Consultants
Full-Spectrum Leadership
Akhil Saklecha, M.D.
Managing Director
Akron OH USA
Get in TouchAkhil Saklecha, MD, MBA, FACEP is an emergency physician, venture capitalist, and healthcare operator with more than two decades of experience operating at the intersection of medicine, innovation, and startup investments. As a Managing Director on WittKieffer’s Global Investor-Backed Markets team, Akhil partners with boards, investors, and executive teams across diagnostics, medical devices, digital health, and life sciences to identify and develop impactful leadership capable of driving value creation and sustainable growth. His work also extends to early-stage venture capital firms and the innovation arms of major health systems and academic medical centers.
A nationally recognized emergency physician and healthcare executive, Akhil brings a rare blend of frontline clinical insight and strategic leadership experience across global healthcare organizations and investment platforms by guiding strategy, technology development, and early-stage funding for transformative solutions. Prior to joining WittKieffer, he served as Chief Scientific Officer for Acute Care at Danaher, where he led science and technology strategy across its diagnostics businesses. In that role, he spearheaded artificial intelligence–enabled initiatives, guided product and platform innovation, while also playing a key role in diligence and strategy for M&A and venture investments. Previously, Akhil was Managing Director of Cleveland Clinic Ventures, where he oversaw more than $75 million in early-stage investments and supported the commercialization of breakthrough medical technologies emerging from the world-renowned academic health system. Earlier in his career, he spent more than a decade as a General Partner and Senior Advisor at Artiman Ventures, an early-stage Silicon Valley venture capital firm, where he helped launch and scale multiple healthcare and technology companies. He also served as CEO and co-founder of a venture-backed diagnostics company and held multiple physician leadership roles at Aultman Hospital and its affiliates.
Akhil currently serves on the boards of multiple venture-backed companies and advises startups and venture capital firms. He is Board-Certified in Emergency Medicine and continues to practice clinically on a part-time basis at Cleveland Clinic, maintaining a direct connection to patient care and frontline healthcare delivery. He graduated from the combined accelerated BS/MD program at Northeast Ohio Medical University and received his MBA from the University of Tennessee Haslam College of Business. He is based in Akron, Ohio, where he continues to be a diehard Cleveland Browns fan.
Distinctions
Board Member, Narratize AI
Board Member, NeuroTherapia
Haslam Healthcare Distinguished Fellow, University of Tennessee
Education
M.D., Northeast Ohio Medical University (NEOMED), Rootstown, Ohio
M.B.A., Haslam College of Business, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee
B.S., Integrated Life Sciences, Kent State University, Kent, Ohio