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Healthcare Innovation · Design Thinking · Leadership

The speaker
who makes
rooms change.

The only practicing clinician to graduate from Stanford's d.school.
Where medicine, design, and military leadership converge.

7,000
Largest audience
4
Continents reached
10+
Years facilitating
20 → 7K
Audience size range
Why Andrew

Three cultures.
One person.

Most speakers come from one world. Andrew has spent his career at the intersection of three that rarely meet: medicine, design, and military leadership. The result isn't a talking point — it's the engine behind every talk he gives.

He is the only practicing clinician to have graduated from the Stanford program that pioneered Design Thinking. He then worked at IDEO and Jump Associates — the world's leading innovation strategy firm — applying these frameworks to hard problems for Kaiser and Humana. His leadership foundations were built at the US Naval Academy and tested over twelve years of service. Read his full background →

His audiences have called him inspiring to life-changing. One of his favorite compliments came from a security guard at a healthcare lecture who said he "loved it so much he took notes the whole time."

Stanford d.school — Graduate degree in Mechanical Engineering & Art. Only practicing clinician to graduate from this program.
IDEO & Jump Associates — Applied design thinking to healthcare systems including Kaiser and Humana.
US Naval Academy & 12 years service — Leadership forged under real pressure, not in a boardroom.
Board-certified psychiatrist, FAPA — Active clinical practice in San Francisco. The science is lived, not studied.
Stanford, Google, APA, AMA, Tokyo University — Teaching across four continents since 2014.
"Imagine you wanted to create a being perfectly designed for healthcare innovation. You'd send him to the Naval Academy to learn leadership, to Stanford's d.school to become a designer, then to IDEO, then to medical school. That's not science fiction. That's Andrew Chacko — a truly unique breed in the world of innovation and healthcare."
— Attendee, Project Zygote Health 2.0 Accelerator
"We had the pleasure of producing an event featuring Dr. Chacko. If you're looking for someone to lead a workshop, do a keynote, or engage your teams — I couldn't offer a better recommendation."
— Event Producer, MEDecisions Liberation Conference
Keynotes

What Andrew
speaks on.

Every keynote is customized for the specific audience, organization, and event. These are the topic areas Andrew has developed through years of delivery — he will tailor the angle, depth, and examples to what your room actually needs.

01

Designing a Better Healthcare Experience

The healthcare crisis isn't a technology problem or a policy problem — it's a people problem. Andrew makes the case that the most undervalued, underutilized solution is already in the room: the clinicians who deliver care every day. A practical and galvanizing talk about empowering the human infrastructure of healthcare.

Health systemsHospital leadershipMedical conferences
02

Design Thinking as a Clinical Skill

What if the most powerful diagnostic tool a clinician has isn't a test — it's a process? Andrew translates Stanford's Design Thinking framework into the clinical context: understanding the real problem before leaping to solutions. Practical, immediately applicable, and grounded in real cases. Attendees leave with a reframe they'll use on Monday.

Medical schoolsResidency programsHealthcare startups
03

Leadership Beyond the Title

Leadership isn't a position — it's a practice. Drawing on twelve years of naval service and a career at the intersection of medicine, design, and innovation, Andrew reframes leadership as something every clinician and innovator already exercises. He helps audiences do it with greater intention, clarity, and impact.

Physician leadersHealthcare executivesAccelerator programs
04

The Mental Health of Innovation

Burnout in healthcare isn't incidental — it's structural. As a practicing psychiatrist who treats clinicians and innovators for burnout, Andrew speaks to the psychological cost of doing hard work in broken systems, and the specific practices that sustain momentum over the long arc of a career. Deeply personal, clinically grounded.

Clinician audiencesPharmaceutical companiesDigital health companies
Workshops

Half-day and full-day
immersive formats.

Workshops go further than keynotes. Andrew designs them to leave participants with tools they'll actually use — not just inspiration that fades by Monday morning.

01

Design Thinking for Healthcare Innovation

Andrew's cornerstone workshop — delivered at the APA Annual Meeting, Stanford, UC Berkeley, and institutions across Asia. He breaks down the Design Thinking process into three core stages — Understanding the Problem, Ideation, and Prototyping — and applies them to the challenges facing your organization. Teams leave with a shared framework and a concrete prototype of a solution to a real problem in their work.

Cognitive reframing and real problem definition Ideation techniques that work in clinical group settings Rapid prototyping for non-engineers Applying design thinking at the system and bedside level
3 – 6 hrs
02

Leadership as a Practice

A practical, grounded exploration of leadership that moves well past management theory. Andrew draws on his Naval Academy training, clinical career, and innovation consulting to distill what leadership actually looks like under pressure — and gives participants frameworks they can apply immediately, whether they lead a team of two or two hundred.

Leadership without formal authority Building high-functioning teams under pressure Decision-making when the stakes are real The neuroscience of trust and influence
3 hrs
03

Creative Medicine: Fusing Creativity and Clinical Practice

Developed for medical students and early-career clinicians, this workshop challenges the assumption that medicine and creativity are separate domains. Andrew's interactive sessions have inspired hundreds of medical students across Asia to think differently about patient care — described by program directors as infectious and transformative. Delivered for VIA Comparative Healthcare Programs since 2014.

Breaking the rote learning reflex Creative problem-solving in patient interactions Designing effective interventions, not just prescriptions Building a sustainable, creative clinical identity
Half day
Has spoken at & worked with
Stanford Universityd.school & Medicine
UC BerkeleyHealthcare programs
Tokyo UniversityMedical students
GoogleHealthcare innovation
APAAnnual Meeting, NYC
AMANational conference
IDEODesign consulting
Jump AssociatesKaiser · Humana
NODE Digital MedicineFaculty
Project ZygoteHealth 2.0 accelerator
MEDecisionsLiberation Conference
Pear TherapeuticsStartup advisory
What audiences say

In their own words.

"Imagine you wanted to create a being perfectly designed for healthcare innovation. You'd start with an incredibly smart, sweet person. Send him to the Naval Academy, then Stanford's d.school, then IDEO, then medical school. That's not science fiction. That's Andrew Chacko — a truly unique breed. The next Steve Jobs of healthcare innovation."
Speaker & Faculty AdvisorProject Zygote, Health 2.0 Accelerator
"Dr. Chacko presented an engaging and mesmerizing session on 'Designing a Better Healthcare Experience.' Throughout planning and delivery, he was professional, thoughtful, and continued to bring fresh ideas. I highly recommend him for his insightful content and captivating presentation style."
Event DirectorAnnual Thought Leadership Forum
"He is a unique, one-of-a-kind professional who breaks all traditional methods of communication. By creating what seems at first an uncomfortable situation, he creates a perfect environment for people to connect at an unexpectedly deeper level. This workshop led me to create a connection that started a new telemedicine project."
Physician attendeeNODE Digital Medicine Conference, NYC
"I had the pleasure of hearing Dr. Chacko at MEDecisions's Liberation 2018 conference and was highly impressed. He brings valuable insights to healthcare innovation with a unique range of professional experience. As a fellow academy graduate, his discussion resonated deeply. He weaved these domains into a rich tapestry that made for an engaging keynote. I would recommend him to any group seeking an insightful speaker with bona fide professional chops."
AttendeeMEDecisions Liberation Conference 2018
"I attended Andrew's design workshop at the APA in New York 2018. He was an engaging, creative, inspiring, and approachable speaker. His design background added a creative twist that made me think about healthcare innovation in a completely different way. I left refreshed, inspired, and motivated to think outside the box."
Psychiatrist attendeeAPA Annual Meeting, New York 2018
Program Endorsement
VIA Medical
Student Programs
Since 2014
"Since 2014, I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Dr. Andrew Chacko to organize creative medicine workshops for medical students from Asia. He is a thoughtful, patient, and powerful educator with an infectious passion for student learning and growth. His innovative and interactive lessons on how to fuse creativity and medicine have inspired hundreds of students to think outside the box when designing effective interventions for their future patients. I give him my full endorsement and am confident he would be an asset to any organization looking to meaningfully impact student learning and success."
VIA Comparative Healthcare Programs Director
Book Andrew

Let's talk about
your event.

Andrew customizes every engagement to the specific audience, context, and goals of your organization. Complete the form and he or his team will respond within two business days.

Every inquiry is treated as a real conversation — not a booking pipeline. If it's not the right fit, Andrew will say so, and point you toward someone who is.

📍
Location: Based in San Francisco. Available in-person anywhere. International engagements welcome.
🎤
Formats: Keynote (45–75 min), Workshop (3 hrs – full day), Keynote + Workshop, Panel facilitation, Faculty advisory.
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Audience size: From intimate leadership teams of 20 to conferences of 7,000. Both get customized.
Lead time: Andrew books 2–6 months in advance. For urgent engagements, inquire directly and he'll do his best.

Andrew or his team responds within 2 business days. All inquiries are confidential.

Inquiry received — thank you.

Andrew or his team will be in touch within two business days. In the meantime, explore his clinical practice.