Yogesh Rajkotia
ThinkWell
Yogesh Rajkotia, PhD is a social entrepreneur and global health expert. Currently, he serves as the Founder and Chairman of ThinkWell, an organization dedicated to improving health systems around the world. With a career spanning over two decades, Yogesh has become known for his entrepreneurial skills and his ability to innovate and drive change in the global health sector.
While serving as the CEO of ThinkWell for 11 years, Dr. Rajkotia built a $20 million/year global enterprise that worked in over 50 countries, attracted over 150 top-flight employees, and established 13 permanent offices across Africa, Asia, Europe and US. A prolific fundraiser, he secured funding from a wide range of sources including USAID, BMGF, WHO, World Bank, ADB AfDB, UNICEF, bi-lateral aid agencies, and industry. Under his leadership, ThinkWell secured brand eminence as a disruptive, creative, innovative leader in health systems development. He credits these successes to his relentless focus on ‘hard coding’ the company’s culture and values of compassion, creativity, questioning everything, ‘thinking big’, and being authentic.
Prior to founding ThinkWell, Dr. Rajkotia provided leadership to USAID’s global health systems strengthening efforts as a senior advisor and team leader, where he oversaw the Agency’s $45 million health portfolio in Rwanda and its $125M global Health Systems 20/20 program. He has also consulted for many organizations including WHO, GAVI, World Bank, and industry.
Throughout his career, Dr. Rajkotia has advised governments in countries across Africa, Asia, and Latin America on issues ranging from health financing and governance to health workforce development and service delivery. His experience working inside both governments and industry have given him a unique understanding of the complexities and challenges involved in improving health systems at the national and sub-national levels.
Dr. Rajkotia is a sought-after and skilled public speaker with extensive experience presenting to high-profile audiences on complex global health issues. Known for his ability to articulate complex concepts clearly and effectively to diverse audiences, his presentations are marked by his passion, expertise, and dedication to inspiring improvements in health and well-being.
Yogesh holds a Master’s degree in Health Policy, Planning and Financing from the London School of Economics, and a PhD in Health Systems from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.