Diane Comer will retire as Kaiser Permanente's chief information technology officer in early January 2024. Yazdi Bagli, the health system’s executive vice president, Enterprise Business Services, will assume responsibilities for the IT organization upon Comer's retirement.
Comer has served as CITO since 2020 and led Kaiser Permanente’s IT operations during the pandemic. That included accelerating KP’s shift to a digital-first organization with a rapid ramp-up of virtual care, increase in self-service capabilities, and transition of thousands of employees to remote work.
"From the moment Diane took the helm as CITO, she has led with expertise, tenacity, and commitment to our technology end users and our IT professionals," said Greg Adams, chief executive officer and chair for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals, in a statement. "Her strategy to simplify, modernize, and secure our technology resulted in a more resilient organization powered by innovative technology, from cloud-based to artificial intelligence to digital solutions."
Comer joined Kaiser Permanente in 2007 to deliver technology solutions supporting all marketing, sales, service, and administration functions. She led the implementation of the telephony infrastructure that now supports millions of calls a month to Kaiser Permanente's multiple contact centers. She has partnered on the implementation of the technology needed to support the Affordable Care Act and health insurance exchanges, and the delivery of KP’s enterprise-wide claims platform.
With Comer's retirement, Kaiser Permanente announced that the IT organization will move to report to Yazdi Bagli, executive vice president, Enterprise Business Services. The Enterprise Business Services function is comprised of key shared services and operations that support the Kaiser Permanente enterprise. The objective of the move is to leverage technology, systems, process, and people capabilities across the groups to increase the quality, speed, and productivity of the services provided across Kaiser Permanente.
A search for Kaiser Permanente's next chief information and technology officer, reporting to Bagli, will be initiated in late 2023.
