Kansas Health Institute | Information For Policy Makers. Health for Kansans.

Bio: Rob Kaplan, professor of management practices at Harvard Business School and senior director of the Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., was appointed to the health policy authority board by Gov. Kathleen Sebelius in August 2006.

A native of Prairie Village and graduate of the University of Kansas, Kaplan said he frequently returned to the state to visit family and speak to business classes at KU. He had become acquainted with Sebelius, who asked if he would consider taking a seat on the board.

While employed by Goldman Sachs, Kaplan’s involvement with state government was limited because of federal rules applied to investment banking firms. He no longer draws a salary from the company, but remains affiliated as a senior director. Until January 2006, Kaplan was a vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs and a member of the firm’s management committee.

“Once I left Goldman Sachs, I thought I’d like to do something a little more helpful in the state of Kansas,” he said.

He also is chairman of Project A.L.S., an organization that raises $5 million each year to fund research into Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. In that capacity, he was introduced to the dean of Harvard Medical School, Joe Martin, who asked Kaplan to help build the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair, of which Kaplan is now a co-chairman.

The health policy authority board is a “high quality, well designed” organization that is a good fit for his interests, Kaplan said.

“The board and the leadership have done a good job working together to plot the agenda in order to make sure that we take a fresh look at the strategy,” he said. “The other thing they’ve done is to get people working together, encouraging collaboration across state agencies. They’re all sitting together in one room, making sure the proposals are integrated across agencies. That’s the smart thing to do. It’s very effective.”

Kaplan also works with business executives on leadership and organizational effectiveness. He held a workshop for the health policy authority staff and board earlier this year on those topics.

Kaplan said he usually mentions the state’s health reform efforts to others, including federal officials, as an example of a “best practice” model of reform.

“I would have thought that around the country people would take note that the state of Kansas has a best practice here,” he said. “I think it would be a nice compliment to the state of Kansas. And why not Kansas? Why shouldn’t Kansas be at the forefront of this?”

Kaplan was born July 6, 1957. He lives in New York, but also spends a number of months each year at Harvard when he teaches his course in the fall.

Interconnects: Kaplan is a member of the board of Harvard Medical School; co-chairs the advisory council of the Harvard Center for Neurodegeneration and Repair and is chairman of the board for Project A.L.S.

Contact: Address: 319 Morgan Hall, Harvard Business School, Boston, MA, 02163

E-mail: rokaplan@hbs.edu