With a career spanning over 28 years, including nearly two decades in academic medical centers in the United States, Ekta Vyas has cultivated a profound expertise in human resources and organizational leadership. Currently serving as the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) for Keck Medicine of USC, Ekta is responsible for developing and implementing HR strategies across the health system. In this capacity, she acts as the key executive liaison at Keck Medicine for significant strategic matters pertaining to talent and workforce strategies, solidifying her role as a vital part of the organization’s leadership. Her journey has included leadership roles at renowned institutions such as Stanford Health Care and Stanford Children’s Health, where she spent 14 years, as well as UC Davis Health, where she served as Deputy CHRO for a 15,000-employee health system before joining Keck Medicine of USC in July 2022.
Ekta’s educational background includes a Master of Science in Industrial-Organizational (IO) Psychology and a Doctorate in Organization and Management. These qualifications have equipped her with a unique ability to integrate evidence-based management practices with a comprehensive understanding of business operations, financial management, and organizational development. This dual focus enables her to bridge the gap between HR strategy and operational execution, enhancing her effectiveness as a scholar-practitioner in the field.
Throughout her career, Ekta has worked across every major HR function, advancing steadily in leadership roles. At Stanford, she rose from being a manager to an Executive Director and Executive HR Business Partner, gaining invaluable experience under the mentorship of industry-leading professionals. Her tenure at UC Davis Health saw her oversee HR strategy and operations for a comprehensive health system, including a medical center, ambulatory services, and both medical and nursing schools. Now, at Keck Medicine of USC, Ekta manages HR for a portfolio that includes four hospitals and numerous ambulatory locations.
Ekta’s leadership approach emphasizes innovation, evidence-based strategies, and organizational growth. Leveraging her expertise in I/O psychology, she focuses on driving workplace effectiveness and aligning HR practices with organizational goals. Her leadership philosophy is transformative, prioritizing collaboration, leading change with emotional intelligence, and aligning HR strategies with the broader mission of academic medicine. With a career marked by impactful contributions to leading healthcare institutions, Ekta remains dedicated to advancing the field of HR and fostering excellence in academic medical environments.
A Leading Health Enterprise
In her interview with the Business Leaders Magazine, Ekta stated that Keck Medicine of USC is the health enterprise of the University of Southern California, a distinguished academic medical institution. Academic medicine integrates world-class research, advanced technology, medical innovation, and clinical practice within a university-affiliated framework. Keck Medicine is dedicated to pioneering medical advancements while delivering exceptional patient care.
The health system comprises four hospitals, including two acute academic medical centers—Keck Medical Center and the Norris Cancer Center—and two community hospitals, Verdugo Hills Hospital and USC Arcadia. The latter was formerly the Methodist Hospital of Southern California before its acquisition in July 2022.
In addition to its hospital facilities, Keck Medicine operates more than 80 ambulatory locations and continues to expand ambitiously across Los Angeles. Its reach extends beyond California, with a clinic already established in Las Vegas and plans underway to open another in the area soon.
This unique combination of cutting-edge research, innovation, and clinical practice underscores Keck Medicine of USC’s commitment to advancing healthcare and serving diverse communities.
Attracting Talent Before the First Hire
According to Ekta, human resources is a multifaceted domain focused on optimizing an organization’s most vital asset: its people. She prefers the term “human capital” over “resource,” emphasizing the value and potential of talent. For Ekta, every stage of the employee lifecycle—spanning from hire to retire—is equally significant. Her approach underscores the importance of aligning HR strategies with organizational goals and creating a culture that attracts, develops, and retains top talent.
Ekta believes that the influence of HR begins well before a candidate becomes an employee. Employer branding plays a crucial role in how prospective candidates perceive an organization. Crafting an attractive employer brand, showcasing a strong culture, and aligning HR practices with organizational leadership are all pivotal in positioning the organization as a desirable workplace.
The journey of an employee begins with the talent acquisition process, where candidate experience sets the tone for their perception of the organization. Factors such as how employees are onboarded, the cultural alignment they experience, and whether their initial expectations as candidates match the reality, they experience are critical. Equally, competitive compensation, benefits, and value propositions are central to attracting and retaining talent.
Ekta highlights the importance of creating an environment that fosters professional growth and career development. Offering mentorship, development opportunities, and career pathways are essential components of employee engagement. Furthermore, understanding and addressing the unique needs of employees at different life stages—whether they are recent hires, mid-career professionals, or those nearing retirement—is vital for HR success.
Leadership preparation is another cornerstone of Ekta’s HR philosophy. Equipping leaders to effectively engage and guide the workforce ensures alignment between organizational goals and employee aspirations.
In the rapidly evolving healthcare industry, Ekta stresses the need for HR leaders to remain attuned to market trends and industry shifts. This adaptability enables the continuous evolution of HR strategies to meet both the needs of the workforce and the competitive demands of the market. By delivering effective HR programs and fostering workplace excellence, organizations can thrive in an ever-changing landscape.
Creating a Collaborative and Inclusive Culture for Team Success
Ekta reflects deeply on the dual journey of empowering herself as a leader and nurturing the potential of others. She takes pride in her investment in developing leadership capacity within her team, emphasizing that her career success is not just about her progress but also about elevating others. She highlights her ability to identify potential in people, which has been a cornerstone of her leadership style since her early days.
Ekta’s Philosophy of Empowerment
Empowerment Through Continuous Learning: A lifelong learner herself, Ekta believes that leaders must stay informed about evolving management practices, industry shifts, and new research. Her commitment to learning is reflected in her pursuit of certifications, adjunct teaching roles, and applying evidence-based management strategies in her work.
Developing Others’ Leadership: Ekta invests significant time and resources in the development of her team. She firmly believes in the significance of providing safe space for brainstorming and idea-sharing; implementing a tailored approach for coaching and mentoring those early in their careers, while encouraging collaborative co-leadership environment for seasoned leaders on her team. She emphasizes real-time learning and application by opening opportunities for all on her team:
Creating a Collaborative Culture: Ekta values co-creation and joint problem-solving, particularly with experienced team members. This approach ensures that every individual feels valued and empowered in their expertise.
Challenging the Team: Recognizing untapped potential, Ekta challenges her team to stretch beyond their comfort zones. She has successfully nurtured fresh graduates into senior leaders and partnered effectively with seasoned professionals.
Achievements in Empowerment: Ekta considers her ability to grow others into senior leadership roles a major career accomplishment. Her philosophy revolves around empowering herself to stay abreast of developments in the industry while ensuring her team members equally have the resources, confidence, and opportunities to achieve their full potential.
This balanced approach to self-development and team empowerment exemplifies a transformative leadership style that prioritizes mutual growth and innovation.
Navigating Leadership Myths
In Ekta’s perspective, emerging leaders today face a unique set of challenges, and several qualities need to be cultivated to help them grow into effective leaders. One of the most significant developmental areas that Ekta observes is in the realm of emotional intelligence. This has been an area of focus in her own research, and her TEDx talk in April 2024 centered on its importance in leadership. Emotional intelligence, which involves self-awareness, social awareness, and the ability to build strong relationships, is alarmingly declining according to current global research. This shortfall impacts a leader’s growth and effectiveness in significant ways and can hinder the ability to connect meaningfully with others, foster collaboration, and lead effectively in diverse settings.
Another challenge for emerging leaders, as Ekta sees it, is the overwhelming volume of prescriptive advice on leadership, much of which comes from social media. While social media offers access to valuable resources, it also spreads misinformation and unrealistic ideals about what leadership should look like. This creates an unnecessary burden on emerging leaders, making them feel as though they must be all-knowing, infallible, and the smartest person in every room. This misconception undermines what leadership is truly about—acknowledging limitations, learning from others, and recognizing that success often comes from leveraging the collective strengths of a team, and more importantly from leveraging failures as learning opportunities.
Many emerging leaders also display a strong sense of ambition but lack the patience needed to grow and learn along their leadership journey. There’s a rush to prove themselves, but, as Ekta believes, leadership isn’t about immediate results—it’s about lifelong learning. Leaders must embrace the journey, understanding that there isn’t a single recipe for success. Effective leadership requires adaptability, humility, and a willingness to evolve. Situational leadership is key because different circumstances, teams, and goals demand different approaches. There will be times when a leader must take charge decisively, and others when the best leadership is empowering the team and stepping back.
Ekta also emphasizes that leaders must focus on knowing themselves—both their strengths and weaknesses—and understanding how to build partnerships that amplify the potential of others. Leadership isn’t about being a hero; it’s about being a good corporate citizen who creates value by collaborating effectively with others. This requires cultivating self-awareness, being socially perceptive, and finding power in the diverse abilities of the team.
The overwhelming volume of leadership theories and case studies can make it seem as though there’s a formula to follow, but Ekta firmly believes that every leader’s journey is unique. What emerging leaders need is personalized mentorship that helps them identify and develop their strengths, acknowledge their areas for improvement, and adapt to the organizational and social settings they find themselves in. Leadership is not static; it’s an evolving skill set that requires curiosity, adaptability, and resilience.
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Ekta’s primary responsibilities as the Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) are broad and encompass the entire human resources program for the organization, including strategic planning, operationalizing HR initiatives, and overseeing the entire employee life cycle. She is responsible for the design and implementation of HR strategies for the system, which includes collaborating with various departments across the organization. While Ekta and her team craft and implement the overall HR strategy for the system, they also work closely with university HR partners, especially since certain HR programs, such as benefits administration and technology, are managed by the University of Southern California.
Her role involves significant cross-functional collaboration with departments like information technology, finance, and marketing and communications. As the system-level HR officer, Ekta partners with the CEOs and C-suite leaders at both the system and individual hospital levels, ensuring that HR strategies align with the overall growth and strategic goals of the organization. She recognizes the need to work closely with her HR leaders at different hospital entities and ambulatory locations, acknowledging their local realities and specific needs when managing talent and implementing HR programs.
Another critical part of Ekta’s role is managing labor relations, particularly due to the high level of unionized employees within the organization. She emphasizes the importance of maintaining strong relationships with the unions while ensuring that the organization complies with all state and federal labor laws. This legal framework and compliance are crucial to mitigating risks for the organization and ensuring that HR practices are both legally sound and in the best interest of the employees.
Additionally, Ekta and her team are deeply involved in influencing the organizational culture and climate through HR practices, leadership development, and employee development programs that drive the organization’s success. In her role, she also oversees the diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, working closely with her DEI officer to ensure that all HR programs are inclusive, equitable, and fair. This includes maintaining a balance between the system’s overarching identity and the local realities of each hospital entity and clinic location.
Balancing Experience with Future Growth Opportunities
When asked about her hiring approach, Ekta emphasized that she places a significant emphasis on potential rather than just experience. While she does value past achievements, she believes that a person’s potential is just as important—if not more so. She looks for candidates who can demonstrate what they are capable of doing in the future, not just what they’ve done in the past. For positions where extensive experience isn’t a requirement, she is open to coaching and investing in a candidate who shows promise. She shared that this approach has brought a lot of fulfillments to her in her career as she has purposefully created opportunities for fresh college grads on her team, trained and nurtured them to create successful careers for themselves. Her focus on employee does not deter her from hiring seasoned experienced leaders purposefully when stakes are high and extensive subject-matter expertise is crucially required.
What truly matters to Ekta is how a person will function as part of the team. She places a high premium on personality traits like collaboration, honesty, and integrity. A candidate’s ability to get along with others and contribute positively to team dynamics is crucial to her. Ekta values authenticity and looks for individuals who can own up to their mistakes and demonstrate a commitment to learning and growth. Ekta states that as a leader she is quite forgiving of operational errors but quite firm when it comes to the value system with which she leads. This has given her the honor and joy of creating highly engaged teams throughout her career.
Ekta also seeks value-driven leadership—candidates who lead with integrity, who are eager to learn, and who fit within the evolving culture of the organization. She notes that the concept of “cultural fit” has shifted significantly, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. While many organizations emphasize cultural fit, Ekta believes that cultures are constantly evolving, and a candidate who may seem like a perfect fit initially might not remain so over time. Therefore, she tries to strike a balance between assessing knowledge, experience, eagerness to learn, and how candidates interact with others.
Above all, Ekta values team players over individual “heroes.” She firmly believes that big achievements within an organization are the result of the collective efforts of many people, not just one individual. She looks for contributors who can collaborate, grow, and bring out the best in others, ultimately helping the team and the organization succeed.
Leading in Challenging Situations
When asked about jobs that have been risky undertakings, Ekta confessed that every leadership role she has taken in the past two decades had a risk component, particularly because of the required significant transformation in those roles. She has never stepped into a position where things were running perfectly or where the path to success was clearly laid out. In many cases, the positions were newly created due to a shift in the organization’s needs or a demand from clients to change the way work was being done. Her leadership efforts had to either focus on building new or a complete overhaul of existing practices and programs.
These roles, particularly those requiring large-scale transformations, came with immense risks because the likelihood of success was often just as uncertain as the potential for failure. Such roles are fraught with political and cultural challenges, especially when leading major transformations at senior leadership levels. As someone working in human resources, Ekta’s role often involves navigating these complexities, where the HR function isn’t always well-sponsored, supported, or funded compared to other areas such as finance or technology. Despite this, she willingly accepted these challenges, knowing full well that transforming HR functions would require significant effort, navigating obstacles, and sometimes facing brutal realities.
For Ekta, the risk has always been in taking on positions that needed complete transformations—whether from a service, cultural, or leadership perspective. Transforming these functions and demonstrating the importance of effective people leadership was never a guaranteed success. However, she embraced these challenges with determination, knowing the risk involved in stepping into leadership roles that required rebuilding and redefining the human resources function. In reflecting on her career, she sees every transformational role she has undertaken as a significant risk, but one that she has willingly accepted because of her commitment to improving the organizations and teams she leads.
The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Leadership Development
Ekta believes that stepping into leadership for the first time is a mix of many factors, but one of the most important is emotional intelligence (EI). She stresses that a new leader must develop deep self-awareness, as understanding oneself is the foundation of effective leadership. Leadership isn’t only about subject matter expertise; it’s about the ability to lead yourself and others. If a leader can’t manage their own emotions, they will struggle to manage others. Ekta argues that many issues in organizations—such as conflict, unresolved issues, and toxicity—stem from unchecked emotions. She emphasizes the importance of teaching emotional intelligence early, particularly in schools. Through her own experiences and observations, she has seen the lack of emotional intelligence in future business leaders, which she finds concerning. Emotional intelligence is a skill that can be learned, and its development is crucial for long-term leadership success.
For Ekta, the key to being an effective leader lies not in knowing all the answers but in how well one manages emotions, understands the social environment, and attunes to the feelings of others. These skills shape a leader’s judgment and decision-making, and this emotional awareness directly impacts leadership effectiveness. While being a subject matter expert might bring short-term success, it is emotional intelligence that will sustain long-term leadership effectiveness.
She distinguishes between successful and effective leadership, highlighting that success doesn’t necessarily always come with integrity or the right approach. Effective leadership, however, is about making a real impact and being influential. Ekta encourages new leaders to focus on being effective and impactful, rather than merely successful. She believes that if a leader is effective, success will follow naturally.
Rising Among the Best
Ekta is optimistic about the future of her organization, a young and ambitious health system. She acknowledges the impressive progress it has made over the past decade, highlighting its rise into the top 50 health systems in the nation and its strong performance in specialized areas. While she cannot predict the exact trajectory over the next five years, Ekta is confident that the organization will continue its growth and strengthen its position. She envisions the health system emerging even more powerful and sound, building on the momentum and success it has achieved in the last ten years.
