Becker’s Healthcare Podcast: Simon Nazarian, EVP & Chief Digital and Technology Officer, City of Hope

Date: December 24, 2025
Host: Scott King, Becker's Healthcare
Guest: Simon Nazarian, Executive Vice President and Chief Digital and Technology Officer, City of Hope

Episode Overview

This episode spotlights the changing digital landscape in healthcare, focusing on the opportunities, challenges, and leadership strategies involved in technology transformation. Simon Nazarian shares his career journey and insights on AI, cybersecurity, responsible innovation, and the importance of centering technology investment on patient impact.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Simon Nazarian’s Career Background and Approach

• Diverse Experience: Simon shares his multi-industry background, including roles at Kaiser Permanente, McKinsey & Co., Optum, and his current position at City of Hope. His experience ranges from technology architecture to leading large-scale tech teams and driving technology-enabled transformation.
  • Quote:

    “Throughout my career, I've also focused across multiple industries, which really helps me in my role within healthcare as well.” (01:52)

Healthcare’s Current Inflection Point (03:07)

• Transformation Drivers:
  • The convergence of available data, computational power, and AI tools is accelerating healthcare transformation.
  • Despite these advancements, leaders face persistent financial, workforce, and cyber risk challenges.
• Responsible Innovation:
  • The key question is not whether to innovate, but how to do so responsibly and at scale.
    • Quote:

      “The question really is, and whether we innovate, it's how do we responsibly, how we do it responsibly and at scale.” (03:34)

AI, Security, and Organizational Focus (04:08)

• Balancing AI and Cybersecurity:
  • Scott asks if the AI hype may be distracting from cybersecurity.
  • Simon emphasizes industry-wide commitment to security, prioritizing protection of personal health information (PHI, PII) in all digital initiatives.
  • Security is “at the center and on top of our minds.” (04:28)

Value-Driven Technology Investment (04:43)

• Impact over Hype:
  • Simon stresses that technology investments should directly improve patient outcomes, expand access, or enhance clinician experience, rather than being done for technology’s sake.
  • Focus on removing friction, connecting systems, and automating mundane tasks to free up clinicians’ and researchers’ time.
  • Quote:

    “If a digital investment doesn’t improve patient outcomes, expand access, or make life better for the clinicians, we have to make sure we take a close look at it...” (04:47)

Evaluation Criteria for New Technologies (05:34)

• Considerations Before Investing:
  • Return on investment or opportunity.
  • Realistic deployment and support requirements.
  • Seamless integration with existing workflows.
  • Impact on staff accuracy and efficiency.
  • Governance—especially critical for AI solutions.
  • Quote:

    “If it’s AI based, how do we govern it…?” (06:03)

Calculated Risks: The Case for Scaling AI (06:25)

• On Taking Risks:
  • Nazarian asserts the greatest risk is stagnancy—healthcare must operationalize AI responsibly or risk falling behind in quality of care, research, and efficiency.
  • The key is practical, problem-oriented, and trustworthy implementation.
  • Quote:

    “One risk that absolutely worth taking is scaling AI in a thoughtful and governed way. The bigger risk right now is standing still.” (06:25)

Growth Opportunities for the Future (07:03)

• Intersection of Data, AI, and Precision Medicine:
  • Simon sees vast potential in combining clinical data and research insights to accelerate discovery, deliver personalized care, and speed translation to patient benefit.
  • Digital and virtual care models and innovation-scale partnerships are also highlighted.
  • Quote:

    “The biggest opportunities…sit at the intersection of data, AI and precision medicine. As we connect with all this clinical data, with research insights, we can deliver more personalized care and move discoveries to patients much faster.” (07:03)

Leadership Evolution in the Tech-Driven Era (08:01)

• Serving Patients and Empowering Teams:
  • Simon centers patients and care teams, emphasizing holistic support.
  • Empowers his team by collaboratively solving problems, rather than top-down directive approaches.
  • Becoming more people-oriented has been pivotal in his leadership evolution.
  • Quote:

    “When you approach them with a problem to solve, bring them in and say, this is what the problem we need to solve, let's solve it together. ... Maintaining that focus on bringing my teams closer in the problem solving has really helped me evolve as a leader...” (08:24)

Memorable Moments & Quotes with Timestamps

• On Responsible Innovation:

  “Healthcare is really at an inflection point as we speak... we have the data, the computing power, and the tools like AI to really meaningfully accelerate, you know, how discovery is turning to better care for our patients.”
  — Simon Nazarian, (03:10)

• On Technology Investment:

  “If a digital investment doesn’t improve patient outcomes, expand access, or make life better for the clinicians, you know, we have to make sure we take a close look at it...”
  — Simon Nazarian, (04:47)

• On AI Adoption:

  “The bigger risk right now is standing still. Healthcare is really moving quickly, and organizations that don’t learn how to operationalize AI responsibly, you know, will fall behind...”
  — Simon Nazarian, (06:27)

• On Leadership and Teamwork:

  “I have learned that [my teams] can achieve amazing things when you approach them with a problem to solve, bring them in and say, this is what the problem we need to solve, let’s solve it together.”
  — Simon Nazarian, (08:24)

Important Segments by Timestamp

• [01:09] — Simon’s background and healthcare journey
• [03:07] — Industry inflection point: data, AI, risks
• [04:08] — Cybersecurity: balancing innovation and protection
• [04:43] — Value-driven tech investment: focus on impact
• [05:34] — Criteria for evaluating new technology
• [06:25] — The case for scaling AI responsibly
• [07:03] — Growth opportunities: Data, AI, precision medicine
• [08:01] — Evolving leadership style; empowering teams

Tone and Language

Simon Nazarian speaks with expertise, clarity, and an unwavering focus on patient-centric outcomes. The conversation is pragmatic, future-focused, and positive, with an emphasis on thoughtful, responsible leadership in digital transformation.