/ /

Alex Azar

24th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services

Brings extensive healthcare experience at the senior most levels of the U.S. government and the private sector to offer audience members a unique perspective
Trusted advisor who spoke to President Trump almost daily during his tenure at HHS, who speaks with clarity on the reality of what changes to expect in the realm of healthcare policy and effects on the healthcare industry
With experience in the pharmaceutical, health insurance, and provider industries and in government, Azar offers unparalleled insight into navigating complex organizations, driving innovation, and leading teams through times of crisis

Play Video View Fees Add to List

Check Fees & Availability

Subscribe to the Circuit: The latest speakers and stories in the news.

Alex Azar has extensive healthcare experience in the senior-most levels of the U.S. government and the private sector that gives him a unique perspective and background. He has committed his professional career to protecting and enhancing the health of all Americans.

Azar served as the 24th Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2018-2021), leading over 85,000 employees with a budget of over $1.4 trillion, the largest budget of any cabinet department on Earth. He was the architect of Operation Warp Speed, delivering COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics in record time. He led the historic transformation of the healthcare system in the United States and HHS’s response to the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic. He drove U.S. Government efforts to tackle the opioid crisis, increase private insurance options, bring transparency of price and quality information to healthcare, expand telehealth, give patients ownership of their health records and make those records interoperable and transportable, enable healthcare provider collaborative care models, remove regulatory barriers to low-cost, high-quality care, transform payment systems to pay for health and outcomes rather than sickness and procedures, reduce drug prices, and transform kidney care for the first time in almost 50 years. Azar also led key public health initiatives such as banning flavored e-cigarettes, reducing youth tobacco use by nearly one-third in one year and youth e-cigarette use by 54% in three years, creating and implementing the program to end the HIV epidemic in America in 10 years, preparing for and responding to public health threats, crafting the first rural health initiative to improve access and quality of care, and launching a program to reduce dramatically maternal mortality. Azar has played significant roles on the global health stage, leading many of the U.S.’s global health security efforts, representing the U.S. in the World Health Assembly, working with the WHO to end Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, chairing the most active G7 health ministerial in history in 2020, and convening and leading western hemisphere coordinated efforts to assist with the Venezuelan refugee crisis.

Azar served for five years (2012-2017) as president of Lilly USA, LLC, the largest affiliate of global biopharmaceutical leader Eli Lilly and Company, producing over $10 billion in revenue (2016). Azar previously was vice president of Lilly’s U.S. Managed Healthcare Services and Puerto Rico from 2009-2011. He joined Lilly in 2007 as senior vice president of corporate affairs and communications.

Before his tenure at Lilly, Azar was the Deputy Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2005-2007), where he was the number two official and chief operating officer. From 2001-2005, he served HHS as General Counsel.

Azar earned a bachelor’s degree summa cum laude in government and economics from Dartmouth College in 1988, and a law degree from Yale University in 1991. After law school, he clerked for Associate Justice Antonin Scalia on the Supreme Court of the United States.

Secretary Azar is currently an advisor to Foresite Capital, sits on several corporate boards and advisory boards, is a part-time Adjunct Professor of Business and Senior Executive-in-Residence at the University of Miami Herbert Business School and is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Aspen Institute, the Aspen Institute’s Health Strategy Group, the Stanford University School of Medicine Department of Health Policy Advisory Board, the American Task Force On Lebanon’s Policy Advisory Board, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Future of Health Care Advisory Group, the advisory board of the National Institute for Healthcare Management Foundation, and the Healthcare Leadership Council. Azar previously served on the boards of HMS Holdings Corporation (NASDAQ: HMSY), the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), the Healthcare Leadership Council, the National Association of Manufacturers, the Indianapolis Airport Authority, the American Council on Germany, and the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra.

Speaker Video

Where We've Been and Where We're Going

Operation Warp Speed

load more videos

Healthcare in America: A Former HHS Secretary’s Perspective on the Road Ahead.

As Secretary of Health and Human Services during the first Trump administration, Alex Azar was at the helm of some of the most transformative healthcare policies in modern U.S. history. With a front-row seat to the inner workings of government, Azar played a pivotal role in reshaping the healthcare system, placing patients at the center and driving initiatives that cut costs, improved quality, and enhanced transparency. In this compelling talk, Azar offers a behind-the-scenes look at the strategies, challenges, and victories of reforming U.S. healthcare.

He shares his unique perspective on how the Trump administration approached healthcare policy, including the resistance and obstacles he faced internally and externally, and the strategies he employed to overcome them. Azar also offers valuable insights into how the healthcare landscape continues to evolve under new administrations and what that means for patients, providers, and policymakers. From price transparency and deregulation to patient-centric care models and payment reform, Azar provides an insider’s understanding of the healthcare revolution he helped set in motion and its enduring implications for the future.

Leading Through Change: Purpose-Driven Leadership in Action.

With extensive experience in both government and the private sector, Alex Azar offers a unique perspective on purpose-driven leadership. In this talk, Azar explains how aligning mission, vision, strategy, and values helps create high-performing teams that thrive in times of adversity. Drawing from his tenure as HHS Secretary during the first Trump administration, he shares how purpose-driven leadership guided the U.S. response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including modernizing public health data systems, reinventing the Strategic National Stockpile, and launching Operation Warp Speed to deliver vaccines in record time.

Azar also reflects on leading Eli Lilly through major disruptions, focusing on building resilience and fostering innovation during challenging times. He provides key insights into how effective leadership can empower teams to embrace change and achieve ambitious goals, even when faced with uncertainty. Through these examples, Azar demonstrates how purpose-driven leadership drives organizational success and lasting, positive impact.

Managing Crises on a Global Stage: Leadership in Public Health.

During his tenure as Secretary of Health and Human Services under the first Trump administration, Alex Azar was at the helm of some of the most complex and high-stakes public health challenges in modern history. He offers an inside look at the global response to the COVID-19 pandemic, including his leadership of the G7 health ministerial, and recounts the successful containment of an Ebola outbreak in Central Africa. Azar shares his role in addressing the Venezuelan refugee crisis, his efforts to reduce youth tobacco use, and his leadership in launching a historic campaign to end the HIV epidemic in America. Through these stories, Azar provides a compelling narrative of the complexities, successes, and lessons learned from managing global and domestic public health crises.

Leading at Warp Speed: Insights for Business Leaders from a Historic Initiative.

As the architect of Operation Warp Speed and Secretary of Health and Human Services during the first Trump Administration, Alex Azar blends pharmaceutical expertise and government experience. In this talk, he reveals how his knowledge of drug development, pandemic preparedness, and medical countermeasures helped him co-chair the largest and most successful biomedical development initiative in history, delivering COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics in record time.

Azar shares the inside story of how OWS came to be, drawing on his HHS tenure to explain how cross-agency collaboration and an unprecedented partnership with the Department of Defense led to rapid vaccine development and distribution. He also offers key lessons for business leaders on executing the "impossible," from overcoming challenges and breaking down silos to creating a unified vision and driving extraordinary results.