10 McKesson AI and data science leaders
McKesson AI and data science leaders on this page currently hold titles such as Vice President, Data & AI Platforms, Vice President, Data, Analytics and AI, Head of Enterprise AI Lab, Head of Enterprise Data Science and Senior Director, Data Science. A reader can learn how AI and data science leaders work at McKesson from people who have held the role.
Professionals to explore
Akshat Kharaya
LinkedInExperience: Senior Director, Data Science · McKesson
Akshat Kharaya has been Senior Director, Data Science at McKesson since June 2025, managing data, analytics and AI services for Finance and Pricing with a multi-layer team of up to 15 data scientists, data analysts, data engineers and ML engineers. Akshat Kharaya was Director Data Science at McKesson from 2024 to 2025 and Business Director - AI/ML Strategy at Capital One from 2022 to 2024.
Arvind Thinagarajan
LinkedInExperience: Head of Enterprise Data Science · McKesson
Arvind Thinagarajan has been Head of Enterprise Data Science at McKesson since July 2025, a Research role the listing tags at Head level. Arvind Thinagarajan was Vice President, Head of Enterprise Data Science, Advanced Analytics & AI at USA TODAY Co., Inc. from 2021 to 2025 and Global Head of Data Science & Consulting at eClerx from 2018 to 2021.
Ben Post
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Data & AI Platforms · McKesson
Ben Post has been Vice President, Data & AI Platforms at McKesson since June 2026. Ben Post was Global Head of Enterprise AI/ML Engineering, Operations, and Platforms at McKesson from 2023 to 2026, Vice President, Data Science & Artificial Intelligence at Rocket Central from 2021 to 2023 and Vice President, Chief Data Scientist at Edmentum from 2019 to 2021.
Brian Padden
LinkedInExperience: VP MT AI & Automation, McKesson Ireland General Manager · McKesson
Brian Padden has been VP MT AI & Automation, McKesson Ireland General Manager at McKesson since December 2025, a General Management role based in County Cork, Ireland. Brian Padden held VP Information Security Europe and OT at McKesson from 2020 to 2025 and was Head of IT & Automation at Dairygold Co-Operative Society Ltd from 2013 to 2018.
Gregory Ricalde
LinkedInExperience: Director of AI & ML Operations · McKesson
Gregory Ricalde has been Director of AI & ML Operations at McKesson since April 2025. Gregory Ricalde was Director - AI & ML Engineering at NetImpact Strategies Inc. from 2024 to 2025, Principal Data Consultant at SEI from 2019 to 2024 and Data Scientist Associate Manager at Accenture in 2019.
Jeff Klump
LinkedInExperience: Senior Director, AI & Analytics · McKesson
Jeff Klump has been Senior Director, AI & Analytics at McKesson since August 2025, a Research role at Director level. Jeff Klump was Director, Analytics at McKesson from 2011 to 2021, Senior Director, Business Intelligence at Topgolf from 2023 to 2025 and Senior Director, Retail Analytics at DriveTime from 2022 to 2023.
Sabih Farooqui
LinkedInExperience: Sr Director | Enterprise Automation and Agentic AI · McKesson
Sabih Farooqui has been Sr Director | Enterprise Automation and Agentic AI at McKesson since February 2025. Sabih Farooqui was Director Solutions Delivery at Capgemini from 2020 to 2025, Senior Technical Project Manager - RPA at Trimax Americas from 2019 to 2020 and Technical Product Manager - Digital Transformation at StraViso from 2018 to 2019.
Venit Bhanawat, MBA
LinkedInExperience: Vice President, Data, Analytics and AI · McKesson
Venit Bhanawat has been Vice President, Data, Analytics and AI at McKesson since September 2023, and describes building the data foundations, governance structures and AI capabilities that drive business outcomes at scale. Venit Bhanawat was Director, Big Data, Advanced Analytics and Innovation at Abbott from 2012 to 2022.
Will Keefe
LinkedInExperience: Director, AI/ML Engineering · McKesson
Will Keefe has been Director, AI/ML Engineering at McKesson since September 2026, leading AI Platform Services, Projects, and Governance. Will Keefe was Senior Machine Learning Engineer at McKesson from 2024 to 2026, Senior AI/ML Data Scientist there in 2024 and Business Intelligence Engineer II at Amazon in 2023.
Zachary Elewitz, PhD, MBA
LinkedInExperience: Head of Enterprise AI Lab | Senior Director · McKesson
Zachary Elewitz has been Head of Enterprise AI Lab | Senior Director at McKesson since May 2025. Zachary Elewitz was Head of AI | Senior Director at Fortune Brands Innovations from 2024 to 2025, Director of Data Science at WEX from 2022 to 2024 and Head of Data and Analytics | Chief Data and Analytics Officer at Pythia from 2020 to 2022.
Choose the right perspective
Match the person's area, such as AI platforms and ML operations, enterprise data science, agentic AI and automation, or data science for pricing and finance, to the decision you face. Check when each person's current role started to judge how recent their view of the work is.
Questions to take into the conversation
- 01How do you decide which AI use cases to fund first?
- 02What has worked for you in moving AI and machine learning models from pilots into daily operations?
- 03How do you measure whether an AI or data science effort changed a cost, revenue or service result?
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About this directory
This is a professional research starting point based on business profile data retrieved on . Titles and companies reflect that source snapshot; roles marked former had ended by then. Check the linked profiles for current details. Inclusion does not imply Instant Expert membership or availability.