Zain Ismail is a seasoned health innovator, strategist, and intrapreneur, leading innovation in health systems in Canada, the United States, and East Africa. Drawing on his background in and affinity for hospitality, Zain is on a mission to humanize the health system through innovation by implementing novel practices into the health system to improve the patient experience and deliver value.

Before joining AVIA, Zain was a Principal Transformation Consultant at Henry Ford Health System (HFHS), a 7 billion-dollar integrated delivery system headquartered in Detroit, Michigan. He partners with HFHS’s executive and senior leadership to develop and execute enterprise-wide strategic initiatives in digital health, retail health, primary care, specialty service line growth, and talent.

Zain is called upon when organizations need structure and a frame to highly ambiguous and future-facing, cross-functional strategies that require creativity, foresight, and a bend for understanding consumer insights.

Through the COVID-19 pandemic, Zain led an agile team to stand-up inpatient surge units. He developed and marketed new products and services to support Henry Ford’s retail clients. Lastly, Zain was appointed as Section Chief of Planning and Strategy for Henry Ford’s vaccine deployment incident command. He is responsible for planning, finance, staffing, and emergency management.