Gradian Health Systems is a nonprofit medical technology company that works in partnership with healthcare providers to design and introduce user-centric solutions that address gaps in technology solutions, training, and customer service.

With innovations in anesthesia, critical care, and oxygen therapy, Gradian has enabled healthcare teams to provide high-quality, safe care to more than 2.2 million patients across Africa, Asia, and Latin America. Working in partnership with health facilities, national governments, global NGOs, and medical technology partners, Gradian is also revolutionizing the way that life-saving innovations are introduced by ensuring that healthcare providers are fully equipped to use their products with a hands-on training and reliable customer support model.

About Us

Our Team

Gradian has teams and offices in New York, USA; Nairobi, Kenya; and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

Executive Team

Lina Sayed

Chief Executive Officer

As Chief Executive Officer, Lina directs Gradian Health Systems’ business and strategic development, applying experience from more than 7 years in various leadership positions at Gradian and before then in the financial industry. Most recently, Lina served as Gradian’s Chief Operating Officer and focused on developing existing and new country markets, building local distribution networks, managing product sales, and overseeing training activities.

Lina’s career spans the global health and financial sectors. She spent several years working in JP Morgan Chase’s nonprofit/healthcare group and, more recently, consulted for several companies in the fields of diagnostics and maternal health, specifically focused on products designed for low-resource settings.

Lina has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from New York University.

David Ettl

Chief Operating Officer

As Chief Operating Officer, David oversees Gradian's day-to-day fulfillment of customer commitments across our more than 30 markets. With a focus on logistics, technical support services, and clinical training efforts, he works with staff across Gradian’s three offices in New York, Nairobi, and Dar es Salaam. He began his tenure at Gradian in 2016 by helping design our research philosophy, and continues to guide the company’s information management strategy.

Prior to Gradian, David spent 10 years working in global health, with a focus on research design, program management, and monitoring and evaluation. Most recently, he consulted for multinational pharmaceutical companies to support maternal health and non-communicable disease initiatives in Asia, Latin America, sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East.

David has lived and worked in both India and Tanzania. He holds an MPH from Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health and a bachelor's degree in Global Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

Kenneth Otieno

Managing Director for Africa

As Managing Director for Africa, Kenneth manages Gradian’s field service needs across the African continent. In this role, he works closely with Gradian’s network of biomedical technicians and engineers to support them with product training, service responses, and the technical understanding of Gradian’s products.

Prior to joining Gradian, Kenneth spent eleven years at Joint Medical Stores (JMS), a medical device distribution company in Kampala, Uganda, as their senior biomedical service engineer. Through JMS’s work distributing Gradian’s UAM, Kenneth became one of the world’s experts on the installation, maintenance, and servicing of the UAM and now brings that expertise to all of Gradian’s customers.

Kenneth holds a higher diploma in biomedical engineering and a certificate in anesthesia and x-ray equipment from the Mombasa Polytechnic University College in Kenya.

Business Strategy and Development

Nishitha Kulshreshtha

Vice President of Business Development and Sales

Passionate for driving social impact through sales, Nishitha leads Gradian’s sales across existing and new markets. He is responsible for building key markets for Gradian’s products by managing activities such as sales, marketing, distribution, and technical services.

Nishitha joined Gradian after seven years leading Artemis Life Sciences’ medical device business across Africa, most recently as the principal of Kas Medics, Ltd. Prior to this, he served various sales and management roles in the pharmaceutical industry in India, with companies such as Biocon, Ranbaxy and Sun Pharma.

Nishitha received a BSc degree from Agra University and a Master’s in Business Management from Sikkim Manipal University.

Sofia Stafford

Director of Market Strategy

As Director of Market Strategy, Sofia works across the Gradian team to drive the company's growth in existing markets and expansion into new markets. In this role, she focuses on building and managing relationships with local distributors, customers, partners, and governments; and supporting the development and implementation of country-specific programs.

Prior to Gradian, Sofia worked at USAID’s Center for Innovation and Impact, where she managed the Saving Lives at Birth Grand Challenge and supported the development, introduction, and scale up of a portfolio of more than 100 tools and approaches to address maternal and newborn health challenges. She has previously worked on youth programs and communications at Rise Up at the Public Health Institute and Girl Up at the UN Foundation.

Sofia holds a B.A. in Cultural Anthropology and Global Health, with a concentration in adolescent health from Duke University.

Anthony Githinji

Director of Business Development

As Gradian’s Director of Business Development, Anthony manages existing customer business implementation, support for our global clients, and creates new business opportunities around sales, service, and training in new markets. Based in Nairobi, Anthony collaborates across several teams to guide and support technical, training, and marketing operations.

Anthony has more than 20 years of experience and has worked as a biomedical engineer in various capacities in public health facilities, the private healthcare sector, social enterprises, and NGOs, including the Kenyatta National Hospital, Phillips Healthcare Technologies, GE Healthcare, MediQuip Global, Hewatele, and the Center for Public Health and Development.

Anthony has experience in establishing various types of health care units, such as operating rooms, critical care units, neonatal care units, and mother and child units. He has experience developing medical oxygen plants in collaboration with organizations, such as Assist International, GE Healthcare, Hewatele, the Rotary Club, and several others.

Anthony holds a diploma in electrical engineering, is certified in service support on several medical equipment delivery systems, and is currently pursuing a bachelor's degree in Project Planning and Management.

Ibrahim Bakari

Market Manager, Tanzania

Ibrahim manages Gradian’s broad portfolio of activities in Tanzania, including customer service, training, and monitoring and evaluation. As Gradian’s lead in-country staff member, he works closely to cultivate relationships with Gradian’s key stakeholders.

Ibrahim brings nearly a decade of experience working in multi-stakeholder engagement and operations. Before joining Gradian he worked on project development with the UN Global Program office in Tanzania and Geneva, Switzerland. Through his earlier work with the International Development Consultancy, Ibrahim worked with policymakers, community leaders and federal ministries to implement various development programs in Tanzania.

In 2016 Ibrahim was selected to be a member of the “Next Generation of Global Leaders” by Japan’s Cabinet Office (Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

Ibrahim holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Dodoma and a post-graduate diploma in Management of Foreign Relations and Diplomacy from the Centre for Foreign Relations in Dar es Salaam.

Riti Karnad

Strategy Consultant

Riti works with Gradian Health System's Executive team to define the organization's strategic goals and subsequently liaises with the relevant business development, operations, and finance teams at Gradian to support the planning and execution required to achieve these objectives.

Her prior experience spans strategy consulting, impact investing and social enterprise. She started her career spending several years with the Monitor Group in India and was a member of the Monitor Inclusive Markets practice during her stint there. While in business school, she worked on sourcing, due diligence and deal execution as part of the healthcare portfolio team at Acumen. More recently, she spent three years with the Emerging Markets team at BioLite, where her responsibilities included market strategy and scaling operations in East Africa and India.

Riti holds an MBA from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Economics from the University of Cambridge, and a B.A. in Economics from Lady Shri Ram College, Delhi University.

Product and Technical Support

Cullen Ross

Director of Product

Cullen serves as Gradian’s in-house technical lead, overseeing our product development, marketing, and technical support from factory to facility.

Before joining the Gradian team, Cullen worked to develop a number of novel medical devices and procedures, both in academia and in industry. He also has experience in international development, having helped start a hardware company in Ghana that creates food-processing tools for female entrepreneurs.

Cullen holds a bachelor's degree in Mechanical Engineering from Olin College of Engineering.

Derick Kamina

Technical Services Manager

Derick is Gradian's Technical Services Manager where he manages all technical operations, which includes service strategy and support, installation, preventive maintenance, field repairs, technical trainings, spare parts inventory management, and service data management. Based in our Kenya office, Derick works closely with Gradian-certified field technicians from across the globe.

Derick has worked with Gradian since 2013, initially as an independent biomedical engineer consultant. Prior to joining Gradian, he spent time in Uganda as a hospital technician with International Hospital Kampala, as a field service engineer with Faram EA Africa-Uganda, and a biomedical engineering consultant with Critical Care Solutions Uganda.

Derick holds a diploma in biomedical engineering from the Technical University of Mombasa and a bachelor’s degree in Biomedical Engineering from the IST University, Burkina Faso.

Praygod Lyimo

Senior Biomedical Engineer

As the Senior Biomedical Engineer, Praygod manages Gradian’s technical services across Tanzania. His role includes equipment installation and timely preventive and responsive support for Gradian's customers in Tanzania.

Praygod joined Gradian after four years working with Kas Medics Limited as a field service biomedical engineer and one year as a volunteer at the Kilimanjaro Christian Research Institute (KCRI) and Kilimanjaro Christian Medical Centre (KCMC) as their biomedical technician.

Praygod holds a diploma in electrical and biomedical engineering from Arusha Technical College and a certificate in IT from Mzumbe University.

Mohammed El Haj

Field Service Engineer

Mohammed serves as a Field Service Engineer at Gradian. Prior to joining Gradian, Mohammed was trained as a biomedical engineer at the Technical University of Mombasa, formerly known as Mombasa Polytechnic. After completing his degree in 2010 he went on to work for the leading Kenyan pharmaceutical company, Phillips Healthcare Technologies, as a Field Service Engineer.

In 2015, following his role at Phillips Healthcare Technologies, Mohammed transitioned to a role at Seven Seas Technologies to implement a nationwide project initiated by the Ministry of Health, to put in place infrastructure to support and also install radiology imaging equipment in hospitals. Prior to that, Mohammed worked at Mediquip Global as a Field Service Engineer.

Mohammed is also a proud father of three children.

Linda Nyamulo

Customer Service Associate

Linda Nyamulo serves as Gradian's Customer Service Associate. In this role, Linda helps support the repair and preventive maintenance of Gradian's products. She also assists with taking stock of Gradian’s products and spare parts and supports Salesforce data management.

Previously, Linda volunteered at Mombasa Hospital where she helped improve operations and address technical issues with medical equipment to ensure adequate patient care.

Linda graduated from the Technical University of Mombasa with degree in medical engineering.

Clinical Training

Magdalena Mwalimo

Director of Global Training

As Gradian's Director of Global Training, Magdalena leads Gradian’s training efforts to ensure our customers have the knowledge and support to safely and effectively use Gradian medical equipment to provide high-quality care. In the role, Magdalena engages with trainees and facility managers, Gradian’s network of clinical trainers, biomedical engineers and technicians, and a range of others to ensure trainings best support the evolving needs of our customers.

Prior to joining Gradian, Magdalena spent several years in project administration and monitoring and evaluation. She worked for multiple NGOs and a development consulting firm in Kenya, with a particular focus on projects in the finance sector.

Magdalena has a B.A. in Economics from the University of Nairobi. She is currently pursuing her M.A. in International Relations in Development Studies from the same university.

Ngajimah Hashim

Operations Coordinator

Ngajimah is the Operations Coordinator for Gradian in Tanzania. In this role, Ngajimah plays an important part in supporting the overall operations of training, customer care, and the monitoring and evaluation of our programs. Prior to joining Gradian, he served in various roles in the health and education sector, including as a public health officer.

Ngajimah holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Dar-es-Salaam.

Communications and Data Management

Mariam Khan

Senior Communications Manager

Mariam Khan serves as the Senior Communications Manager at Gradian.

Prior to joining Gradian, Mariam worked at Women Deliver and the UN Foundation. In these roles, Mariam worked on a wide range of initiatives that aimed to advance the progress made on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), including the Women Deliver Conference, the Clean Cooking Forum, the Youth Climate Summit, and the Global Engagement Summit. Mariam has worked closely with a wide range of partners including the Office of the UN Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

Mariam received her B.S. in Foreign Service from Georgetown University’s School of Foreign Service and is currently pursuing her M.A. in Refugee Protection and Forced Migration Studies from the University of London.

Ali Sayed

Senior Data Strategy Manager

As Senior Data Strategy Manager, Ali oversees Gradian's information management systems. This allows Gradian to synthesize all customer and equipment information to isolate relevant insights to business activities. This includes a specific focus on data that allows for more effective customer service, support, and training.

Additionally, Ali serves as a strategic partner to the COO to support system and platform updates that create efficiencies in managing information. This includes managing systems that provide reporting and oversight for logistics, sales, inventory, and finance.

Prior to Gradian, Ali worked in finance and at a retail start-up. He attended Pace University for Business Administration.

Finance

Hongmei Cao

Director of Finance

As the Director of Finance, Hongmei oversees all aspects of accounting functions at Gradian Health Systems across our global operations. Recently, she helped establish Gradian’s finance team in Kenya and implemented local financial reporting systems. Hongmei is leading the finance teams in streamlining accounting policies and procedures to support Gradian’s rapidly growing global business.

Hongmei brings more than 20 years of accounting experience to Gradian from a variety of industry sectors and companies, including the private, nonprofit, and healthcare sectors and companies such as AIG Life Insurance Company of Canada.

Hongmei is a CPA and has a bachelor’s degree in Business Accounting and Information Technology from the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology in Canada.

Robin Miller

Accounts Payable Manager

As the Accounts Payable Manager, Robin is responsible for overseeing the monitoring, processing, and recording of Gradian's payments to global trainers, consultants, vendors, and suppliers. Robin collaborates with employees throughout the organization to enhance Gradian’s internal processes and brings over 10 years of experience into her role.

Prior to joining Gradian, Robin worked at NYU-Langone as an accounts payable-supplier data analyst in the finance risk management department where she managed inventory related inquiries. She was responsible for creating data definitions, validating data, retrieving data from systems, merging data from multiple sources, participating or reviewing documentation, report configuration, and coordinating projects.

Robin attended New York University’s School of Professional Studies for Leadership and Management, under the Paul McGhee program. She holds an A.S. in Business and Finance and was nominated to attend the Student Life Conference on Capitol Hill to discuss pressing issues in finance & business in 2007.

Sylvia Wangui

Finance Manager

As Finance Manager, Sylvia is responsible for providing financial expertise to our Kenya office, evaluating & advising on financial reports, overseeing financial transactions, and accounting processes.

She brings 10 years of finance experience, having previously worked in the public sector with logistics and security entities and most recently in the nonprofit space.

Sylvia is a CPA (K) and holds a Bachelor of Commerce in Finance from Kenyatta University.

Patience Lumumba

Finance and Administration Associate

Patience is Gradian’s Finance and Administration Associate based in our Nairobi office.

In her role, Patience supports in-office trainings, remote partner outreach, vendor management, event oversight, financial and accounts support, bookkeeping, and general office maintenance.

She holds a bachelor’s degree in Finance, Investments, and Real Estate and is currently pursuing her CPA.

Logistics and Administration

Nicole Lund

Logistics Manager

As Logistics Manager, Nicole oversees equipment, supplier, and travel logistics at Gradian, and previously worked with Gradian as a consultant for two years.

Nicole has worked in the music, travel, and corporate meeting planning industries and holds a B.S. in Music Industry Studies with a concentration in voice and communications. She continues to perform with her band in Asheville, North Carolina, USA.

Haleigh Newman

Operations Manager

As Operations Manager, Haleigh supports all day-to-day operations in Gradian’s New York office and provides administrative support across our teams.

Haleigh has a background in elementary education and events coordination. Prior to joining Gradian, she was a first grade teacher and director of a children's cooking camp.

Haleigh holds a B.A. in English from the University of Mississippi.

Everlyne Akinya

Office Manager

Everlyn serves as Gradian's Office Manager for Gradian's Nairobi Office.

Prior to joining Gradian, Everlyne worked at Kayole Model School before starting her own cleaning services firm.

Our Board

James H. Simons, Ph.D.

James H. Simons, Ph.D., is the founder of Renaissance Technologies and a member of the board. Prior to his financial career, Dr. Simons served as chairman of the mathematics department at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, taught mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, and was a cryptanalyst at the Institute for Defense Analyses in Princeton, New Jersey. Dr. Simons’ scientific work was in geometry and topology; his most influential work involved the discovery and application of certain measurements, now called Chern-Simons invariants, which have had wide use, particularly in theoretical physics. Dr. Simons holds a B.S. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley and won the American Mathematical Society’s Veblen Prize for his work in geometry in 1975. He is a trustee of the Stony Brook Foundation, Rockefeller University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Brookhaven National Laboratory, the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute and the Institute for Advanced Study, and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Philosophical Society.

Marilyn H. Simons, Ph.D.

Marilyn Hawrys Simons is a co-founder of the Simons Foundation, an organization whose primary mission is to support advanced research in mathematics and science. In addition to her work at the foundation, Ms. Simons actively supports numerous not-for-profit organizations. She is currently a board member of the LearningSpring School, a New York City based school for children diagnosed on the autism spectrum. Ms. Simons is also on the board of the East Harlem Scholars Academies and is serving as the Chairman of the Board of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, an outstanding research facility specializing in molecular biology and genetics. She received a B.A. and Ph.D. in Economics from S.U.N.Y. at Stony Brook.

David Ellis Acker

David founded several medical device companies including Biosense, which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 1997. He was also the inventor of the core miniature location sensing technology around which the company’s three cardiology and image-guided surgery product lines were based. David is the recipient of 32 US Patents for medical devices in the fields of Cardiac and Neurosurgical minimally invasive surgery. He Vice Chairs the Stony Brook Foundation, serves on the Stony Brook University Medical Center Quality Assessment Review Board, serves on the board of the Long Island High Technology Incubator and is the owner of Harmony Vineyards. David holds a B.S. from Stony Brook University and an honorary doctorate from the same institution.

Dr. Nils Daulaire

Dr. Daulaire has an accomplished career as a global health practitioner and policy maker with over three decades of primary health and health policy experience in Africa, Nepal, Asia and Latin America where he directed multiple pioneering maternal and child heath research projects.  He was Deputy Assistant Administrator for Policy and Senior International Health Advisor for USAID, President and CEO of the Global Health Council, and served in the Obama administration as Assistant Secretary of Health for Global Affairs and as the US representative to the Executive Board of the World Health Organization.  Dr. Daulaire has been elected as a member of the U.S. National Academy of Medicine and the Council on Foreign Relations.  He has been Professor of Global Health at the University of Washington and Professor of Community and Family Medicine at Dartmouth.  Nils earned his BA and MD degrees from Harvard University and an MPH from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health and is Board certified in Preventive Medicine and Public Health.

Marina Shmoukler

Marina Shmoukler is the Chief Financial Officer at Foundation for a Just Society. In this role, she oversees and ensures the fiscal and administrative integrity of the Foundation and its subsidiaries with total assets of $1.25B.

Marina brings extensive management and financial oversight experience from working for over two decades in the nonprofit and business sectors. Prior to joining Foundation for a Just Society, she was the Vice President of Finance and Administration at Concern Worldwide US, an affiliate of Ireland’s largest aid and humanitarian agency. Marina previously held senior posts at American Jewish World Service, Delta Private Equity Partners, and the US-Russia Investment Fund. She earned a master’s degree in business administration from the Zicklin School of Business and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from Lviv State Polytechnic University in Ukraine.

Lina Sayed

Chief Executive Officer

As Chief Executive Officer, Lina directs Gradian Health Systems’ business and strategic development, applying experience from more than 7 years in various leadership positions at Gradian and before then in the financial industry. Most recently, Lina served as Gradian’s Chief Operating Officer and focused on developing existing and new country markets, building local distribution networks, managing product sales, and overseeing training activities.

Lina’s career spans the global health and financial sectors. She spent several years working in JP Morgan Chase’s nonprofit/healthcare group and, more recently, consulted for several companies in the fields of diagnostics and maternal health, specifically focused on products designed for low-resource settings.

Lina has an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management and a B.A. in Journalism and Mass Communications from New York University.

Careers

We’re always interested in hearing from talented applicants passionate about global health and medical technology. Let us know if you’re one of them.

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Media Hub

Over the years, Gradian has been highlighted in a range of news stories and journal articles. We’ve also amassed a library of video footage and photography showcasing our work in action.

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