David Russell is a seasoned health care executive with over 25 years of experience driving strategic growth, business development and operational excellence across some of the nation's leading academic medical centers and integrated delivery systems.
Prior to joining Emory Healthcare, Russell served as Chief Business Development Officer and Executive Vice President of Organizational Transformation at Vanderbilt University Medical Center where he led initiatives focused on clinical enterprise expansion, strategic partnerships, and commercialization. Prior to Vanderbilt, Russell spent 15 years at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC), where he was promoted from Director to Vice President of Strategic Planning. There, he played a pivotal role in UPMC’s regional expansion—leading the integration of seven health systems (19 hospitals, $2.9B in revenue) and overseeing mergers and acquisitions, physician network development, and internal consulting efforts that supported executive leadership. He also championed collaborative initiatives to align quality, provider incentives, and organizational strategy.
Russell began his career as a consultant at BDC Advisors, later holding progressively senior roles in strategy and operations at Kaiser Permanente and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF).
Russell earned a Bachelor of Arts from Northwestern University and a Master of Business Administration from the Vanderbilt Owen Graduate School of Management.