Narayanan “Nari” Gopala has been promoted from his position as vice president, capability and platform engineering to chief digital officer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals. Gopala replaces Kaiser’s first chief digital officer, Prat Vemana, who left the organization to become chief digital and product officer at Target in October 2022.
Gopala brings more than 25 years of experience leading global digital platforms, including prior leadership positions at Amazon Web Services and Sony Online Entertainment. At Amazon, he was worldwide technical leader for games. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology — Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, and earned an MBA in high technology and innovation from Northeastern University in Boston.
He will lead cross-functional teams to transform a full range of digital experiences for the organization’s 12.6 million members as well as its clinical workforce.
“Our award-winning digital tools have changed the way our members manage their health,” said Kaiser Permanente chair and chief executive officer Greg Adams, in a statement. “Nari has a passion for innovation and the deep technical understanding of both the consumer perspective and our integrated model to help us meet members where they are in their health journeys and deliver digital solutions based on their preferences.”
“We are excited to promote Nari to the chief digital officer role,” said Diane Comer, the organization’s executive vice president and chief information and technology officer, in a statement. “Since joining Kaiser Permanente in 2021, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to our digital transformation journey, ensuring that our teams and our members have the best digital experience there is to offer.”
As chief digital officer, Gopala will report to Comer, with joint accountability to Adams.
