# Ikenna Okezie

> Ikenna Okezie is a Nigerian-American physician, operator, and co-founder and CEO of Somatus. After studying economics at Yale, earning an MD and MBA at Harvard, working at McKinsey and the Advisory Board Company, and leading a large regional business at DaVita, he started Somatus in 2016 around an earlier-intervention, value-based model. The company reported more than 500,000 patients under management across all 50 states and Washington, D.C. in 2025, ten years after Okezie had to overcome what he publicly described as his fear of starting a company.

- **Role:** Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Somatus
- **Organizations:** Somatus, DaVita, The Advisory Board Company, McKinsey & Company, The Aspen Institute, CMS ESKD Network 5
- **Nationality:** Nigerian-American
- **Education:** BA in Economics, cum laude, Yale University, MD, Harvard Medical School, MBA with honors, Harvard Business School
- **Known for:** Co-founded Somatus and expanded its care-management footprint to all 50 states and Washington, D.C., Led Somatus through a $325 million Series E financing at a valuation above $2.5 billion in 2022., Named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Mid-Atlantic Award winner.

## Career timeline

- **1994** — Graduated cum laude from Yale with a BA in Economics after captaining the wrestling team and receiving Yale's Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition.
- **1998** — Worked as a summer associate at Goldman Sachs while pursuing his joint medical and business education.
- **2000-2003** — Worked at McKinsey & Company, ultimately as an engagement manager.
- **2003-2008** — Served as a managing director at the Advisory Board Company.
- **2010-2015** — Held division and group vice president roles at DaVita, including responsibility for a roughly $1 billion regional business.
- **2011-2016** — Served for six years on the Medical Review Board of CMS ESKD Network 5.
- **2015** — Joined the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship.
- **2016** — Co-founded and launched Somatus around an integrated, value-based care model.
- **2020** — Named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year Mid-Atlantic Award winner.
- **2022** — Led Somatus through an oversubscribed $325 million Series E financing that valued the company above $2.5 billion.
- **2025** — Somatus reported more than 500,000 patients under management across all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
- **2026** — Marked Somatus's tenth anniversary and publicly said the company still had more work to do.

## Achievements

- Co-founded Somatus and expanded its care-management footprint to all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
- Led Somatus through a $325 million Series E financing at a valuation above $2.5 billion in 2022.
- Named an EY Entrepreneur Of The Year 2020 Mid-Atlantic Award winner.
- Selected for the inaugural class of the Aspen Institute Health Innovators Fellowship.
- Captained Yale's wrestling team and received Scholar-Athlete of the Year recognition in 1994.
- Earned an MD from Harvard Medical School, an MBA with honors from Harvard Business School, and a BA in Economics cum laude from Yale.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — The U.S. Mission in Nigeria publicly recognized Okezie's work as a Nigerian-American physician and entrepreneur.
- **2026-02** — Somatus marked ten years since its launch; Okezie thanked the company's patients, teammates, providers, customers, and investors and wrote that more work remained.
- **2025-10** — Somatus published results from a propensity-matched study of more than 165,000 patients evaluating its care model.
- **2025-07** — Somatus announced that it had surpassed 500,000 patients under management across all 50 states and Washington, D.C., with more than $14 billion in healthcare costs under management.

## Links

- Website: https://somatus.com
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ikennaokezie

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/ikenna-okezie
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-24