Robert Pearl

Dr. Robert Pearl is a physician-executive, author, and educator whose career encompasses healthcare leadership, academic medicine, and public discourse. Pearl served as CEO of The Permanente Medical Group at Kaiser Permanente for 18 years, where he led 10,000 physicians and 38,000 staff, overseeing medical care for 5 million members across the United States. During his tenure, he guided the organization through significant financial and operational challenges, implementing integrated, prepaid, and technologically advanced healthcare delivery models.

Board certified in plastic and reconstructive surgery, Pearl earned his medical degree from Yale University School of Medicine and completed his residency at Stanford University. He serves as a clinical professor of plastic surgery at Stanford University and is on the faculty at the Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he teaches courses on strategy, leadership, and healthcare technology. Pearl chaired the Council of Accountable Physician Practices, a coalition of large multispecialty medical groups, and participated in the Bipartisan Congressional Task Force on Delivery System Reform and Health IT in Washington, D.C.

Pearl is the author of "Mistreated: Why We Think We're Getting Good Healthcare—And Why We're Usually Wrong," "Uncaring: How the Culture of Medicine Kills Doctors & Patients," and "ChatGPT, MD: How AI-Empowered Patients & Doctors Can Take Back Control of American Medicine." His books address healthcare reform, patient safety, and the impact of technology and culture on medical outcomes. Pearl is a contributor to Forbes and publishes the newsletter "Breaking the Rules of Healthcare" on LinkedIn. He hosts the podcasts "Fixing Healthcare" and "Medicine: The Truth," both of which have ranked among the top health podcasts. His newsletters, including "Monthly Musings on American Healthcare," reach more than 60,000 subscribers.

Pearl is a frequent keynote speaker at industry events such as The World Healthcare Congress, the Commonwealth Club, TEDx, HLTH, NCQA Quality Talks, and the National Primary Care Transformation Summit. His expertise in healthcare leadership, health technology, and medical innovation has been featured on CBS This Morning, C-SPAN, MSNBC, NPR, and in TIME, AP, USA Today, and Bloomberg News.