Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite appointed as new CEO
I-DAIR is delighted to announce the appointment of Dr. Ricardo Baptista Leite as its new Chief Executive Officer, following an extensive global search process. Dr. Baptista Leite will replace Dr. Mehdi Snène, who ensured the transition since Dr. Amandeep Gill’s departure following his nomination as UN Secretary General Tech Envoy. Dr. Baptista Leite will assume the role of CEO on 22 May 2023.
Ricardo Baptista Leite is a medical doctor and former 4-term Member of the Portuguese Parliament, where he sat on the Health and Foreign Affairs Committees. Dr. Baptista Leite is the Founder and President of the ‘UNITE Parliamentarians for Global Health’, a global platform of current and former members of Parliaments, Congresses and Senates, currently present in +97 countries. Dr. Baptista Leite is also Chair of the Centre for Global Health at NOVA University Information Management and Data Science School (NOVA IMS), and Guest Lecturer at NOVA Medical School.
His previous academic roles include having been the Head of Public Health at the Institute of Health Sciences at the Catolica University of Portugal. Additionally, Dr. Baptista Leite is also City Councilor of Sintra. In the past, he has served as Deputy Mayor and City Councilor of Cascais where he was responsible for local health strategy, economic diplomacy, and international relations. Prior to being elected MP, Dr. Baptista Leite was a practicing physician for seven years, including a 5-year Infectious Diseases residency, internship at the World Health Organization, and consulting at a multinational company in the field of health information technologies.
Dr. Baptista Leite further founded ‘CREATING HEALTH – Research and Innovation Funding’ and co-founded the ‘Estoril Conferences’. Dr. Baptista Leite is a Ph.D. candidate in Public Health at Maastricht University and has completed post-graduate studies at multiple universities, including Johns Hopkins, Harvard Kennedy School, and Harvard Medical School.
“Ricardo is a dynamic, values-driven leader who has a diverse background of experiences and an excellent track record in Global Health. He has exceptional strategic capabilities, proven operational effectiveness, and a deep understanding of both the health domain and technology.”
Dr. Christoph Benn, Chair of the I-DAIR Board announced the appointment of the new CEO of I-DAIR with the following statement: “I have the great pleasure to share the unanimous decision of the Board to select Dr. Ricardo Leite as I-DAIR’s new CEO, after an extensive global search. Ricardo is a dynamic, values-driven leader who has a diverse background of experiences and an excellent track record in Global Health. He has exceptional strategic capabilities, proven operational effectiveness, and a deep understanding of both the health domain and technology. The Board looks forward to Ricardo realising the full potential of I-DAIR as a global platform for Digital Health and AI research collaboration.”
“I am honoured and grateful to the Board for this opportunity to lead I-DAIR.” said Ricardo. “It is an organization with impressive achievements, insightful projects, and a talented team. With its enviable network of investors, partners and Board members and given the fast pace of technology and astonishing rise of needs worldwide, I am convinced that I-DAIR is uniquely positioned in the Digital Health and Artificial Intelligence research space and has enormous potential to accelerate innovation, adoption and access of these technologies where they are most needed. I look forward to working with the team and partners to take I-DAIR to the next level and drive global impact towards ensuring health and wellbeing for all.”
