# Brian Miller

> Brian Miller is the CEO of Sovato, the Santa Barbara company building the first platform to let health systems deploy and scale remote robotic surgery. An electrical engineer turned roboticist with a PhD from Northwestern in haptics, he spent his first job at Computer Motion writing software for the AESOP and ZEUS robots and watched the 2001 Operation Lindbergh, the first transatlantic remote surgery. Twenty-three years at Intuitive Surgical followed, where he rose from control-systems analyst to Chief Digital Officer and Head of Digital and AI Strategy. In April 2026 he returned to the frontier he started on, taking Sovato from early market development toward its first patient programs in 2027.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer at Sovato
- **Organizations:** Sovato, Intuitive Surgical, Computer Motion
- **Nationality:** American
- **Education:** BS, Electrical and Computer Engineering, Iowa State University, MS and PhD, Mechanical Engineering (haptic interfaces and robotics), Northwestern University, Advanced Management Program, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Led digital transformation at Intuitive Surgical as EVP and Chief Digital Officer and Head of Digital and AI Strategy., Holds patents spanning tele-robotic motion control, 3D telestration, adaptive video streaming, and virtual-reality simulation for surgeon training., Helped develop software for AESOP and ZEUS, among the first FDA-cleared surgical robots.

## Career timeline

- **2000** — Joined Computer Motion as a software engineer, developing software for the AESOP and ZEUS robotic surgical systems.
- **2001** — Observed Operation Lindbergh, the first transatlantic remote surgery, performed with Computer Motion's ZEUS system.
- **2003** — Joined Intuitive Surgical when it acquired Computer Motion; began as a control-systems analyst.
- **2003-2026** — Rose through Intuitive roles: director of engineering (simulation and networking), director of advanced development, VP of system engineering, SVP and GM of systems, imaging and digital, EVP and Chief Digital Officer, and Head of Digital and AI Strategy.
- **2026** — Appointed CEO of Sovato on April 7, 2026, to scale remote robotic surgery.
- **2026** — Delivered a keynote at DeviceTalks Boston on May 28, 2026.
- **2027** — Sovato plans to launch its first remote procedure programs with health system partners.

## Achievements

- Led digital transformation at Intuitive Surgical as EVP and Chief Digital Officer and Head of Digital and AI Strategy.
- Holds patents spanning tele-robotic motion control, 3D telestration, adaptive video streaming, and virtual-reality simulation for surgeon training.
- Helped develop software for AESOP and ZEUS, among the first FDA-cleared surgical robots.
- Named CEO of Sovato in April 2026 following the company's $41M Series B round.
- Keynote speaker at DeviceTalks Boston 2026 on the future of surgical robotics.

## Latest updates

- **2026-04** — Appointed Chief Executive Officer of Sovato; co-founder Cynthia Perazzo transitioned to President.
- **2026-05** — Delivered a keynote on the future of surgical robotics at DeviceTalks Boston.
- **2025-11** — Sovato closed a $41M Series B to advance its remote robotic surgery platform ahead of Miller's arrival.

## Links

- Website: https://sovato.com
- LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/brian-miller-phd

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/brian-miller
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-07-01