Chris Coburn is the Chief Innovation Officer for Partners HealthCare System and President of Partners HealthCare International. Partners is the largest academic research enterprise in the United States with $12 billion in revenue, more than 1.5 million patients and over $1.6 billion in annual research expenditures. Based in Boston, the Partners HealthCare system consists of Harvard University affiliates Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts General Hospital and McLean Hospital. It also includes a managed care organization, out-patient facilities and community hospitals throughout eastern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire. Partners faculty are appointed at Harvard Medical School.

Mr. Coburn leads a team of more than 110 tasked with the worldwide commercial application of the unique capabilities and discoveries of Partners’ faculty and its 73,000 employees. His unit’s business development responsibilities include international consulting, innovation management, industry collaborations, investing, company creation, and licensing. 2016 commercialization revenue exceeded $118 million. His group guides more than $300 million reserved for investment in companies based on Partners developed technologies. Over 210 companies have been spun-off from Partners in the last decade. Provider strategy and operational consulting has been delivered to clients in nearly 20 countries during that time.

Prior to joining Partners, Mr. Coburn was the founding director of Cleveland Clinic Innovations and served for 13 years as its executive leader. During his tenure Cleveland Clinic spun off 57 companies that raised more than $700 million in equity financing. Cleveland Clinic had no technology based spin-offs before Coburn’s arrival. He also implemented an innovation alliance network in which Cleveland Clinic directly supports technology commercialization for healthcare systems throughout the United States.

Mr. Coburn has been a member of numerous corporate and community boards including Explorys (acquired by IBM), Autonomic Technologies, and the U.S. Enrichment Corporation (NYSE:USU). He currently serves on the Boards of NEHI and the Museum of Science, Boston (Overseers). He is a former Vice President and General Manager of Battelle Memorial Institute. He and his wife, Nancy, have three grown children.