Jamaica’s Dr. David Walcott has been tapped to serve on the advisory board of the world’s first health-focused business school. The Global Business School for Health at University College in London is dedicated to health and health care management. Walcott is the only advisor of African descent and the youngest person on the external board for the United Kingdom-based school. He was appointed to the board on the basis of his successes in health care services, medical education, and health innovation in Latin America and the Caribbean. Nora Colton, the director of the new institution, expressed her delight at having Dr. Walcott on the board as it will benefit from his experience and expertise.
Dr. Walcott said he was honored to be on a team that comprises the world’s top experts in health care and is excited to help the pioneering institution to address the challenges to health care access through strategic partnerships and innovative leadership. He noted that the school was established by University College London in response to the worldwide need for improvements in health care management that have been highlighted during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic.
Building on University College London’s rating as the fourth-highest ranked university in the UK, the new institution is already having an impact through its unique course offerings. Students in the program study hybrid business and health care modules, rather than the traditionally rigid health care selections offered at general business schools. This will fuel more entrepreneurial efforts and lead to positive changes within the world’s health systems, Dr. Walcott believes.
Dr. Walcott graduated from Campion College and the University of the West Indies. He worked at Kingston Public Hospital prior to obtaining a master’s degree in immunology at the University of Oxford. He also earned a Ph.D. in clinical medicine at Oxford and has a mini-MBA from INSTEAD and the Harvard Business School. In 2021, the World Economic Forum named Dr. Walcott a Young Global Leader. He was also recognized in the first class of 11 Healthcare Innovation Fellows by Rock Health, one of the largest health care innovation groups in the world.
Dr. Walcott is the founder of Novamed, a health care firm established in 2018 to help improve health care services, education, and innovation in the Caribbean region. He also speaks six languages, a talent that has allowed him to engage effectively in health care sectors around the world.
