There’s now a COO for the Amazon-Berkshire-JPM initiative

The yet-unnamed Amazon-Berkshire Hathaway-J.P. Morgan healthcare venture has selected Jack Stoddard, who previously was Comcast's general manager of digital health, as its chief operating officer.

Shortly after Dr. Atul Gawande was tapped as CEO for the yet-unnamed Amazon-Berkshire Hathaway-J.P. Morgan healthcare venture, the groups have found a chief operating officer: Jack Stoddard, according to a CNBC report.

Sources told the publication his first day was September 4.

“We are very pleased to welcome Jack Stoddard to our team,” a spokesperson said, according to CNBC. “He will serve as the chief operating officer of the organization going forward.”

Per his LinkedIn, Stoddard comes to the Amazon-Berkshire-JPM project from Comcast, where he was general manager of digital health. He also previously served as COO and chief strategy officer of Accolade, a company tackling the employee healthcare benefits space through its personalized tech solution. Stoddard spent three years with UnitedHealth Group as well.

Additionally, he serves as an advisor to BehaveCare, a care coordination company geared toward Medicaid patients, and on the board of directors of Carrot, a digital health business with a smoking cessation platform.

The collaborative project between Amazon, Berkshire and JPM was first announced in late January.

Headquartered in Boston, the venture itself is still surrounded by a number of question marks. What we do know is that it will initially focus on tech solutions that will help the three companies’ U.S. employees and their families with healthcare. A press release also noted it will function as “an independent entity that is free from profit-making incentives and constraints.”

News of Gawande’s appointment to CEO surfaced in late June, and he started his role on July 9. As both a surgeon and author, he has been outspoken about topics such as wasteful healthcare spending, unnecessary care amping up costs and the slow pace of innovation in healthcare.

Photo: cnythzl, Getty Images

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