Rob Cohen didn’t plan to go into healthcare. But during business school, a short-term strategy project for Wellpoint turned into an unexpected opportunity to build a new company from the ground up. He took the role and saw just how much there was to fix—and how much impact the right solution could have. That experience set the course for his career.
Now the CEO of Livara Health, Cohen is focused on one of the most costly and complex corners of the system: musculoskeletal care. Americans spend $400 billion a year on MSK issues, with far too much going toward unnecessary surgeries. Livara’s model brings a more holistic approach—using virtual platforms, evidence-based protocols, and conservative interventions to guide patients to the right care at the right time.
Cohen’s 20+ year career spans payers, providers, and tech-driven solutions. Before Livara, he scaled Bamboo Health’s presence from 25 to 45 states and helped lead market growth at Evolent Health. Across every role, he’s stayed mission-driven. He doesn’t use buzzwords like “disruption”—he talks about integration, coordination, and making the system work better for the people in it. That clarity of purpose shows up in how Livara blends AI and human touchpoints, in how it partners with risk-bearing providers, and in how it’s designed to scale without losing sight of the patient.
A Nashville native and former private pilot, Cohen thrives on complexity. He’s spent his career navigating one of the hardest industries to innovate in—not by chasing the flashiest solutions, but by aligning technology with the real needs of payers, employers, and patients alike. His goal isn’t to tear the system down. It’s to finally make it work.
