April 25, 2023

Nari Gopala named chief digital officer

Gopala will be responsible for leading Kaiser Permanente's digital transformation.

Narayanan “Nari” Gopala has been named the chief digital officer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals.

Kaiser Permanente announced that Narayanan “Nari” Gopala has been promoted to chief digital officer for Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and Hospitals.

In this role, Gopala will lead cross-functional teams to transform a full range of digital experiences for the organization’s 12.6 million members as well as its clinical workforce.

"Our award-winning digital tools have changed the way our members manage their health," said Kaiser Permanente chair and chief executive officer Greg A. Adams. "Nari has a passion for innovation and the deep technical understanding of both the consumer perspective and our integrated model to help us meet members where they are in their health journeys and deliver digital solutions based on their preferences.”

Kaiser Permanente has received numerous industry accolades in recent years such as Webby Awards’ People’s Voice Winner in 2022 and recognition as Design Company of the Year by Fast Company in 2022 for its redesigned member app and website, kp.org.

"We are excited to promote Nari to the chief digital officer role," said Kaiser Permanente executive vice president and chief information and technology officer Diane Comer. "Since joining Kaiser Permanente in 2021, he has demonstrated a strong commitment to our digital transformation journey, ensuring that our teams and our members have the best digital experience there is to offer.”

Gopala brings more than 25 years of experience leading global digital platforms, including prior leadership positions at Amazon Web Services and Sony Online Entertainment. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology — Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi, India, and earned an MBA in high technology and innovation from Northeastern University in Boston. 

As chief digital officer, Gopala will report to Comer, with joint accountability to Adams.