Mala Gaonkar

Co-Founder and Board Chair

Mala Gaonkar co-founded Surgo Foundation to bring rigorous, data-driven approaches to some of the world's most pressing health and social challenges. She is also the Founder and Chief Investment Officer of SurgoCap Partners LP, and a signatory to the Giving Pledge.

Mala is a trustee of the Tate Foundation UK and a board member of Surgo Health P.B.C., a public benefit corporation that develops data-driven solutions to health and social problems.

Sema Sgaier

Co-Founder and Strategic Advisor

Dr. Sema Sgaier is a Strategic Advisor to Surgo Foundation and a global health leader, entrepreneur, and expert in behavioral intelligence, data, and AI. She is the CEO and Co-Founder of Surgo Health, a Public Benefit Corporation building healthcare’s AI-powered Behavioral Intelligence Layer to uncover the beliefs, barriers, and behaviors that shape health outcomes.

Dr. Sgaier also co-founded Surgo Foundation and Surgo Ventures and previously served as an Initiative Lead at the Gates Foundation, where she led large-scale health programs across India and Africa. She has held teaching roles at Harvard and the University of Washington, authored more than 60 scholarly publications, and her work has been featured in leading outlets including The New York Times, The Economist, and Harvard Business Review.

She holds a Ph.D. in Neuroscience from New York University and completed her postdoctoral fellowship at Harvard University. She currently serves on the boards of United States of Care and Results for Development.