Professor Shafi Ahmed

Surgeon | Investor | Author | Futurist | Innovator | Entrepreneur | Humanitarian | Intnl Keynote Speaker

London, England, United Kingdom

About

My passion is for equitable, accessible, and affordable healthcare, using digital technologies to build impact and legacy for future generations. I am a disruptor and exponential thinker helping to reimagine, rethink and redesign healthcare. I am currently senior partner at Purpose Tech Capital, investing in early-stage health tech start-ups across Central and Eastern Europe . I was a Nobel Peace Prize nominee, 2020 for my humanitarian work in lower and middle income countries for a decade where I built surgical cancer capacity and surgical training. As a practising surgeon, I have over 30 years of experience working at The Royal London Hospital and in senior leadership positions in the NHS, as well as being a former member of the council at the Royal College of Surgeons of England, where I led the Global Health Programme and established collaborations with 50 overseas institutions. As a speaker and futurist, I have been described as a “storyteller in scrubs”. I am a 3x TEDx and an international keynote speaker, having delivered over 350 keynotes in 60 countries, from small, targeted leadership audiences to stadiums of 30,000 people. I am Professor of Strategic Innovation at Bolton University, Honorary Professor of Practice at UCL Global Business School for Health and Visiting Professor at Imperial College London. I tecah on exponential technologies, AI, future of healthcare, digital health, innovation, entrepreneurship and digital transformation. I lead the executive education programme for UCL Business School. I have also been faculty at Harvard Medical School and Singularity University. I was the Vodafone Connected Health Ambassador and have been a consultant advisor to many blue-chip companies, including Johnson & Johnson and PwC. I was advisor to the Abu Dhabi Ministry of Health to help deliver digital innovation and also an advisor to Abilitii and Ajlan Brothers, Saudi Arabia. As an innovator/serial entrepreneur, I have co-founded and built a number of companies from start up to exit. I founded the Webit Health summit in Bulgaria and co-founded the GIANT Health summit in London, bringing together a community of 350,000 innovators/entrepreneurs. I have been one of the top 20 global influencers in AI, digital health and innovation. I chair the International advisory board at Quadrivia, Aman Ventures and am a Non-Executive director of The Considered and HUM2N In 2018 I was awarded the Future NHS award for NHS70 by members of parliament. In 2017 I was the top British Asian star in Tech. I was also the British Bangladeshi of the Year 2017.

Experience

  • Senior Partner at PurposeTech
    Dec 2025 - Present · 7 mos

  • Chief Executive Officer at Medical XR
    Jan 2025 - Present · 1 yr 6 mos

  • Editor and Chief at Surgery International
    Mar 2026 - Present · 4 mos

  • Member Board of Directors at HUM2N
    Aug 2025 - Present · 11 mos

  • Chair of Global Clinical Advisory Board at Quadrivia AI
    Sep 2024 - Present · 1 yr 10 mos