GE HealthCare Hires Medtronic's Rodolphe Katra as Global Chief AI Officer

GE HealthCare has hired Rodolphe Katra, who had been Medtronic's global chief AI officer since 2023, as its own global chief AI officer, filling a seat left open when the company's first AI chief left for Edwards Lifesciences.

Chief Executive Peter Arduini disclosed the appointment this week in a LinkedIn post, MedTech Dive reported. Arduini pointed to Katra's 25 years in medtech, AI and research and development, and his experience implementing technology in complex clinical and regulatory environments, according to the publication.

"Reporting to Taha Kass-Hout, and working closely with our segment teams, Rodolphe will help us take our AI strategy to the next level—connecting devices, software and data to deliver better insights, more longitudinal understanding and more precise care," Arduini said, as quoted by MedTech Dive.

A second AI chief in three years

Kass-Hout, a former Amazon and Food and Drug Administration leader, joined GE HealthCare as chief technology officer in 2023. The company hired its first chief AI officer, Parminder Bhatia, later that year. Bhatia left GE HealthCare this year and became senior vice president for AI at Edwards Lifesciences in July, MedTech Dive reported. With Bhatia's departure, the company hired Katra to lead its AI team, according to the publication.

The move takes Medtronic's top AI executive to a competitor. Katra had served as Medtronic's global chief AI officer since 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile, as cited by MedTech Dive.

AI across the portfolio

In the post announcing the hire, Arduini said GE HealthCare has 134 FDA-authorized AI-enabled medical devices, more than any other medtech company. On a July earnings call, he said the company is "equally focused on using AI inside the company to improve productivity, simplify work and strengthen our supply chain," according to MedTech Dive.

The appointment follows a research collaboration GE HealthCare announced on September 23 with a team at Mass General Brigham. According to the company's release, the two will explore developing a generative AI tool that brings together structured clinical data and unstructured information, including clinical notes, images and treatment plans, so radiation oncology teams can ask questions about a patient's treatment journey. The tool could be integrated into GE HealthCare's Intelligent Radiation Therapy (iRT) workflow software, the company said.

GE HealthCare describes itself as a $20.6 billion business with about 54,000 employees.