CK Cheruvettolil, MA

CK Cheruvettolil is a strategic leader with over 20 years of experience at the intersection of technology, health, and innovation, specializing in driving impactful international projects. With proven expertise in crafting digital strategies that have mobilized investments across emerging markets, CK excels in bridging the gap between cutting-edge technologies and scalable health solutions. His adept leadership in advising global entities like the UN and the World Bank as well as working with governments and industry demonstrates his capacity to influence and execute high-level strategies in complex environments.

CK is currently an independent consultant and advisor to multiple technology and biotech companies and a consultant to the World Bank and the United Nations. CK created the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s digital health and AI strategy leading to over $100M in investments in low- and middle-income countries. His skillset lies in identifying cutting-edge technology innovations and funding their adaptation to low-resource settings for impact at scale. He spearheaded investments in India, Nigeria and Cambodia that augmented healthcare workers with mobile phones to deliver care directly to the community. He led the creation of an electronic health record framework for low-resource settings to link maternal care, malaria testing and malaria bed net distribution in Nigeria and successfully transitioning the project to the government. He funded the creation of technology that uses machine vision to identify low birth weight infants in India using mobile phone cameras – greatly improving the accuracy of measurements and linkage to care. He developed the financial and operations infrastructure for the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI), a billion-dollar fund created to identify emerging diseases and derail epidemics by speeding up the development of vaccines and ensuring access to them during outbreaks, reducing the risk of a global pandemic.

Prior to his tenure at the Gates Foundation, CK was a consultant to the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Centers for Disease Control. He co-authored the national implementation plan for the Centers for Disease Control’s Environmental Public Health Tracking Network that shared data between federal and state environmental and public health agencies to identify linkages between environmental factors and human health.

CK has a master’s in economics from Duke University and certificate in Computer Science & Artificial Intelligence (CSAIL) from MIT. He also has a bachelor’s in economics (Honors) from St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. He is multi-lingual and speaks English, Hindi, Gujarati and Malayalam.

Apart from global work, CK served as an advisor to the Redmond City Council in Washington state. When he is not surrounded by his many screens and technology, CK enjoys spending time outdoors – hiking and mountain biking with his family in the Pacific Northwest.