Rémy Evard, previously a technology executive at a life-sciences venture-capital firm, has joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center as chief digital officer and head of technology, the New York City-based not-for-profit said Thursday.
Evard succeeds Claus Jensen, who left Memorial Sloan Kettering in May for the chief innovation officer role at telehealth giant Teladoc Health.
Jensen had been Memorial Sloan Kettering's first-ever chief digital officer, appointed to the role in 2019.
Evard, as the second executive to hold the digital officer and technology head title, will lead development of Memorial Sloan Kettering's digital strategy for scientific research, patient care and medical education, according to a news release, including projects focused on data and analytics.
He will also direct Memorial Sloan Kettering's Digital Informatics & Technology Solutions team of more than 1,000 employees, who maintain the system's technology and spearhead technology innovation projects.
"I look forward to building on the work to accelerate MSK's digital transformation and help drive continued innovation," Evard said in the news release. "For a technologist, this is an opportunity to help improve the lives of cancer patients and to contribute to humanity's ongoing quest to conquer cancer."
Evard most recently served as the chief information and digital officer at Flagship Pioneering, a Cambridge, Massachusetts-based venture-capital firm that invests in biotechnology and life sciences companies.
Evard previously had also served as global chief information officer at pharmaceutical company Novartis' innovation arm, dubbed the Novartis Institutes of BioMedical Research, and held various technology leadership positions at Argonne National Laboratory, including chief information officer at the science and engineering research center.
Like many healthcare providers, Memorial Sloan Kettering struggled during the COVID-19 pandemic. The cancer center in calendar year 2020 lost roughly $417 million on $5.4 billion in operating revenue, representing a 7.7% operating loss margin.
