Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Appoints Shakeeb Akhter as Chief Digital Officer

Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) today announced that Shakeeb Akhter has joined MSK as its new Chief Digital Officer (CDO). In this role, Akhter will be responsible for the overall design and execution of MSK's digital strategy.

Akhter joins MSK following a distinguished career at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP), where he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Digital and Information Officer. During his tenure, he built one of the most advanced healthcare digital transformation programs in the country, spanning AI, clinical informatics, cybersecurity, advanced analytics, and digitally enabled care.

At MSK, Akhter will serve as the architect of MSK's digital and technology future, championing an enterprise-wide strategy that connects clinical, research, and administrative domains.

"Shakeeb brings extraordinary vision, expertise and energy to this role at a pivotal moment for MSK, one in which digital innovation, artificial intelligence, and data-driven discovery are becoming deeply entwined with our patient care, research, and operational initiatives," said Selwyn M. Vickers, MD, FACS, President and CEO of MSK. "We know he will work to harness technology as a catalyst for continual evolution and ensure that every investment in technology strengthens our mission to end cancer for life."

Prior to CHOP, Shakeeb held technology and data leadership roles at Northwestern Medicine's Feinberg School of Medicine, where he led enterprise data and research informatics in partnership with the institution's Clinical and Translational Science Awards (CTSA) group. He began his career at KPMG and Bank of America.

"I'm honored to join an institution whose breakthroughs have shaped the global understanding of cancer," said Mr. Akhter. "This moment in healthcare, where data, technology, and science are converging, offers extraordinary potential to transform what's possible. I'm excited to help accelerate MSK's digital future and contribute to innovations that move us closer to a world where cancer is no longer a life-defining diagnosis."

Shakeeb holds an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a BA in Economics from the University of Illinois. He is active in the national healthcare technology community, serving on the Becker's Healthcare National CIO Advisory Board and the Board of Trustees of the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

CONTACT
Rebecca Williams
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