Grant Jeffery
Chief Executive Officer, MD ONBOARD
Grant Jeffery, Chief Executive Officer of MD ONBOARD, has had a highly successful international career spanning 3 decades. After graduating from the Australian Defence Force Academy as an Airforce Officer with a degree in Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Grant served in multiple roles throughout his military career and corporate career developing products and services. He holds a patent in Aviation Operational Performance Management.
Growing up in Tasmania, Australia, Grant’s formative years were spent in Launceston, attending public high school before attaining a scholarship to attend the Defence Academy. The Defence provided great experience in leadership and training. Grant also worked with the USAF in California, as well as attending the US Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD, to study GPS Satellite Systems.
Grant worked with Qantas and British Airways as well as American Airlines in the field of Inflight Entertainment, launching successful product lines for Panasonic Avionics while based in California.
Drawing on this technology management experience, Grant led a global telehealth business in aviation and maritime, successfully launching new products and services, and expanding markets. During his eight years as Global CEO and then President of MedAire, Grant expanded and globalized the business to become the leading company in its category.
He then went on to lead the global business as CEO of International SOS Assistance and CIO of International SOS Group.
Grant’s strategic experience includes significant global M&A transactions, joint ventures and partnerships. He specializes in commercializing products and services, establishing distribution channels and driving business growth.
Providing vision, leadership and a depth of subject knowledge Grant is well positioned to drive the MD ONBOARD business forward in its mission.
Grant resides in Australia with his wife Helen and 3 children.
Wehda El Aridi
Chief Growth Officer, MD ONBOARD
Wehda El Aridi, Chief Growth Officer of MD ONBOARD, is a highly accomplished senior executive with over 20 years of experience during which she has demonstrated exceptional leadership and growth initiatives in various global markets and industries. Specializing in corporate risk management and consulting, she has successfully developed and delivered tailored solutions for organizations operating in diverse sectors, including Aviation, Maritime, Oil and Gas, Government, and NGOs across Asia Pacific, the Middle East, and Africa.
Wehda has more than 14 years of experience within International SOS, including 6 years in a senior role at MedAire, International SOS’ Aviation and Maritime company, where she spearheaded business and product development initiatives tailored for the aviation and maritime industry across the Middle East, Africa, and the Indian Subcontinent.
Wehda's entrepreneurial ventures further exemplify her commitment to innovation and excellence. In 2021 and 2022, she co-founded and assumed the role of Chief Growth Officer for BGI International and BLXCO, specializing in the development and implementation of innovative strategies, cutting-edge technologies, and best practices aimed at safeguarding and enhancing the health, safety, and resilience of communities and industries through the provision of health services solutions and consumer products. In a brief span, Wehda has successfully expanded their operations to cover Australasia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa.
As a strategic leader, Wehda has consistently delivered solutions that address the distinct challenges faced by organizations. Her practiced insight has played a pivotal role in the success of multinational corporations, where she has fostered key partnerships with senior executives, government officials, and industry collaborators.
Wehda's professional journey has been characterized by a global perspective, having worked and lived in Africa, the Middle East, Europe, and Asia. Proficient in English, French, Arabic, Italian, and Spanish, she possesses a deep understanding of global cultures and business dynamics. This linguistic versatility, combined with her extensive experience in local markets and client operations, ensures that the solutions she devises are not only effective but also tailored to the unique needs of her clients.
Presently residing in Singapore with her family, Wehda's impact extends beyond her professional endeavors into philanthropy. She is dedicated to supporting vulnerable children in the Middle East and Southeast Asia. In addition to her philanthropic pursuits, she invests her time and expertise in mentoring young professionals as they navigate the early stages of their careers, contributing to the development of the next generation of leaders.
Wehda El Aridi's professional journey reflects a leader who has made a considerable impact both within and beyond the corporate realm. Her strategic vision, cultural adaptability, and commitment to philanthropy showcase a leader whose influence resonates globally, leaving a lasting mark on the industries she has engaged with and the communities she has served.
Surendra Sodhi, MD
Chief Advisor of Aeromedical Services, MD ONBOARD
Dr. Surendra Sodhi, Chief Advisor of Aeromedical Services for MD ONBOARD, is an internationally renowned medical specialist with more than 40 years’ experience in the fields of Internal Medicine and Aviation Medicine. He is noted for his vast experience in the clinical and regulatory aspects of Aviation Medicine, and has a proven track record in dealing with flight crew aeromedical issues while building and leading high-performance medical teams to successfully develop and implement corporate strategies. As Associate Professor of Aviation Medicine at the Institute of Aerospace Medicine, he taught aviation medicine at all levels, from aircrew to post-graduate medical students for more than 25 years.
Dr. Sodhi served as Chief Aeromedical Consultant at Nahar Medical Centre in Mumbai, India from 2020 to 2022, and as Chief Aeromedical Consultant at the Civil Aero Medical Centre, Dr. L H Hiranandani Hospital in Mumbai from 2014 to 2020.
As Chief Medical Officer of Indian Aero Medical Services since 2013, Dr. Sodhi established an Aero Medical Centre at Mumbai to provide comprehensive aeromedical services for all flight crew and airlines in India. The center conducts DGCA Class I, II and III license medicals, pre-employment medicals for flight crew, MEDIF passenger clearance, travel health advice with international immunization facilities, and an alcohol and drug testing facility for all aircrew and airlines as per DGCA standards.
Dr. Sodhi was Chief Medical Officer of Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi from 2004 to 2012, where he established a state-of-the-art medical center to meet the full spectrum of aeromedical requirements of an airline, from flight crew medicals to passenger clearances. His impact included establishing the color vision assessment program; formulating and managing the airline response during the H5N1 and H1N1 epidemics; developing medical policies and procedures to meet international health requirements; handling infectious and communicable diseases; implementing the airline’s Alcohol & Drug Testing Policy; and organizing the first aeromedical conference in U.A.E as well as a conference for Mental Health Amongst Aviators.
Prior to that, Dr. Sodhi established the first Aeromedical Department to cater to civil aviation requirements at the civil aero medical center at Al Noor Hospital in Abu Dhabi, and he served in the Indian Air Force for over 25 years where he was Medical Advisor to the Director General of Civil Aviation and President of the Medical Evaluation Centre, Institute of Aerospace Medicine in Bangalore.
Dr. Sodhi holds an M.D in Internal Medicine and a Diploma in Aviation Medicine as well as an M.B.B.S degree. He has affiliations with the Aerospace Medicine Association in the U.S., as well as the Airline Medical Directors Association, Indian Society of Aerospace Medicine, Airline Transport Medical Committee, International Congress of Aerospace Medicine, Aeronautical Society of India, and he is an Associate Fellow of American Society of Aerospace Medicine.
Aline Abdou
Director of Training Development and Client Onboarding, MD ONBOARD
Aline Abdou, Director of Training Development and Client Onboarding of MD ONBOARD, has over 20 years of aviation and healthcare experience. From her early career as a flight attendant, to managerial roles at major airlines such as Etihad Airways and Emirates Airlines, Aline has gained extensive expertise in aviation health and safety, crew training, and regulatory compliance.
With a specialty in learning and development (L&D), Aline has managed training centers, led skilled teams, crafted customized programs in alignment with corporate objectives, and ensured compliance with international standards. Her experience as Resuscitation Program Manager for the Middle East and North Africa involved optimizing training facilities and implementing quality control improvements. She has established training facilities in diverse cultural settings, fostering engagement and driving organizational success.
Fluent in English, French, and Arabic, Aline brings a global perspective and adeptly navigates multicultural environments. Her profound understanding of L&D, coupled with her extensive knowledge of the aviation and healthcare industries, positions her to drive learning initiatives and foster organizational growth in any dynamic setting.
Sandy Dell
Senior Director of Marketing & Communications, MD ONBOARD
As Senior Director of Marketing and Communications, Sandy Dell handles marketing and communications for MD ONBOARD. She is the primary liaison for marketing planning and endeavors, branding, website design and content, video production and social media, as well as with Northwell Health legal and public relations departments.
Sandy also holds the position of Senior Director of Marketing and Communications for Northwell Holdings, the for-profit arm of Northwell Health, where she oversees marketing and communications strategies, including messaging, media outreach, social media activity and website content, along with the creation of collateral marketing materials. She is the liaison with internal and external stakeholders in the development of articles and press releases related to key investments, including early-stage companies, joint ventures and other commercial initiatives. Sandy provides project management for Northwell’s Innovation Challenge event, including support, coordination and oversight in the planning, materials development and communications.
Sandy has had a highly diversified portfolio career, including many decades working in film, television and national modeling campaigns, as well as spokesperson for major global companies. However, she has spent most of the past 20+ years as a marketing professional, primarily in the healthcare industry. For 8 years she served as Director of Marketing at University Physicians of Brooklyn and SUNY Downstate Medical Center, where she established a comprehensive marketing department where none had existed previously. She developed and executed marketing strategies for 16 clinical departments, including creating numerous department websites and a large portfolio of collateral marketing and advertising materials. Prior to that she spent 8 years as Director of Marketing of Central Park Physical Therapy, a chain of physical therapy offices in Manhattan.
Sandy holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration (Accounting/Economics) from Duquesne University in Pittsburgh, where she was awarded both an academic and athletic scholarship.
As a lifelong athlete and advocate of physical fitness, Sandy has particular interest in advances in orthopaedics. Central Park is her favorite place on earth and she spends time there nearly every day, usually running, walking, or indulging her passion for photography.
Gail Greenwood
Senior Vice President of Operations, MD ONBOARD
Gail Greenwood is Senior Vice President of Operations of MD ONBOARD, as well as Senior Advisor to Northwell Holdings, the venture creation and investment arm of Northwell Health.
Since joining the Holdings team in 2023, Ms. Greenwood has focused primarily on overseeing the implementation and execution of strategic initiatives on behalf of Northwell and joint venture entities, in addition to supporting and managing partner relationships between major stakeholders.
Gail is an accomplished healthcare executive with over 20 years of industry experience. Prior to her role with Holdings, Gail served in various senior leadership roles at Northwell Health, including Vice President of the Ophthalmology and Dermatology Service Lines, where she specialized in market expansion and network development and leading operational change. She also served as Vice President of the Katz Women’s Institute for Health.
Gail holds an MBA in Business and Leadership from Dowling College and earned her Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration from St. Joseph’s College.
Bryan McCarty, MD
Medical Director, MD ONBOARD
Bryan McCarty, MD, Medical Director of MD ONBOARD, is an Emergency Medicine physician with expertise in virtual medicine and virtual acute care medicine. Dr. McCarty was instrumental in the development and expansion of the Northwell Emergency Telehealth Services platform, contributing significantly to its success and prominence in Northwell Health. He has published research and given lectures and regional presentations on virtual acute care medicine.
Dr. McCarty performed his Emergency Medicine residency at North Shore University Hospital in Manhasset, New York, where he served as chief resident. He has prior leadership experience as Associate Program Director for the prestigious North Shore Sports Medicine Fellowship and is a graduate of the Northwell Emergency Medicine Clinical Leadership Development Program. He is currently the Physician Lead for Northwell Emergency Telehealth Services.
Mark Michalski, MD
Chief Executive Officer, Ascertain
Mark H. Michalski, MD, is the CEO of Ascertain, a healthcare AI company bringing best-in-class automation technology to healthcare enterprise operations, and he sits on the Advisory Board of MD ONBOARD.
Dr. Michalski has two decades of executive leadership experience. He served as head of strategic development for healthcare and life sciences at Amazon, leading partnering efforts across Amazon’s business units (AWS, Health Devices and others). Prior to that, he led AWS's HCLS AI/ML business development efforts worldwide.
While on faculty at Harvard Medical School, Dr. Michalski was Founding Executive Director at Mass General Brigham/Harvard's Center for Clinical Data Science, which launched over a dozen AI/ML solutions through strategic partnerships with GE, Nvidia, Nuance, and Fuji. He also served as President and CMO of two publicly traded companies—Butterfly Network and Hyperfine Research.
He worked with global biopharma clients as the AI/ML practice lead at Headland Strategy Group, and held additional life science-focused roles at Google and Genentech.
Dr. Michalski graduated with a degree in Cybernetics from UCLA, with multiple honors, and received his medical degree from Stanford University. He completed his radiology residency training as a Holman Fellow at Yale-New Haven Hospital.
Richard Mulry
President and Chief Executive Officer, Northwell Holdings
Richard Mulry sits on the Advisory Board of MD ONBOARD. As President and CEO of Northwell Holdings, the for-profit arm of Northwell Health, Mr. Mulry oversees strategic investment opportunities which drive margin to the health system. The focus of these initiatives, all aligned with Northwell’s mission, include venture investment, spin-off of internal innovation and development of commercial joint ventures. In his role, Richard builds new relationships with health systems and private organizations.
Mr. Mulry has more than 35 years of health care administration and operations experience. Previously, he served as the senior vice president for operations within Northwell Ventures and worked with a variety of clinical service lines overseeing operations, finance, market share growth and quality management.
Mr. Mulry joined the health system in 2015 after working for Catholic Health Services of Long Island, where he was senior vice president for physician network strategy and development within the $2.2 billion, six-hospital health system. Previously, Mr. Mulry was executive director/CEO at University Physicians of Brooklyn at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, and held various leadership positions at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. From 2003 through 2007, he also served as vice president of practice and revenue management for Northwell Health.
Mr. Mulry holds a Bachelor of Arts in English from Saint Michael’s College and a Master of Public Health in health policy management from Columbia University, School of Public Health. Mr. Mulry serves on the boards of several companies, including HealthPass, Playback Health, Salaso Health and Peerbridge.
Sean Stefanak
Director of Flight Operations, Northwell Health
Sean Stefanak is the Director of Flight Operations at Northwell Health’s North Shore University Hospital, where he oversees the comprehensive management of Northwell’s Pilatus PC-24. Sean joined Northwell in 2021 and launched the company’s new fixed-wing flight department to support the rapid growth of the organ transplant programs. He is responsible for shaping the strategic vision of the flight department, enhancing operational safety and efficiency, and implementing departmental goals to ensure the aviation unit’s enduring success.
Prior to joining Northwell, Sean spent eleven years in corporate aviation, specializing in aircraft management, flight training, aircraft sales, and fleet maintenance. He has extensive experience in corporate jet management and led the development of a new 135 certificate.
Sean earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and he holds an Airline Transport Pilot certificate. He has logged over 5500 hours of flight time and holds pilot-in-command type ratings in the Pilatus PC-24, the Citation X, the Cirrus SF-50, and the Beechjet 400. Sean is also rated in seaplanes and tailwheel aircraft and has logged over 3500 hours of dual instruction as a Certified Flight Instructor.
Outside of his professional pursuits, Sean values quality time with his wife and two children.
Edwidge Thomas, DNP
Vice President of Clinical Solutions, Northwell Holdings
Edwidge Thomas, DNP, is Vice President of Clinical Solutions for Northwell Holdings, and on the Advisory Board of MD ONBOARD.
She is a healthcare executive trained as a Nurse Practitioner, and serves as clinical lead of Northwell Holdings, contributing to projects and initiatives in internal innovation, joint venture, strategic partnerships and intellectual property, to help drive diversified revenue streams in alignment with Northwell Health’s core mission.
Edwidge’s focus is on the identification, development, commercial launch and management of new business and clinical solutions/products for the betterment of patient care outcomes and experience, as well as improving efficiency in care delivery and contributing to the overall success of Northwell Health.
Edwidge has a particular interest in ideas that address the gap in care and improve patient outcomes, especially initiatives that focus on improving health equity in women and marginalized populations.
As a board-certified Adult Nurse Practitioner, Edwidge has extensive experience in clinical practice, developing clinical models to improve patient outcomes, and educating future clinicians. She is also a strategic and visionary leader who successfully led the Mount Sinai DSRIP network to achieve the majority of $350 million award over a period of 5 years.
Edwidge earned her Doctorate of Nursing Practice as well as her Master of Science, Nurse Practitioner, at Columbia University. She earned her Master of Science in Clinical Epidemiology and Health Service Research at Cornell University, and her Bachelor’s degree and BSN Nursing at Rutgers University.