From Medicine to HealthTech Strategy: How Rafael Pereira Silva Found His Place at the Intersection of Care and Innovation

Healthcare professionals looking to take a step up in their careers have a specific set of requirements when it comes to selecting an MBA programme. Yes, they need the core business fundamentals, such as finance, strategy, operations and leadership, but they also need a curriculum that speaks the language of healthcare.

“It was critical to enrol in an MBA programme that had a track relating to health innovation,” says Rafael Pereira Silva, a Brazilian healthcare professional living in Portugal, of his journey towards starting his Executive MBA with EDHEC. “EDHEC was one of the only schools in Europe to offer such an opportunity.” 

After studying medicine at FTESM - Souza Marques in Rio de Janeiro, Rafael served as a Navy Officer Medical Doctor. He then transitioned into a role at a family medicine practice. Soon after, he added teaching physician to his resumé, when he accepted a position at Estácio, another Rio de Janeiro university. 

It was around the same time — 2021 — that Rafael also dipped his toes into the HealthTech space, joining Brazilian integrated health insurance startup Alice as a Health Excellence Manager. It was a role that offered significant strategic and technical scope, and a different set of responsibilities and challenges to the consulting room. 

“Alice grew fast, so I transitioned almost organically from a purely clinical role to a strategic and product development role, managing the development of the technical infrastructure, so the protocols and care pathways,” Rafael says. 
 

Ticking all the boxes

Rafael had found challenges and rewards at this intersection of health and tech, but was relying on self-study to push himself forward.

“I realised I had a natural inclination for business and for technology, but I was reading a lot by myself and doing courses by myself,” he explains. “I felt I needed to go through a structured process to solidify the knowledge that I already had and to build the tools that I didn’t have.” 

EDHEC’s Executive MBA Healthcare Innovation & Technology HIT programme ticked all the boxes as Rafael considered his opportunities. The part-time format, in English, meant Rafael could continue to work while studying for the Executive MBA, while travelling to Paris once a month for four days for the coursework — much easier now he was based in Portugal.  

The curriculum, which involved both the traditional MBA programming with an additional focus on digital health, data-driven decision making and the future of healthcare systems, would also give him a deeper grounding in the business and strategic side of healthcare, something absent in his clinical training due to the very hands-on nature of traditional medical practice.  

Alongside the health track and the Executive MBA format, Rafael had one further non-negotiable: a school that ranked highly. He dedicated many hours into finding the right school, taking his time to research every university that potentially matched his criteria across Europe.  

“EDHEC ticked all the boxes,” he says.
 

A specialist MBA branch  

Rafael joined the March 2024 intake, on a 22 month programme. Those undertaking the HIT Specialisation begin by following the EMBA curriculum, covering courses such as strategic analysis, strategic management, leadership and management, organisational behaviour and human resources. They share the classroom with students from all professional backgrounds.

“I studied the core MBA, so to speak, alongside people of different nationalities from a diverse range of sectors, from tourism to banking,” he says.  

From there, those following the HIT track branch off towards the specialist modules they could choose from: Healthcare Strategy and New Game Changers in Healthcare 2.0; Leading Health Innovation in the Digital Age; Value Based Healthcare(VBHC): New Paradigm for a Patient 2.0; Data and Artificial Intelligence in Healthcare; Medical Devices and Diagnostics; Health Care Financing and Financial Management.

Rafael came into the program knowing exactly the area he was looking to target: the Medical Devices and Diagnostics module

“Since I’m not from Europe, I was finding the regulatory landscape tricky to understand,” he explains. The module analyses the latest market trends for products, services, and technologies in the medical device and diagnostics industry. Crucially, it also dives into the enablers and barriers to innovation, including the role of regulations.

“It was really helpful for me,” he says.
 

A richer experience

It didn’t take Rafael long to appreciate the difference between the EMBA coursework and his classic medical training. Beyond the relevance of the subject matter, however, one other contrast quickly came to the fore: the diversity of the cohort.

What Rafael didn’t expect, however, was just how much of an impact the core EMBA curriculum would have. 

Particularly impactful was the introduction to the language of business. “I don’t think my vocabulary was sophisticated enough to understand everything before I started the EMBA,” he explains.

With each trip to Paris, and every conversation with his colleagues and professors, he realised he was honing his vocabulary and, alongside it, his ability to understand and be part of the conversation.  

“It’s like when you learn a new language, you’re able to hear what you couldn’t before. Now, I can navigate with more clarity because I understand,” he explains.
 

New horizons

With the coursework behind him, Rafael is currently working to complete the final part of his Executive MBA for May 2026: the consulting project, which allows him to take everything he has learnt and apply it to a real-life context.

While he still remains part time at Alice, Rafael has recently transitioned into a new role as Clinical Product Lead with a Portuguese start-up in the longevity space, B-Life Clinic. “Of course, the EMBA helped with that,” he smiles.

“We have our own digital infrastructure and app and now we are developing it even further to allow for the digitalization of a significant part of what is currently done physically,” he says of his new position.

Alongside, he’s also wearing a strategic hat as B-Life Clinic plans to extend its presence internationally. Rafael's Executive MBA consulting project involves developing a product and strategy for this internationalization.

All the while, he’s making sure to keep up his clinical work. “It’s a small portion of my week, but it’s something I’ll continue to keep doing for a long time,” he says.

A new perspective

Rafael is still yet to officially complete the program, but already EDHEC’s Executive MBA Healthcare Innovation & Technology HIT has opened up “many doors,” he says.  

Beyond the new career opportunities, it’s also changed how Rafael views himself and his capabilities. Particularly insightful was EDHEC’s Transform360, the leadership development journey threaded throughout the entire MBA program, which allowed Rafael to evolve his leadership style.

“I was able to step back and have some perspective on the aspects I needed to work on to be a better leader,” he says.

And, while he appreciates with typical modesty that there’s still room to improve, he’s already aware of the full impact the entire Executive MBA has had.

“I can see clearly that I’m more mature and I’m more capable in strategic positions and executive roles, like the one that I’m now starting to play at B-Life Clinic.”