

In his current role, Dr. Desai oversees Optum Care throughout California, Oregon and Washington. The organizations include more than 20,000 doctors and serve nearly 2.5 million patients.

He also served as chief executive officer of HealthCare Partners, a leading health care system with more than 700,000 patients.

He was also chief executive officer of University of Southern California (USC) Care. There, he helped make the university’s medical center a regional leader in complex care.

Before USC, Dr. Desai was a senior executive at DaVita, a global leader in dialysis care, where he advanced integrated kidney care models and led corporate strategy for the enterprise.

In 2021, Dr. Amar Desai, President and CEO, Optum, was named to the 2021 class of Top Diversity Leaders.

Now an annual recognition program, the Top Diversity Leaders award takes great pride in honoring the top healthcare executives from diverse backgrounds and the organizations influencing the policy and care delivery models across the country.