The health care venture formed by Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase has hired a chief operating officer — a digital health specialist who instituted progressive benefit policies at Comcast Corp.
Jack Stoddard, formerly the general manager of digital health at Comcast, will work with the health company’s CEO, Dr. Atul Gawande, to reshape the services provided to 1.2 million employees who work for the three companies.
His hiring adds another influential executive to the team being assembled by Amazon and its partners to take on the U.S. health care system. For the past year, Stoddard has infused digital services into health benefits provided by Comcast, which is credited with crafting one of the nation’s most innovative approaches to employee health.
The company has shunned traditional arrangements with insurers and providers in favor of startups that use digital tools and telemedicine to make health care more convenient and cost effective for employees. Stoddard was a founding member of one of those startups, Accolade, an on-demand navigator that helps employees get convenient, cost-effective medical care.
A spokesperson for the health care company issued a brief statement confirming Stoddard’s hiring: “We are very pleased to welcome Jack Stoddard to our team,” the statement said. “He will serve as the Chief Operating Officer of the organization going forward.” The hiring was first reported by CNBC.
Stoddard serves on boards of NovaSom Inc., a provider of home testing for sleep apnea, and Carrot Inc., which uses technology-based behavioral health interventions to help people quit smoking. He received an undergraduate degree from Denison University in Ohio and an MBA from Harvard University.
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