Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center Hires First Chief Digital Officer

The New York City-based Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) has named Claus Torp Jensen, Ph.D.—a former executive at CVS Health and Aetna—as the organization’s first chief digital officer and head of technology.

At CVS Health and Aetna, Dr. Jensen served as chief technology officer and head of architecture, leading technology innovation, business transformation incubation, architecture planning and design, and digital integration, according to MSK officials who made the hiring announcement on Oct. 14. 

Prior to CVS Health and Aetna, Jensen served in various technical leadership roles at IBM and Danske Bank. A native of Denmark, he has authored numerous publications and holds 14 patents around integration, APIs, and transformation.

The chief digital officer has become an emerging and fast-growing executive role in healthcare, as hospitals and health systems are looking for a key leader to manage overall digital strategy and the consumers’ digital experience.

In his new role, Jensen will oversee the integration of data and technology resources across MSK and develop the data and digital platforms that will enable MSK to meet critical patient care and research objectives. He will also direct the operations of MSK’s departments of information systems, health informatics, and data products, as well as other core components of MSK’s information technology ecosystem, comprising some 800 employees.

Reporting to MSK’s chief operating officer,  Jensen will work closely with leaders across MSK to design, create, and optimize digital solutions that will benefit patients, researchers, clinicians, and administrators, officials said.

“Claus brings more than 20 years of experience leading large-scale transformation across different industries to the role of chief digital officer, and we are excited to welcome him to MSK,” said Kathryn Martin, chief operating officer at MSK. “Under his leadership, this critical work will better enable us to meet patients’ expectations for more convenient, personalized, and affordable care. It will also support us in changing how we work across the enterprise by creating greater data integration and computing power, easing administrative burden, and facilitating more-efficient workflows.”