Kroll has added Jay Varma, MD, as chief medical advisor and Kroll Institute fellow.
Based in New York, Varma will serve as a senior consultant providing health and workplace-related advice to Kroll’s leadership team and clients. He will also drive thought leadership on public health and safety within Kroll Institute, the firm’s research branch.
Currently a professor at Weill Cornell Medicine, Varma brings decades of experience disease control and prevention. He has led epidemic responses, created global and national health policies, and managed large-scale programs in the US, Asia, and Africa.
Before joining Kroll, Varma spent more than two decades at the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
He most recently served as principal scientific spokesperson for New York City’s Covid-19 pandemic response between April 2020 and May 2021. Varma engineered the largest diagnostic testing and contact tracing program in the country, health policies and practices for re-opening the largest public school system in the country, and various vaccination campaigns.
Varma has received two of the highest awards in the US Public Health Service: the Distinguished Service Medal (2011) and Meritorious Service Medal (2018).
He holds an MD from the University of California, San Diego, and a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University.
“We are thrilled to welcome Dr. Varma to Kroll, particularly at a time where institutions are adapting to new workplace considerations in real-time,” said Jake Silverman, CEO of Kroll. “I am confident that Dr. Varma’s deep expertise in executing strategic health responses both domestically and internationally will add tremendous value not only to our clients and partners but also to the global business community more broadly.”
Kroll specializes in corporate investigations and risk consulting. The firm has 5,000 professionals in 30 countries.
“I am honored to join Kroll and bring my insights from years of public health experience to the organization’s senior leadership and top-tier clients,” Varma said. “Public health is an essential pillar in all business policy decisions, and I am looking forward to further integrating best practices into our work at Kroll.”
The firm last year hired Megan Greene as global chief economist within the Kroll Institute.