In this concise 7‑minute interview, Professor Pete Alexander hosts Dr. Arup Roy‑Burman, former ICU medical director at UCSF Children’s Hospital and co‑founder/CEO of Elemental Health. Dr. Roy‑Burman explains that Elemental Health helps frontline healthcare teams stay aligned amid rapidly changing practices, a need amplified by the COVID‑19 pandemic. He highlights the rewarding nature of healthcare work, emphasizing its global impact and the gratitude for frontline heroes. Discussing work‑life balance, he reflects on the challenges of juggling research, teaching, and family in academia, which led him to transition to a clinical‑focused business role that prioritizes both his company and family. He recommends fellow physician‑entrepreneurs Andrew Trese (Agathos), Sophia Yen (Pandia Health), and Andrew Hill (LiftEd) as future podcast guests. His core advice to business leaders is to listen to customers, shifting from a top‑down “old power” model to a collaborative “new power” where frontline users co‑create content and drive growth. He shares his first job selling clothes in a high‑school shop, drawing a parallel between early frontline sales experience and the importance of front‑line staff in any business. The episode concludes with contact information for Elemental Health (www.elementalhealth.com) and Dr. Roy‑Burman's LinkedIn profile, followed by the host’s promotion of the podcast’s distribution channels.
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This is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast, where business leaders share their insights. It is 6 questions in 7 minutes because successful business leaders are busy and rarely have more time to spare. So let's get to it. Question number 1: In a few sentences, please tell me who you are and what you do.
Hey, I'm Dr. Arup Roy Burman, former medical director of the ICU at UCSF Children's. I am now co-founder and CEO of Elemental Health. What we do is help get frontline teams on the same page with rapidly changing practices, and we're hitting that hard right now with COVID so that they can provide safer care and keep themselves secure.
Dr. Roy Berman, it's a pleasure to have you on the show. Question number 2: What's the best thing about working in your industry?
It's healthcare. It's about helping people. And that healthcare touches every one of us across the globe, and we're feeling it more than ever right now. You see how people are looking at our frontline heroes out there right now, and to be helping these people do their lives, do their jobs better and make their lives better is tremendously gratifying.
I can see, hear it in your words, and I can completely appreciate that work. Question number 3, I hear from other business leaders that staying in a good work-life balance them and their team members is a challenge. What's your thoughts?
Uh, it absolutely is a challenge, and I would stretch that not just to business, but from the world that I came from in academia. People think sometimes that academia is easy, but it's not. And when you look at a high-powered institution like UCSF, where I came from, you've got research, you've got teaching, and oh, I got family too. And honestly, To my satisfaction, I've never seen anybody balance all 3 of those good enough. I mean, people have different definitions, but to my end, no. And that's what actually had me leaving academic medicine, coming into focus on clinical and focusing on family. And now what do I do? I focus on my business and I focus on my family. Keeping that balance is essential to give you longevity through your career.
And so if, if I'm understanding you correctly, it's also about, uh, Having the right priorities.
Absolutely.
Excellent. Question number 4: What other successful business leaders like yourself should be on my podcast?
A couple people come to mind. Andrew Trese, who is the CEO of Agathos. Sophia Yen, she's another physician entrepreneur. She is the CEO of Pandia Health. And finally, Andrew Hill. He is the CEO of LiftEd.
Great, thank you for those referrals. I'll reach out to them. Question number 5: What insight or advice would you like to give to other business leaders?
This applies across the board, whether you're in healthcare or not. Listen to your customers. Ask them what they want. You know, we're moving from a world that was traditional old power where everything would flow top-down and the consumer or the end user would be a passive recipient of information. But we're now moving to one of new power where those people on the front lines are important. It's not just about consumption, but it's about them to be able to rate content, to share content, to be able to produce content, to be able to contribute to that ecosystem. If you engage them, you will build a living business one that will grow and thrive.
That is very insightful. Thank you for sharing that. And question number 6: Please tell me about your first job.
My first job was while I was in high school. It was at this place called the Adorable Shop and the Prep Shop. It had two names because it had two sides. There was the boy side and the girl side, and it was for little kids up to high school. And, um, you know, I came in here to sell clothes. And I thought, hey, I'm this, you know, straight-A student, and this is something very different. And it wasn't easy. And I got a whole new appreciation for, you know, that front lines— whether you're in sales or you're in healthcare, the people who actually touch the buyer are so important. And it's something that us, as we grow up in management, need to always remember because it's those people who make our businesses succeed.
And you know, it's, it's always amazing to me, these first jobs that gets like, like you say, how much you learn and you can appreciate what, what happens to those people as you expand and get better, you know, higher up in your career. So this is just another example of that.
Absolutely. It takes a team.
It does. It does. So Dr. Roy Berman, thank you so much for being on the show. How can people find you?
They can find me at our company, www.elementalhealth.com. That's E-L-E-M-E-N-O Health. Or alternatively, you can find me on LinkedIn.
Great. And this is Professor Pete Alexander with the Winning at Business and Life podcast. For more insights and ideas, please go to LinkedIn, YouTube, Facebook, or iTunes and search for the Winning at Business and Life podcast. Thanks for listening.
