Data & Strategy Leader — Healthcare Technology

I turn data into decisions, and build the teams that own them.

I'm Robert — a strategic leader who works where strategy, operations, and technology meet. For over a decade across healthcare, digital health, health tech, and healthcare IT — from research labs to startups — I've diagnosed the gaps, built the frameworks, and aligned the people so organizations can decide with confidence instead of guesswork.

Curious where your organization really stands? Take my 6-question data maturity assessment — two minutes, straight to a diagnosis.

Take the assessment →
Robert Dowd, Data & Strategy Leader
Denver, Colorado
Open to leadership & consulting
11+
Years turning data into strategy
84
Citations across peer-reviewed research
6
Patents co-invented, 1 granted
2x
Client growth supported at 50% lower cost
What I do

The connective tissue between the data and the decision.

Most organizations don't have a data problem — they have a clarity problem. I diagnose the gaps, build the frameworks, and align the people so decisions get made with confidence instead of guesswork.

Strategy & Operations

Enterprise ops strategy

Diagnosing organizational gaps and building the execution plan — KPI frameworks, governance, process design, and the operating cadence that turns plans into outcomes.

AI & Data

AI strategy & data platforms

Use-case prioritization, build-vs-buy analysis, and ROI criteria for AI adoption — grounded in a decade of designing the warehouses, pipelines, and analytics layers underneath.

Healthcare

Digital health & real-world evidence

From FDA-supporting evidence programs at Dexcom to member engagement strategy in digital health — deep fluency in the clinical, regulatory, and commercial sides of healthcare data.

Leadership

Teams that outgrow their leader

Building and mentoring data teams, brokering alignment across functions, and designing structures that run without their architect — because that's the point.

Selected work

Strategy you can measure.

A few programs I've owned end-to-end — from diagnosis through execution.

How I lead

I'm not looking for followers. I'm looking for authors.

A working philosophy, written down and lived out loud. Three of fourteen cards — the rest are worth the read.

Who I am

I build the conditions, then steer the ship.

Part servant, part transformational, fully an architect. The sharpest structure is the one that runs without its architect.

"I set the goal and the guardrails, then let the team choose the how. If I'm in every decision, I've designed it wrong."
Why it matters

Arbitrary authority wastes people.

When a decision comes down by rank instead of reason, capable people learn their judgment doesn't count — so they stop bringing it.

"'Because I said so' is a last resort, not a first one. If I can't name the reason, the decision isn't ready."
My mission

Make authorship contagious.

Surface the patterns most people miss and put what I know in the open — not to be relied on, but to dissolve the reliance.

"When someone asks me for the answer, I show them how I'd find it, then hand it back. Next time they won't need to ask."
Interactive

How data-mature is your organization?

Six questions. Two minutes. A framework built from a decade of diagnosing data organizations from the inside.

The Data Maturity Diagnostic

Answer six questions about how your organization actually operates — not how the org chart says it should — and find out where you sit on the five-stage maturity curve.

Writing & Research

Thinking, in public.

Peer-reviewed research, industry writing, and occasional notes on data, leadership, and healthcare.

How to work with me

Two ways in.

Whether you need a strategic partner in the room or a builder who can go hands-on, I work across both — as a leader, an advisor, or a fractional resource.

Track 01

Strategy & Advisory

For leaders who need clarity on where data and AI create real value — and a plan to get there. Data & AI strategy, operational and org design, KPI frameworks, and fractional analytics leadership.

Best for founders, operators, and executive teams.
Track 02

Technical & Hands-On

For teams that need someone who can actually build — not just advise on it. Data science, engineering & pipeline architecture, BI design, data quality systems, and AI/ML proofs-of-concept.

Best for teams needing senior delivery, freelance or embedded.

Explore consulting & leadership work.

I'm open to conversations about leadership roles, consulting engagements, and advisory work across data strategy, AI enablement, operations, and digital health.