As managing director of the consulting and advisory firm Kaufman Hall, a Vizient company, Erik Swanson leads the firm’s data science and analytics team and serves as the primary subject matter expert for data science across all practices.

Erik partners with hospitals, health systems and academic medical centers to solve complex financial and operational challenges through the practical application of data science. He helps organizations advance their analytical maturity — from building foundational descriptive analytics and data governance capabilities to deploying predictive and prescriptive models that inform strategic decision-making. By aligning advanced analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) with clearly defined business objectives, he enables clients to strengthen financial sustainability, optimize performance and translate insight into measurable action.

As a trusted advisor to senior executives and boards, Erik brings almost 15 years of experience in healthcare analytics, performance improvement and strategy. He is nationally recognized for his thought leadership on hospital performance trends and regularly publishes Kaufman Hall’s National Hospital Flash Report. He is a frequent speaker for industry associations, leadership forums and organizational boards, where he advises leaders on navigating the evolving data analytics and AI landscape and applying emerging technologies responsibly to real-world business challenges.

Prior to joining Kaufman Hall, Erik worked at New York Presbyterian Hospital, where he analyzed operations within a busy urban emergency department, identified bottlenecks and frontline workarounds and recommended Lean strategies to reduce inefficiency and crowding. He facilitated cross-functional collaboration among clinicians and executives and presented actionable recommendations to C-suite leadership — an experience that continues to inform his practical, implementation-focused approach to healthcare analytics.

Erik holds a master of public health in healthcare management and policy from Columbia University, a master of science in physiology and biophysics from the University of Illinois at Chicago School of Medicine, and a bachelor of science in biomedical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.