Roberta Levy Schwartz

Roberta L. Schwartz is the executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital — one of the founding institutions of the Texas Medical Center — and the chief innovation officer of Houston Methodist. As executive vice president of Houston Methodist Hospital, Dr. Schwartz oversees all operations at the 1,020-bed hospital, which U.S. News & World Report named the No. 1 hospital in Texas for 14 straight years. The publication also listed Houston Methodist Hospital on its prestigious Honor Roll nine times. The hospital employs more than 3,000 medical staff and 8,000 employees. Dr. Schwartz also participates in the strategic direction of the nine-hospital system and has oversight of multiple system departments, including information technology, pharmacy and laboratory.

As chief innovation officer, Dr. Schwartz is responsible for advancing and expanding Houston Methodist’s digital innovation platforms, including telemedicine, artificial intelligence and big data. Dr. Schwartz is the founder and leader of the Center for Innovation, which impacts all aspects of the organization, focusing on improving the patient and physician experience and operational efficiencies through innovation. With Dr. Schwartz at the helm of the Center for Innovation, Houston Methodist has been named to Fortune magazine's list of America’s Most Innovative Companies for the past three years.

Prior to joining Houston Methodist, Dr. Schwartz worked as the director of business development for the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York. She was also a consultant and project manager for several academic medical centers for APM/Computer Sciences Corp. and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services.

Dr. Schwartz earned a master’s degree in health science from Johns Hopkins University and an honors undergraduate degree from Barnard College at Columbia University. She has a Ph.D. from UTHealth Houston School of Public Health.

Dr. Schwartz is nationally recognized for her professional and nonprofit work. She was recognized by Modern Healthcare’s Top 25 Women Leaders as one of its “10 Women to Watch.” She is involved in many nonprofit organizations, such as LifeGift, the Robert M. Beren Academy, United Orthodox Synagogues and the Young Survival Coalition.