Dr. Priya Arawal is a mission-driven, innovative, and disruptive Senior Global Healthcare Executive offering dynamic leadership in public, private, and social sectors. She combines unique experiences as a frontline physician, educator and public health leader in 45+ emerging markets, to growing multibillion-dollar health enterprises spanning five worldwide regions.
She previously served as Chief Behavioral Science Officer for Global Vaccines, Managing Director for the South Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa cluster, and led the Vaccines and Women’s Health business unit in the UK. She also launched and led the global initiative Merck for Mothers – a 500 million dollar initiative focused on ensuring no woman dies while giving life.
Prior to Merck, she was Director of Research and Innovation at the Harvard School of Public Health where she led the development and evaluation of digital healthcare innovations. She has worked and travelled in more than 45 countries using the introduction and scale-up of innovations to improve health outcomes.
Priya is trained as an obstetrician and gynecologist in the UK. She received her degrees in medicine from the University of Cambridge and University of Oxford, and graduated with a master’s from the Harvard School of Public Health on a Fulbright Scholarship. She is a board member of Pathfinder International and a fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. In 2015 she was honored with the Forbes Impact Award in Advocacy.