Global health improvement leader, and IHI’s first executive appointment from outside the United States, steps into permanent role

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) today announced the appointment of Amar Shah, MBBS, FRCPsych, LLM, MA, MBA, MBE, as permanent Chief Scientific Officer (CSO). Dr. Shah brings deep expertise in improvement science, international health system leadership, and a proven track record of applying IHI’s methods at scale. He is a respected and familiar figure across IHI’s global network of partners, customers, and faculty.

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Dr. Amar Shah joins the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) as its Chief Scientific Officer.

Dr. Shah has served as IHI’s Interim CSO since July 2026, providing leadership and continuity for the organization’s science and innovation teams during a period of transition. Following a competitive executive search, IHI selected Dr. Shah as its permanent Chief Scientific Officer.

“Amar combines deep expertise in improvement science with an international perspective shaped by years of leadership across complex health systems,” said Sylvia Trent-Adams, PhD, RN, President and CEO of IHI. “He has spent his career helping health systems turn evidence into meaningful results, and his leadership will help ensure that IHI continues to innovate, learn, and drive improvement in partnership with communities around the world.”

A Milestone for IHI’s Global Mission

Dr. Shah’s appointment marks a significant milestone for IHI. As the organization’s first executive appointment from outside the United States, he brings an international perspective that reflects the global communities and health systems IHI serves. His appointment underscores IHI’s commitment to building leadership that mirrors the global reach of its mission, partnerships, and impact.

Dr. Shah was previously the National Clinical Director for Improvement at NHS England, where he led large-scale improvement across one of the world’s most complex healthcare systems. He spent over a decade as Chief Quality Officer at East London NHS Foundation Trust — widely recognized across the NHS for its innovative approach to quality — where he applied IHI’s frameworks to drive measurable improvement for patients, local communities, and staff.

He has served as Chair of IHI’s Scientific Advisory Group and as a long-time IHI faculty member, and is a prolific author and speaker on improvement science, quality management, and health system transformation. He brings scientific rigor, field-tested credibility, and an international perspective that spans health systems across the UK and beyond.

“The science of improvement has taught us a great deal, but the translation of that knowledge into the hands of those who need it most remains the defining challenge,” said Dr. Shah. “The problems health systems face today are outpacing the solutions we have. IHI has the credibility, relationships, and methods to shape what improvement science itself becomes — to push the boundaries of evidence, innovation, and application in ways that reach more people, more equitably, than ever before.”

Leading IHI’s Scientific Agenda

As CSO, Dr. Shah will lead the development of IHI’s multi-year scientific agenda, establishing enterprise-wide standards for large-scale improvement programs that deliver results. He will oversee IHI’s Improvement Science Hub, including the innovation system, and formalize IHI’s Product Development and Management System, bringing greater discipline to how IHI prioritizes, builds, and scales its offerings. He will also strengthen how evidence is generated, applied, and shared across IHI’s programs, products, and global partnerships.

Dr. Shah’s permanent appointment, alongside Dr. Ronald Wyatt as IHI’s Chief Medical Officer, cements IHI’s sustained clinical and scientific leadership at the executive level — positioning the organization to advance solutions that are both scientifically rigorous and aligned with realities at the point of care.

“My career has been shaped by my introduction to IHI’s methods,” said Dr. Shah. “The last 15 years have been focused on learning, and supporting others to learn, how to apply these tested approaches to a variety of settings, and at increasing levels of scale. There are still so many opportunities to advance quality and safety, and to tackle inequities in quality of care, in partnership with our communities and service users. IHI is uniquely positioned not only to teach what is known, but to drive continued discovery and learning in the field of improvement science. That is the future of IHI I am here to help build.”

About the Institute for Healthcare Improvement

The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) is a leading, globally recognized not-for-profit healthcare improvement organization that has been applying evidence-based quality improvement methods to meet current and future healthcare challenges for more than 30 years. IHI provides millions of people in healthcare with methods, tools, and resources to make care better, safer, and more equitable; convenes experts to enable knowledge sharing and peer-learning; and advises health systems and hospitals of all sizes in improving their systems and outcomes at scale. IHI’s mission is to innovate and lead transformational improvement in health and healthcare worldwide.

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