Robert Wilkie, Former VA Secretary, Joins Cogitativo Board of Directors

Distinguished Veteran brings deep strategic insight and operational excellence to support Berkely-based data science company's mission

BERKELEY, Calif., July 13, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Cogitativo, Inc. today announced that former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Robert Wilkie has joined the company's Board of Directors. As Secretary of the VA under President Donald J. Trump, Mr. Wilkie helped lead multiple nation-wide healthcare initiatives, including the White House Coronavirus Task Force. Established in early 2020, the task force provided critical guidance to the Trump administration to help monitor, contain, and mitigate the spread of COVID-19 in the US.

In addition to managing the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Wilkie helped launch and implement the VA MISSION Act. This important piece of bipartisan legislation established a new Veterans Community Care Program in 2019 that resulted in the expansion of access to critical services - allowing Veterans to see outside providers based on several factors, including the local availability of VA care.

"I am honored to serve on the board of directors at Cogitativo, a company whose innovative AI approach to precision health holds the promise of transforming access to healthcare," said Mr. Wilkie. "I'm particularly proud that Cogitativo is supporting our Veterans and their unique issues."

Earlier this year, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) deployed Cogitativo's machine learning solution called Visión. Using Visión, the VHA is working to identify Veterans within its healthcare network who are at greatest risk of experiencing advance disease progression, including diabetes, chronic kidney disease and arteriosclerosis progression.

Gary Velasquez, CEO of Cogitativo, welcomed Mr. Wilkie by saying, "This appointment supports Cogitativo's commitment to bring in experienced leaders to its Board of Directors. With Mr. Wilkie's additional insight and experience, we aim to help Veterans lead longer and more fulfilling lives."

Prior to his work at the VA, Mr. Wilkie served Secretary James Mattis as his Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness. As the Under Secretary, Mr. Wilkie was responsible for Total Force readiness (which includes active duty, National Guard, and reserve components) and led the Defense Health Agency.

In addition to these contributions, Mr. Wilkie has more than 20 years of federal service at the national and international levels. During the George W. Bush Administration, Mr. Wilkie served both Donald Rumsfeld and Robert Gates as Assistant Secretary of Defense from 2005–2009. Mr. Wilkie was also Special Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs and a senior director of the National Security Council under Dr. Condoleezza Rice.

Cogitativo is a Berkeley-based data science company founded in 2015 with a mission to create and implement innovative, scalable solutions to the most complex challenges facing the healthcare system. Leveraging machine learning, proprietary data sets and expertise from leaders with decades of experience working with public health agencies, Cogitativo can deliver actionable insights and save lives. To date, Cogitativo has successfully applied data science solutions to more than 200 unique operational challenges to significantly improve the efficiency of our healthcare systems and protect vulnerable patients and communities. Visit www.cogitativo.com for more information. 

Company Contact:  
Amy Domangue
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SOURCE Cogitativo, Inc.