Olympus Hires Former Intuitive VP Slawek Kierner as Chief Digital Officer

Olympus has appointed Slawek Kierner to the role of chief digital officer—Smart Connected Care (CDO-SCC), effective immediately.

Kierner will report to chief technology officer Syed Naveed and spearhead integration of Olympus’ devices with medical-assistive robot tech, digital tech, and artificial intelligence (AI). He’ll lead development and expansion of the company’s Intelligent Endoscopy Ecosystem with the recently unveiled Olysense system to harness digital technologies to connect legacy endoscopy devices, robotics, and digital solutions.

The shift aims to help Olympus evolve from a hardware-centric model to a dynamic model driven by continuous software enhancements. Olysense is a cloud-based digital endoscopy suite engineered to boost clinical and operational performance.

Kierner joins the company from Intuitive, where he was senior VP, Digital Experiences and Machine Learning Platforms since 2021. He was responsible for the company’s digital products, data, and AI strategy, and he launched the AI Suite of products alongside the newest robotic platforms. He also operationally led the global Internet of Medical Things (IOMT) infrastructure, connecting over 10,000 surgical robots, surgical simulation products, and numerous internal AI use cases.

Before Intuitive, Kierner was chief data and analytics officer at Humana. Before that, he led global data analytics, applied machine learning, and insights for Microsoft’s Business Applications unit, including serving as a founding team member of Power BI product.

“I am delighted to welcome Slawek to this pivotal role. Actively driving the digital transformation is a cornerstone of our commitment to elevating the standard of care.” said Syed Naveed. “Slawek is an accomplished executive with extensive experience as a Chief Digital, Data and Analytics Officer, lecturer, advisor, investor, and board member. His more than 29 years of industry experience encompass applied artificial intelligence, digital products, and the leadership of large global technology organizations. I am confident that his profound expertise and insights will be invaluable to Olympus.”

“It’s an honor to be appointed Chief Digital Officer – Smart Connected Care at Olympus. I am deeply passionate about the potential of digital platforms, AI and robotics to transform healthcare,” said Kierner. “From real-time clinical decision support to predictive maintenance and personalized surgeon education, AI can profoundly enhance how we deliver care. I’m eager to work with Olympus’s talented teams to drive meaningful impact, enhancing product intelligence, supporting surgeons, and improving outcomes for patients globally.”