Daniel Pink
#1 New York Times Bestselling Author of Drive & To Sell Is Human | Authority on Motivation, Timing & Human Behavior | Thinkers50 Top-10 Business Thinker
Atul Gawande
Harvard Surgeon, Public Health Leader & New Yorker Writer | Bestselling Author of Being Mortal & The Checklist Manifesto | MacArthur 'Genius' Fellow | Founder of Ariadne Labs
Atul Gawande is one of the most influential voices in medicine, a Harvard surgeon, public health leader, and longtime New Yorker writer whose bestsellers, including Being Mortal and The Checklist Manifesto, have shaped how the world thinks about care and safety. A MacArthur 'Genius' Fellow who founded Ariadne Labs and led global health at USAID, he shows audiences how simple ideas can save lives and transform even the most complex systems.
Want to book Atul Gawande as a speaker for your event? Please provide the info below and we’ll get in touch within 24h:
Atul Gawande biography
Healthcare speaker Atul Gawande is one of the most influential figures in modern medicine, a rare person who has shaped healthcare as a surgeon, a scientist, a writer, and a public-health leader all at once. A practicing surgeon at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, he is also one of the most celebrated medical writers of his generation, whose books and New Yorker essays have changed how millions of people think about care, safety, and what matters most in life.
Gawande is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal, each of which reframed a fundamental question in medicine. The Checklist Manifesto showed how a tool as simple as a checklist could dramatically reduce errors in surgery and other high-stakes fields, an insight now applied far beyond medicine, while Being Mortal transformed the global conversation about aging, end-of-life care, and living well until the end. A staff writer for The New Yorker since 1998, he has won two National Magazine Awards and the Lewis Thomas Prize for science writing.
From the Operating Room to Global Health
Beyond his writing, Gawande has spent his career trying to make care better at scale. He is the founder and chair of Ariadne Labs, a center for health-systems innovation, and of Lifebox, a nonprofit making surgery safer worldwide, and from 2018 to 2020 he served as CEO of Haven, the Amazon, Berkshire Hathaway, and JPMorgan Chase healthcare venture. From 2022 to 2025 he led global health as Assistant Administrator at the US Agency for International Development. A MacArthur Fellow and member of the National Academy of Medicine, he was educated at Stanford, Oxford, and Harvard.
As a speaker, Atul Gawande is thoughtful, humane, and genuinely inspiring, weaving vivid stories from the operating room with big ideas about performance, systems, and human care. He speaks on improving quality and safety in complex organizations, the power of simple tools like checklists and coaching, innovation in healthcare, and how we can do better by the people we serve, in medicine and in any field. Audiences leave moved by his storytelling and equipped with practical, evidence-based ideas for reducing failure and delivering better outcomes.
Atul Gawande Speaking Videos
How do we heal medicine? | Atul Gawande
Want to get great at something? Get a coach | Atul Gawande
Atul Gawande Keynote Topics
In one of the most influential ideas in modern management, Atul Gawande showed that a tool as humble as a checklist could cut surgical deaths and complications dramatically, and that the same principle applies far beyond medicine, in aviation, construction, finance, and business. In this keynote, he explains why even the most skilled experts fail under complexity, and how simple, disciplined tools can reduce error, improve teamwork, and deliver more consistent results. A powerful, practical talk for any organization operating in high-stakes, complex environments.
Drawing on his book Better, Gawande explores what separates good performance from truly great performance in demanding, high-pressure fields. He shares the qualities and disciplines, diligence, doing right, and ingenuity, that allow individuals and teams to keep improving even when the work is hard and the stakes are high. Illustrated with unforgettable real-world stories, it is an inspiring, deeply human keynote about the relentless pursuit of excellence, relevant to leaders and professionals in any industry.
Atul Gawande's landmark bestseller Being Mortal changed the global conversation about aging, serious illness, and the end of life. In this moving keynote, he explores how modern medicine and society too often focus on prolonging life at the expense of living well, and what it means to align care with what truly matters to people. Profound and deeply humane, it is a vital talk for healthcare leaders, and for anyone grappling with how we care for one another.
From founding Ariadne Labs to leading global health at USAID, Atul Gawande has spent his career trying to make care safer and better at scale. In this keynote, he shares what he has learned about driving real, measurable improvement in massive, complex systems: how to spot what works, spread it, and overcome the barriers that keep good ideas from reaching the people who need them. A visionary yet grounded talk on innovation, quality, and leadership, in healthcare and any large organization.
Speaker topics
FAQs on Booking Atul Gawande
Why Atul Gawande?
Booking Atul Gawande brings audiences one of the most respected and beloved thinkers in medicine, and one of the finest storytellers on any stage. A Harvard surgeon, public-health leader, and author of four New York Times bestsellers, he has the rare ability to turn complex ideas about performance, safety, and human care into vivid, unforgettable insights that apply far beyond healthcare. His work on checklists reshaped management thinking across industries, and Being Mortal changed how the world talks about aging and care. Thoughtful, humane, and deeply inspiring, he is ideal for events on healthcare, leadership, quality and safety, innovation, and the human side of high performance. To bring Atul Gawande to your next event, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
Who is Atul Gawande?
Atul Gawande is an American surgeon, writer, and public-health leader widely regarded as one of the most influential voices in modern medicine. He is a surgeon at Brigham and Women's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, and has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1998. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, Complications, Better, The Checklist Manifesto, and Being Mortal, and the recipient of a MacArthur "Genius" Fellowship. He co-founded and chairs Ariadne Labs, a center for health-systems innovation, and Lifebox, a nonprofit making surgery safer globally, was CEO of the healthcare venture Haven, and served as Assistant Administrator for Global Health at USAID from 2022 to 2025. He is a member of the National Academy of Medicine.
What are The Checklist Manifesto and Being Mortal about?
The Checklist Manifesto (2009) grew out of Atul Gawande's work developing a surgical safety checklist that, in a landmark study, cut deaths and complications by nearly half. The book argues that in an era of overwhelming complexity, even the most brilliant experts fail, and that simple, disciplined tools like checklists can prevent avoidable mistakes in fields from surgery to aviation to business. Being Mortal: Medicine and What Matters in the End (2014) examines how modern medicine handles aging, serious illness, and death, arguing that the medical system too often prioritizes survival over quality of life. Deeply personal and widely acclaimed, it reshaped conversations about end-of-life care worldwide. Both books became international bestsellers and are among the most influential works on medicine and human systems of the past two decades.
What topics does healthcare speaker Atul Gawande cover?
Atul Gawande speaks on quality and safety in complex systems (the ideas behind The Checklist Manifesto), achieving excellence in high-stakes performance, aging and end-of-life care (from Being Mortal), and innovation and improvement in healthcare and other large organizations. His keynotes suit events on healthcare, leadership, quality and safety, innovation, and management, and resonate far beyond medicine. To book Atul Gawande as a speaker, contact Aurum Speakers Bureau.
How to book Atul Gawande as a keynote speaker?
Aurum Speakers Bureau can help you book Atul Gawande as a speaker for your next event, conference, or board meeting. Simply fill out our contact form to inquire about Atul Gawande's availability for a speaking engagement. One of our booking agents will respond to your request immediately and contact the speaker to let them know you want to hire them. We will assist you with obtaining speaking fees, booking information, and confirming availability for Atul Gawande or any other top keynote speaker or celebrity of your choice.
How much is Atul Gawande speaking fee?
Atul Gawande speaking fees are determined by several factors, including the event's date, whether it's a virtual or in-person event, the duration, format, preparation required for their speech, and more. The same applies to the cost to hire any other top expert speakers and celebrities. The Speaker Fee Range listed on our website is simply a guideline and is subject to change without notice. If you would like to hire Atul Gawande to deliver a keynote speech for your event, please fill out the contact form or email us at info@aurumbureau.com with as much detail as possible. One of our experienced agents will get in touch with you and let you know exactly how much it will cost to book Atul Gawande.
How can I contact Atul Gawande?
We only work with Atul Gawande on paid speaking engagements. Aurum Speakers Bureau can assist you in booking Atul Gawande and will handle all negotiations, contracts, and logistics associated with having Atul Gawande speak at your event. We will be your sole point of contact throughout the process. Get in touch with Aurum Speakers Bureau today, and we will reach out to any motivational speaker or celebrity you want to enquire about speaking at your event. If you wish to contact Atul Gawande for any other reason, we will be unable to assist you as we are not authorized to provide personal contact information.
Can I book Atul Gawande for a virtual keynote?
Yes, Atul Gawande is available for virtual keynotes and webinars. To book Atul Gawande for a virtual event, please complete the contact form or send us an email to inquire about the special fees for virtual engagements.
