Becoming an Effective Health Care Leader and Change Champion

Before Jorge M. Espinoza became head of the Healthineers Performance System – Americas at Siemens Healthineers, he was a teenager passionate about technology, health, and life sciences. Now, with more than two decades of international experience across diverse businesses and regions within the Siemens Group, Jorge continues to strive to become an even stronger health care leader. To further expand his leadership capabilities, particularly in driving transformation and business excellence in health care, he enrolled in the Global Health Care Leaders Program from Harvard Medical School.

What led you to this current role?

Throughout my career, primarily with the Siemens Group, I have spent over 13 years working in the MedTech industry. At this stage in my professional journey, my goal is to amplify my impact by leading and empowering a community of change-makers to drive the development of solutions that expand access to quality and affordable health care, addressing critical clinical, operational, and financial challenges in the health care sector.

What were you hoping to gain from the Global Health Care Leadership program? How did you choose this program?

I was seeking an executive development program that would update, challenge, broaden, and deepen my understanding of the health care industry—its economic and policy environment, current situation, transformation needs, risks, challenges, and opportunities through a global, international lens. Additionally, I wanted to enhance my ability to identify and effectively address key opportunities for action, and to collaboratively develop and implement impactful solutions.

Ultimately, I was looking for a program that would help me evolve into a more effective leader and change champion, with a focus on the health care sector. After evaluating different programs, the Global Health Care Leaders Program stood out as the best fit for me.

How was your experience during the program? What did you find most useful or interesting?

It has been an incredibly enriching and transformative journey from day one. Starting with the diverse and unique composition of the cohort, consisting of highly accomplished professionals and leaders representing every corner of the health care space. The relevant topics covered in each module, led by distinguished faculty and speakers—experts and leaders in their respective fields—not only provided state-of-the-art evidence but also fostered enriching discussions within the Global Health Care Leaders Program community.

The combination of the exceptional people, along with the program's structure and content, inevitably led to capstone projects that were masterpieces in their own right: innovative initiatives that challenge the status quo, covering topics ranging from next generation AI-powered medical devices, improved clinical trial recruitment with AI, to the launch of NGOs, all with a strong entrepreneurial and transformative component. In addition to the new connections and friendships forged throughout the program, the capstone projects from the cohort stand out as one of the program’s top highlights.

Are there any learnings from your Global Health Care Leaders Program experience that you’ve applied to your work?

Certainly. I’ve integrated the insights and learnings from the program into my leadership style and strategic perspective on our business, refining my unit’s plan accordingly. Without delving into specifics, here are a couple of examples: 1) we’ve enhanced our criteria for prioritizing projects and initiatives; and 2) I’ve broadened the focus to drive not only continuous improvement but also (digital) transformation, both internally within our company and externally with customers and key stakeholders.

Would you recommend this program to other health care professionals? If so, why?

I would highly recommend the program to professionals looking to expand their expertise in the global health care industry, stay at the forefront of health care transformation, and lead the way forward.