# John Reites

> John Reites is the co-founder and chief executive officer of THREAD, a clinical research technology and consulting company focused on decentralized trials, eCOA and patient engagement. After entering the field through an interview he was told was only practice, he spent more than 14 years at Quintiles, moved from entry-level operations into digital health leadership, co-founded THREAD in 2016 and remained with the business after its 2019 acquisition. His work also includes three issued US patents, an executive-in-residence role at Duke University and the independent Inclusion Criteria podcast.

- **Role:** Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer at THREAD
- **Organizations:** THREAD, Quintiles, Duke University Master of Management in Clinical Informatics, Inclusion Criteria: a Clinical Research podcast, Clinical Research Evolved
- **Known for:** Co-founded THREAD in 2016 and continued leading the company after its 2019 acquisition., Named as an inventor on three issued US patents for systems and methods used to build intuitive clinical trial applications., Served for more than eight years as an executive in residence supporting Duke University's Master of Management in Clinical Informatics program.

## Career timeline

- **2002** — Joined Quintiles in an entry-level clinical operations role after an interview that had been presented to him as practice.
- **2002-2016** — Spent more than 14 years at Quintiles, progressing through clinical operations, direct-to-patient research and digital health leadership.
- **2015** — Worked on digital research initiatives connected with the first eight Apple ResearchKit studies.
- **2016** — Became a clinical research entrepreneur and co-founded THREAD.
- **2017** — Filed the first patent in a family covering systems and methods for building intuitive clinical trial applications.
- **2019** — THREAD was acquired by JLL Partners and Water Street Healthcare Partners; Reites continued with the company.
- **2019-2024** — Three US patents in the clinical trial application family were issued, in 2019, 2023 and 2024.
- **2021** — Was shortlisted for the Christine Pierre Clinical Trials Lifetime Achievement Award.
- **2025** — Launched and began hosting Inclusion Criteria, an independent clinical research podcast.
- **2026** — Continued as THREAD's chief executive while publishing and hosting discussions about patient insights and practical AI in clinical research.

## Achievements

- Co-founded THREAD in 2016 and continued leading the company after its 2019 acquisition.
- Named as an inventor on three issued US patents for systems and methods used to build intuitive clinical trial applications.
- Served for more than eight years as an executive in residence supporting Duke University's Master of Management in Clinical Informatics program.
- Spoke at more than 100 global events over 12-plus years, including SXSW, CES, Apple and AWS re:Invent, according to his personal biography.
- Was listed among Onalytica's Top 100 digital health influencers in 2016.
- Was shortlisted for the 2021 Christine Pierre Clinical Trials Lifetime Achievement Award.
- Created and hosts Inclusion Criteria, an independent clinical research podcast.

## Latest updates

- **2026-07** — Published an article arguing that direct patient insights can differentiate CRO clinical-trial design offerings.
- **2026-07** — THREAD launched an adaptive trials solution for basket, umbrella and multi-arm study designs under his leadership.
- **2026-04** — Published reflections on practical artificial intelligence in clinical research and on AI-moderated qualitative interviews.
- **2026-03** — THREAD introduced an AI Moderator for real-time qualitative interviews with research stakeholders.
- **2026-03** — Released podcast and written material focused on the human element in clinical research.

## Links

- Website: https://www.johnreites.com/
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnreites
- YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@JohnReites
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/john.reites/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/john-reites
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-08-26