Naji Gehchan: Welcome to SpreadLove in Organizations, the healthcare leadership podcast where we explore leadership with purpose.
I’m Naji, your host, joined today by Mona Flores, a physician and healthcare innovator with a passion for advancing medicine and science through artificial intelligence. As the former Global Head of Medical AI at NVIDIA, she helped build and lead a global ecosystem bridging AI technologies into healthcare. She completed her medical training at UCLA, UC San Diego, Stanford, and Columbia, and also holds an MBA and a master’s in biology. With experience spanning cardiothoracic surgery, digital health, and investment banking, Mona brings a multidisciplinary perspective to solving healthcare’s most complex challenges. She continues to work at the forefront of AI, science, and medicine, focused on scalable innovation that improves patient care and drives meaningful impact.
I could go on for hours sharing about Mona and her inspiring journey, but it’s much better to hear directly from her. Mona, it’s great to see you again and have you with me today.
Mona Flores:
Thank you, Naji. Thank you for having me here. Very excited.
Naji Gehchan:
So Mona, first take us through your journey. What moments, decisions, or tensions shaped your path from medicine to leading AI in healthcare?
Mona Flores:
Good question. People think that your journey is planned, that you wake up one day and say, this is what I’m going to do, and next I’ll do that. In my experience, that’s not the case. Things happen, you react, you pivot, and it takes you in many different directions. One decision leads to another.
I grew up in the Lebanese civil war, so my first inclination was to leave and build a life elsewhere. The fastest path was business, so I studied business and came to New York, got my MBA, and joined an investment bank—Smith Barney at the time. After a few years on Wall Street, I realized it wasn’t my passion.
I decided to follow what I always wanted—to be a doctor. I left investment banking, moved to California, took pre-med courses at UCLA, got into medical school, and went into cardiac surgery. I loved it—the patients, the operating room, everything.
After practicing for a few years, I realized there might be a more scalable way to help people beyond one-to-one care. I left clinical medicine to start a digital health company with a former patient, focused on post-cardiac surgery care.
Two years in, I saw AI emerging as a transformative force in healthcare. I pivoted, taught myself AI, and joined NVIDIA—initially working with startups, then becoming Global Head of Medical AI. I was the third person on the healthcare team, and we grew it to hundreds globally. It was intense, but incredible.
Eventually, I wanted to do even more—with a humanitarian focus. Today, I advise companies using AI in healthcare and serve on boards. My goal is to leverage AI to improve medicine, drug discovery, and patient care at scale. And I want to do it with a strong mission for good.
Naji Gehchan:
There’s so much to unpack there. Your journey is fascinating—you’ve reinvented yourself multiple times. Few people have that courage. From investment banking to medicine, to surgery, to AI leadership—it’s incredible.
When you think about AI for good, and your experience across healthcare, tech, and finance—where do you see technology truly becoming part of the solution? And how do you see the future evolving?
Mona Flores:
I’ll answer in two ways: what’s happening now and what’s coming next.
Today, the low-hanging fruit is improving existing processes—AI scribes, scheduling, operations, inventory. These are already generating revenue and adoption.
But the real transformation is AI-native companies—those that wouldn’t exist without AI. For example, AI-driven drug discovery that creates entirely new molecules, not just analyzing existing data.
In diagnostics, we’ll move toward early detection—possibly even predicting disease before it manifests. Think about shifting from sick care to well care—preventing disease entirely.
AI could help treat diseases we can’t today—like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and mental illness. It could also impact broader issues like food distribution and global health.
I just hope we use it for good—and that good wins.
Naji Gehchan:
That’s powerful. As a healthcare leader, how should I think about AI today?
Mona Flores:
Start with your biggest pain points—what wastes your time, what doesn’t scale. Look for AI solutions there.
Also, collaborate with builders. AI solutions must be informed by real clinical needs. Otherwise, you get tools no one uses.
And always think about scalability. If it doesn’t scale, it won’t work globally.
Naji Gehchan:
You’ve always focused on impact. And now you’re leading the “Your Turn” fundraising campaign with LebNet. Tell us about that.
Mona Flores:
Growing up in the Lebanese civil war shaped me deeply. When the recent crisis happened in Lebanon, with over a million displaced people, it hit me hard. I felt helpless—but decided to act.
I had just joined LebNet, a global network of over 5,000 tech professionals. We asked: how can we use our skills to help?
Instead of reinventing the wheel, we partnered with vetted NGOs already on the ground—organizations like UNICEF, UNHCR, Doctors Without Borders, Save the Children, and others.
We built a platform that connects donors directly to these organizations. We don’t collect money or data—we’re just the megaphone. The charities are the engine, and donors are the fuel.
It’s about scaling impact quickly and effectively.
Naji Gehchan:
That’s incredibly meaningful. As you think about your legacy—what drives you?
Mona Flores:
People say YOLO—“you only live once”—and think of fun experiences. For me, it means: what can you do for humanity in this one life?
I want to reduce suffering—whether it’s disease, hunger, or displacement. If I can help at scale, that’s what matters.
My next chapter will be at the intersection of AI, healthcare, and humanity—with urgency and purpose.
Naji Gehchan:
I love that perspective. Let’s do a quick word association. Leadership?
Mona Flores:
What’s needed to get things done.
Naji Gehchan:
Impact?
Mona Flores:
The most important thing—especially humanitarian impact.
Naji Gehchan:
Biolink?
Mona Flores:
An amazing organization building a life sciences ecosystem for Lebanon—bringing talent together for future impact.
Naji Gehchan:
Spread Love in Organizations?
Mona Flores:
I love what you’re doing—amplifying voices and scaling impact through storytelling.
Naji Gehchan:
Final word of wisdom for healthcare leaders?
Mona Flores:
Don’t be afraid. If you’re not using AI today, you’re already behind. Learn it, embrace it, and don’t stay stuck in old ways.
Naji Gehchan:
Thank you so much, Mona.
Mona Flores:
Thank you, Naji. Great to be here.
Naji Gehchan:
Thanks for listening to the show. More episodes in partnership with Biolink.org can be found on our websites. Make sure to subscribe to SpreadLoveIO.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let’s inspire change together and make a positive impact on healthcare—one story at a time.
Naji Gehchan: Thanks for listening to the show! For more episodes, make sure to subscribe to Spreadloveio.com or wherever you listen to your podcasts. Let’s inspire change together and make a positive impact in healthcare, one story at a time.
Follow us on LinkedIn and connect with us on spreadloveio.com. We’re eager to hear your thoughts and feedback. Most importantly, spread love in your organizations and spread the word around you to inspire others and amplify this movement, our world so desperately needs