Ron Gutman

Ron Gutman is an American entrepreneur, innovator, investor, advisor, and Stanford adjunct professor. He has been influential in the health-tech space and his efforts in making healthcare more personal and accessible have saved numerous lives and helped millions of people worldwide.

Gutman is a serial entrepreneur who studied at Stanford University as a graduate student. In 2018, he started conducting research in preparation for a Stanford University class he taught in April 2020 on Leading Through Change. Studying some of the most accomplished leaders and luminaries in business, healthcare, and social change who generated impact and change at a global scale, Gutman and his collaborator in Stanford created the foundation for a new leadership theory called Sapient Leadership. The findings were published in the Harvard Business Review (HBR) under What it Takes to Lead Through Exponential Change. This new vision of leadership is now known as Sapient Leadership and is designed to better equip leaders to navigate unprecedented kinds of change. A Sapient Leader is characterized by being wise, sagacious, and discerning.

As the leader of Intrivo, a global healthcare technology company, Gutman has made a significant impact in the industry. He has founded and served as CEO of HealthTap, the market-leading virtual healthcare provider in the US, as well as Wellsphere, an online consumer health company that grew to become one of the largest health websites on the Internet, serving more than a hundred million people. Ron's philosophy is deeply rooted in his mission to make healthcare accessible to everyone. To this end, he established On/Go for Good, the charitable arm of Intrivo, to support those most in need, particularly groups who may not be able to afford treatment or lack adequate health insurance.

Gutman frequently speaks at technology and health conferences. As an active TED speaker and a top-selling author, Gutman shares that while science teaches us to think, love teaches us to smile. He is a published best-selling book author, Smile: The Astonishing Powers of a Simple Act and his TED Talk, The Hidden Power of Smiling, has been viewed over 6 million times and translated into over 50 languages.

Gutman has spent his career helping us understand the power of a simple smile while also creating breakthrough innovations in healthcare that helped hundreds of millions of people worldwide and saved tens of thousands of lives. In his new writings on human welfare, Gutman shares how smiling can transform one's life and the lives of many others by creating and spreading joy, hope, and a feeling of abundance.