For more than two decades, Ratnakar Lavu’s career in technology focused on retailers including Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s. As his career matured, he moved into the C-suite to serve as chief technology officer at department store Kohl’s and global chief digital information office at sportswear giant Nike.
But in early 2024, Lavu took a big leap into an entirely new industry. He became CDIO at health benefits provider Elevance Health, which ranks No. 20 on the Fortune 500 with $197.6 billion in operating revenue in 2025, a 13% increase from the prior year. Lavu says that although the industries are vastly different, both can benefit from investments in technology intended to make it easier to serve customers.
“My past experience has been with large consumer brands; we’re always focused on leveraging technology to transform brands and create delightful, personalized customer experiences,” says Lavu. “At Elevance Health, I’m trying to do the same thing.”
To be sure, leveraging technology to bring “delight” to the complex and expensive health care system is a far loftier challenge than selling sneakers or designer purses. American satisfaction with U.S. health care costs is at the lowest level Gallup has recorded since 2001, with only 16% now saying they are satisfied, down from the all-time high of 30% in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly one in four say the U.S. health care system is “in a state of crisis,” while 47% believe it has “major problems,” according to a poll published in December.
