Varnee Murugan
- Executive Director, Global Initiative on Health and the Economy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Varnee Murugan leads international health policy and the Global Initiative on Health and the Economy (GIHE) at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The GIHE is focused on identifying win-win policy solutions that both improve health outcomes and support commercial objectives for the private sector, ultimately driving long-term sustainability for health systems. Murugan champions public health, financing, access, and regulatory policies that enable companies to deliver investments and technologies that benefit people around the world.
Murugan’s career spans well over a decade across both U.S. and global health systems. Before joining the Chamber, she was a principal consultant at Kaiser Permanente’s (KP’s) national headquarters in California. There she led the development of enterprise-wide strategies to improve care delivery, access, and public health, working closely with the C-suite and other senior leaders across the organization.
Prior to KP, Murugan directed the Global Health Practice at Development Finance International where she managed a team across the U.S., India, and the Philippines. She supported leading health care companies in accelerating growth through collaborative partnerships with government leaders, NGOs, and donors in international markets.
Earlier, Murugan worked at Avalere Health, a consultancy focused at the intersection of U.S. health policy and business strategy; the World Health Organization in Geneva; and Cetero Research in clinical data management. She has co-authored publications on health systems strengthening and care coordination outcomes.
Murugan holds a Master of Public Health from Yale University and a Bachelor of Science from Queen’s University in Ontario, Canada. She resides in Bethesda, Maryland, with her husband and young daughter.
