Behind the Hires: Mitul Modi

Mitul Modi is a senior client partner at Korn Ferry.

Day-to-day job: “I help healthcare organizations build their talent ecosystems to deliver exceptional care to the communities they serve.”  

You’ll usually find him: “Talking to clients to understand what is stopping them from achieving their goals. I have 5+ client conversations daily, and they typically pertain to current workforce challenges. What’s keeping them up at night? And what would they prefer that keeps them up at night?”  

Enjoys working with: “Physicians. We want to be the preeminent destination for doctors because many of them are left to kind of fend for themselves.”  

Work motto: “You’re a product of the people you surround yourself with. Strive to build trust and harness the power of the collective.”  

Previous homebase(s): “I was raised in the UK, and have worked extensively in Europe, then was based in the Middle East for 10 years, also covering Asia Pacific. I’ve been on the West Coast since 2016.”

Extra-credit expertise: “Unfortunately, I’m currently at the hospital three to five days a week, up to 10 or 11 hours. I’m being treated at UCSF by the very physician community that we’re building: we’re helping them find 100+ physicians this year. There’s nothing more motivating than experiencing the very challenges that we’re trying to solve for. It provides a level of empathy to the realities in healthcare, and also an appreciation for just what this work can do for people’s lives.”  

If he could wave his magic wand: “I’d enhance the experience of everyone giving or receiving healthcare. Whether it's the front-office staff not looking up when a patient comes in to the oncologist forgetting that for the patient it is a matter of life and death—how do we best care and support them? How do we find the right people, train them, and continue to develop them, and build career pathways for them? It’s solving at every touch point.”

Favorite part of the job: “That we’re actually making a difference. For example, we were just at Texas Children’s where some of the high-level physicians that we brought in now provide groundbreaking care for the children of Texas. Or the work we did at L.A. General, which lowered observed mortality rates. It’s so rewarding.”  

Least favorite part of the job: “To be honest, it’s clients thinking that we’re just trying to sell something. We’re not here for a single transaction. We really are trying to move the needle.”  

Back room issue he often addresses: “We work a lot with boards, on to what degree they’re friends or foes in supporting executive leadership, and how they’re delivering on their promises.”  

Soapbox: “It’s a misnomer that we have the best healthcare in the world. My oncologist doesn’t necessarily talk to my surgeon or primary care doctor—and all three might give different advice. I’ve been able to get access to trials because I know how to navigate them. Patient advocacy is still so broken here, and access is a minefield. I think there’s just so much talent in North America, and so much opportunity to get it right, even within the constraints.”  

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