Alexander Preker, MD, PhD

Adjunct Assistant Professor in Health Policy and Management
Adjunct Lecturer

asp2133@cumc.columbia.edu

Overview

Professor Alexander S. Preker is an internationally recognized economist, healthcare industry expert, educator, teacher, mentor, and thought leader. His expertise spans health-sector investment, health financing, health insurance, economics, private health-sector development, healthcare management, systems reengineering, and sustainability. His work has focused on addressing complex policy challenges in the healthcare industry through market-based solutions. He is a prolific author, editor, and publisher whose scholarly and professional contributions span a wide range of books and edited volumes, as well as official institutional reports, policy papers, journal articles, editorials, essays, and digital social media posts.

He is President and CEO of Health Investment & Financing Corporation (https://www.HIFCorporation.com). He serves on the boards of several companies and organizations, including as a Director of USA HealthCare Alliance (USAHA), which works with U.S. healthcare industries, the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM), and the American Healthcare Investment Corporation on international health-sector trade, investment, export promotion, and related business-development issues. He also serves as a Director and Officer of the International Collaboration and Exchange Program, an international medical student exchange program. He previously served as a Commissioner on the Global Commission on Pollution, Health, and Development.

He is a founding member of the New York Chapter of Keiretsu Forum and a limited liability partner in Keiretsu Capital Fund. He is an active investor and business development advisor through ASP-Trust Investment Funds, Keiretsu Forum, OurCrowd, Trendlines, and other investment vehicles focused on high-impact early-stage healthcare companies and environmental sustainability ventures.

Academic Appointments

Adjunct Assistant Professor in Health Policy and Management
Adjunct Lecturer

Credentials & Experience

Education & Training

MD, 1978 University of British Columbia/McGill
Other, 1984 University College London
Other, 1986 Kings College London
PhD, 1990 London School of Economics

Committees, Societies, Councils

Professor Preker is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and the American Health Economics Association. He is an Honorary Member of the International Hospital Federation. In addition, he has long-standing medical licensure and registration in Canada, including the Canadian Medical Association (CMA), Ottawa, Ontario (Ret.); the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario (CPSO), Toronto, Ontario (Ret.); and the Fédération des médecins omnipraticiens du Québec (FMOQ), Montréal, Québec (Ret.).

Editorial Boards

Professor Preker is the Editor-in-Chief of the Health Investment and Financing Series at World Scientific Publishing and the Editor of the Health Investment and Financing Online Newsletter. During his tenure at the World Bank, he served on the Editorial Board of the World Bank’s External Operations Publication Department and was Chief Editor of the World Bank’s Health, Nutrition, and Population publications. Previously, he was Chair of the Editorial Board of the World Hospitals and Health Services Journal of the International Hospital Federation (IHF).

Professor Preker is a prolific author, editor, and publisher whose scholarly and professional contributions span a wide range of books and edited volumes, as well as official institutional reports, policy papers, journal articles, editorials, essays, and digital social media posts. He is a sought-after reviewer for scientific articles in various high-quality journals.

Honors & Awards

In the past, Professor Preker was distinguished as an Executive Scholar at Columbia Business School, Columbia University, New York, N.Y. He was twice the recipient of the World Bank Development Marketplace Award. He has received multiple other recognition awards and has received multimillion-dollar research awards

Research

As Editor-in-Chief of the Health Investment and Financing Series at World Scientific Publishing, Professor Preker has recently published seven major books:Embracing Mixed Health Systems: Navigating the Development Trap(2024);Sustainability: Business and Investment Implications(2023);Global Health in Practice: Investing Amidst Pandemics, Denial of Evidence, and Neo-dependency(2022);Health Microinsurance: Implementing Universal Health Coverage in the Informal Sector(2020);Financing the Education of Health Workers: Gaining a Competitive Edge(2019);Financing Micro Health Insurance: Theory, Methods and Evidence(2019); andFinancing Universal Access to Healthcare: A Comparative Review of Landmark Legislative Health Reforms in the OECD(2018). Three additional publications are under contract:Corporatization of the U.S. Healthcare Industry: The Search for Excellence (forthcoming);Investment and Financing the U.S. Healthcare Industry: Market-driven Transformation(forthcoming); andInternationalization of Medical Education: Investing in the Future of Healthcare Around the World(forthcoming).

As Editor of the Health Investment and Financing Newsletter, he has recently published analyses on a range of current topics in the healthcare industry, including the following: Drivers of Change: The Enabling Environment(April 29, 2026); Turf Wars: Jurisdictional Disputes(March 31, 2026); SCOTUS on Tariffs: Unscrambling the Omelet(February 24, 2026); Market-Driven Healthcare Industry: Business Environment and Investment Climate(February 11, 2026); Affordability Crisis: The Apocalypse that Didn’t Happen! (January 7, 2026); Lost Decade in Medical Education: The Need for a Renewed Commitment(December 11, 2025); Illusion of Industrial Policy: Implications for Healthcare Industry(November 2, 2025); Rise and Fall of Globalization: Implications for the U.S.(October 6, 2025); International Visa Restrictions: Crisis or Opportunity for American Medical Students(June 5, 2025); Trade Imbalances in the Healthcare Industry: Restoring the Dominance of the U.S. as a Global Player(April 25, 2025);Restructuring of USAID: Agency Accountability(February 24, 2025); and Embracing Mixed Health Systems: Navigating the Development Trap (February 12, 2025).

As Chief Editor of the World Bank’s Health, Nutrition, and Population publications, he oversaw the production of notable high-impact legacy reports, including the following: Health, Nutrition, and Population Sector Strategy (1997) andWorld Development Report 1993: Investing in Health(1993). In that capacity, he also contributed to several other major institutional reports:World Development Report 2010: Development and Climate Change(2010);World Development Report 2004: Making Services Work for Poor People(2004);World Development Report 2002: Building Institutions for Markets(2002);World Development Report 1997: The State in a Changing World(1997);World Development Report 1996: From Plan to Market(1996); andWorld Development Report 1992: Development and the Environment(1992). He was also a member of teams that contributed to several influential global health reports:The Lancet Commission on Pollution and Health(2018);Macroeconomics and Health: Investing in Health for Economic Development: Report of the Commission on Macroeconomics and Health(2001); andThe World Health Report 2000: Health Systems: Improving Performance(2000).

During his World Bank tenure, books authored or edited directly by him include the following:Scaling Up Affordable Health Insurance: Staying the Course(2013);Global Marketplace for Private Health Insurance: Strength in Numbers(2010);Public Ends, Private Means: Strategic Purchasing of Health Services(2007);Private Health Insurance: Friend or Foe? (2006);Spending Wisely: Buying Health Services for the Poor(2005);Health Financing for Poor People: Resource Mobilization and Risk Sharing(2004);Innovations in Health Service Delivery: The Corporatization of Public Hospitals (2003);Private Participation in Health Services(2003);Social Reinsurance: A New Approach to Sustainable Community Health Financing(2002); andThe Economics of Public and Private Roles in Health Care: Insights from Institutional Economics and Organizational Theory(2000).

During his tenure at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), major reports produced under his guidance as Head of Health Investment Policy and the Health in Africa initiative include the following:Healthy Partnerships: How Governments Can Engage the Private Sector to Improve Health in Africa(2011);Private Health Sector Assessment in Mali: The Post-Bamako Reality(2011);Private Health Sector Assessment in Ghana(2011);Private Health Sector Assessment in Kenya (2010); andThe Business of Health in Africa: Partnering with the Private Sector to Improve People’s Lives(2008).

Global Health Activities

World Bank, http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/health: Prior to his current work, Mr. Preker had a distinguished career, working at different times for International Bank of Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), International Development Association (IDA), International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Health Organization (WHO). Previously, as Chief Economist for the health sector, he coordinated the technical team that prepared the World Bank's Health, Nutrition and Population Sector Strategy in 1997. During the past 15 years, this strategy has provided a vision for the World Bank's engagement in the health sector in low- and middle-income countries, leading to an annual lending pipeline of about US$3 billion and total portfolio value in the range of US$15 billion. During his Bank career, Mr. Preker has worked with both Lawrence Summers (former Director of the National Economic Council under the Obama Administration) and Joseph Stiglitz (recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences) during their respective tenures as Chief Economist for the World Bank Group as well as many Ministers of Health, Finance, Economic Development and other senior officials as well as private investors and businesses in the client countries he served.

IFC, http://www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/Industry_EXT_Content/IFC_External_Cor... From 2007 to 2012, Mr. Preker was Head of the Health Industry Group and Investment Policy for the International Finance Corporation (IFC). In this position, he led a team of advisors and analysts that worked with policy makers, investors and health businesses in improving the market environment for private sector participation in the health sector in developing countries. He and his team set up a US$1 billion Investment Facility for Health to support expansion of small and medium size businesses in the Africa Region and the preparatory work for setting up a similar facility for Asia.

Commission on Pollution, Health and Development, https://www.commissiononpollution.org: Commissioner The Commission on Pollution and Health is an initiative of The Lancet, the Global Alliance on Health and Pollution (GAHP), and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, with additional coordination and input from the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Bank. The Commission comprises many of the world's most influential leaders, researchers and practitioners in the fields of pollution management, environmental health and sustainable development. The aim of the Commission is to reduce air, soil and water pollution by communicating the extraordinary health and economic costs of pollution globally, providing actionable solutions to policy-makers and dispelling the myth of pollution's inevitability. The Commission Report will be published in The Lancet in October of 2017.