Gopal Khanna

Appointed in May 2017, Director Gopal Khanna leads AHRQ's efforts to meet the Agency's mission of producing evidence to make health care safer, higher quality, more accessible, equitable, and affordable, and working within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and with other Federal, State, and local partners to make sure that the evidence is understood and used.

Mr. Khanna possesses a wealth of public-sector experience in Federal and State Government and specializes in data-driven strategies to improve organizational performance. He came to AHRQ from Illinois, where he was director of the FRAMEWORK Project that developed the vision for Illinois' Healthcare and Human Services Innovation Incubator (HHSi2), an initiative of Governor Bruce Rauner. Mr. Khanna led a cross-functional team to design the build out of a secure data platform to provide a 360-degree view of each person and family who receives state services.

Earlier, Mr. Khanna was a member of Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty's Cabinet and the State's first chief information officer. Prior to that, he served in the second Bush Administration in a number of senior policy positions, including chief information officer and chief financial officer for the Peace Corps, and chief financial officer of the Executive Office of the President's Office of Administration.

Before Government service, Mr. Khanna held a variety of executive positions in the insurance industry. His private sector background also includes leadership positions in information technology, finance, operations, strategic planning, business development, consulting, and start-up ventures.

Mr. Khanna earned a bachelor's degree in economics, mathematics, and political science from Christ Church College in Kanpur, India, and a master's of business administration from the University of Maine. Mr. Khanna served as president of the National Association of State CIOs from 2008 to 2009.

He is a recipient of the prestigious 2018 FedHealthIT 100 Award and has been recognized for his innovative and transformational work in government in publications including Computerworld, Government Technology, Information Week and Twin Cities Business. Mr. Khanna was also named as a Doer, Dreamer, and Driver in Government Technology's listing of Top 25 public sector innovators.

Page last reviewed December 2017
Page originally created May 2017

Internet Citation: Gopal Khanna. Content last reviewed December 2017. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, Rockville, MD. http://www.ahrq.gov/cpi/centers/od/khanna-bio.html