Bhavdeep Singh is a Managing Partner at Whitehawk Associates LLC, an independent management consultancy specializing in Retail, Human Resources, Leadership and Healthcare. Singh is also Chairman and co-founder of HealthQuarters, a new destination for curated and clinically-backed health and wellness services in downtown New York City.
Previously, Singh has built an international reputation for leadership and innovation in multiple roles around the world. As CEO of Fortis Healthcare, where he served twice as Chief Executive Officer, he and his colleagues focused on driving patient care. Prior to his initial stint at Fortis, Mr. Singh was the CEO at Reliance Retail in India and was at the helm when Reliance opened up more than 700 new stores in less than two years.
Bhavdeep Singh, before joining Fortis, was with Ahold, a 26 billion-dollar Dutch international retailer. At Ahold, he had complete P&L oversight for 800 stores and 110,000 employees. He was with the company for almost five years and served on the company’s executive board. While there, he was Executive Vice President of Human Resources and then went on to head Ahold’s United States operations and new formats business.
Singh attended Pace University and completed several certified courses in Leadership and Executive Management from premier institutions such as the Harvard Business School, Cornell University, University of Hartford, Dial Institute of Management, and St. Joe’s University in the United States.
As Bhavdeep Singh looks ahead, it is clear that the past two years have underscored the value of prevention and having access to exceptional services and healthcare providers is critical for today’s communities.
With that in mind, he and the rest of the team at Whitehawk Associates is focused on partnering with other stakeholders in the healthcare ecosystem to continue to support a better healthcare platform for all.
Tell us about how you joined Fortis Healthcare?
One day I got a call from a recruiter to be the CEO of a healthcare company, and I was almost sure it was the wrong number. ‘You’ve got the wrong Singh,’ I said. But the recruiter persisted, ‘No, no, no, wait a minute and hear me out,” he said. “The Board is looking for somebody who understands multi-unit brand and customer care and can apply those principles to patient care.’ I then engaged with the organization for a few months and grew increasingly interested in the role and opportunity to make a difference. After giving it a great deal of thought, I thought to myself, ‘Let me just try it. This may be interesting and I assume this will be a great opportunity to learn about healthcare.’
It was interesting because, during the first couple of months, I was completely lost. I had no idea what was going on. Absolutely clueless. I was convinced that my time as CEO would come to an end at any time. But I persevered, and I spent a lot of time understanding and studying medicine, studying and understanding healthcare. I spoke to doctors, nurses, and other professionals to better understand what were the pain points in healthcare and how could we, as an organization, improve things?
And that’s exactly what we did.
From January 2009 to January 2011, during my time there, Fortis was one of the fastest growing health care providers in the region and the organization was growing quickly adding hospitals and beds all the while, focusing on improving clinical outcomes and driving great patient care.
Apart from growth, at Fortis, Singh led a strong push towards bringing great patient care to every patient in every hospital, every single day. Singh and the great team at Fortis Healthcare played a key role in helping India become a healthier nation.
How were you able to successfully make the transition from retail to healthcare?
I learned quickly that being patient-centric and customer-centric isn’t all that different after all. People want to be treated well, and they want to be treated with respect. They want to know that the people they connect with are competent, know what they’re doing and care about them. They also want value.
In healthcare, the idea is to make what otherwise is a challenging, frustrating, and sometimes painful experience for people into something where people are comfortable, respected, and walk out saying, ‘Well, that wasn’t so bad. The hospital has great doctors and nurses and everyone took great care of me. Most importantly, I think they know what they’re doing, and I feel better about it.’
What is HealthQuarters?
HealthQuarters brings together top medical providers and clinically-backed wellness services in locations that provide connected, seamless, and comprehensive health services. With that as a backdrop, HealthQuarters is redefining health as one unified experience, with the goal to make staying healthy easier and more intuitive than ever before.
In collaboration with local healthcare systems, clinical care will be provided by doctors and includes a range of specialties such as primary care, gynecology, and dermatology. Our focus goes beyond traditional medical specialties, and HealthQuarters practitioners will independently provide services that holistically complement those provided by medical doctors such as acupuncture, nutrition counseling, and mental health.
The flagship NoHo location is a three-story, 14,000 square-foot facility staffed by knowledgeable staff with a dedicated employee lounge, contactless check-in, modern exam rooms, and a spacious guest lounge.
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