Chris Lichti, Simon Hayhurst Join Kaia Health Executive Team

Kaia Health h appointes Chris Lichti as chief technology officer (CTO) and Simon Hayhurst as chief product officer (CPO). The new talent investments align with the company’s larger strategy for solidifying the company’s technology infrastructure and product roadmap for the coming year.
 
As the company’s new CTO, Lichti will lead research, development, security, compliance, and technical operations. He brings to the position a passion for mission-focused hyper-growth to power successful outcomes as well as decades of information technology experience. This includes a research background exploring machine learning and artificial intelligence for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), natural language processing, biomedical informatics, and mission-critical systems for command and control. Prior to joining Kaia Health, Lichti served as both the CEO and CTO at Properoots, CTO at Autolist, the CTO at Dictionary.com, and vice president of Engineering at TrueCar.

Lichti earned a bachelor of science degree in computer science from California Lutheran University and an executive MBA from Stanford Graduate School of Business.
 
As CPO, Hayhurst will spearhead product strategy and execution, product design, and content. He brings to the role a passion for the ways technology can transform the human experience and expertise across diverse industries, from startups to large-scale organizations. Joining from Ceres Imaging, where he served as CPO, Hayhurst’s previous roles include head of product for high-growth companies including RocketFuel and Yume and product leadership roles at Facebook, Adobe, SGI, and Autonomy. Hayhurst has also served as advisor to numerous startups.

Hayhurst earned a master’s degree and a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Cambridge University and an MBA from Wharton.
 
“We are thrilled to welcome both Chris and Simon to the Kaia Health senior management team,” said Nigel Ohrenstein, president of Kaia Health. “As a pioneer in the burgeoning digital therapeutics space, our impact is often measured by the exceptional quality of our technology, which is the backbone of our clinical success in treating MSK and COPD conditions. This is why investing in top talent with extensive industry experience will always be a top priority for our organization.”
 
The senior level technology appointments come on the heels of a series of other momentous achievements for the healthcare organization this year. The company kicked off 2022 with 50-plus new customers and formed a strategic partnership with UnitedHealthcare to launch a new virtual physical therapy program for its self-funded employer health plans. More recently, Kaia Health launched a clinically validated virtual offering for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) rehabilitation.
 
Kaia Health’s proprietary motion analysis technology, which has been clinically validated to show its effectiveness and safety in providing real-time corrective feedback, eliminates the need for sensors or physical devices and can be used by anyone with a smartphone. Kaia Health is partnering with leading U.S. employers, health plans, and providers, including MetLife, UnitedHealthcare, and VirginPulse, to improve access to high-quality, affordable care. Kaia Health is the world’s largest digital therapeutics company that creates accessible, evidence-based treatments for a range of conditions, including MSK pain and COPD. The company is a member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA) and has offices in both New York and Munich.