Title: Chief Human Resources Officer
Company: Keck Medicine of USC
Location: Pasadena, California, United States
Ekta Vyas, PhD, Chief Human Resources Officer at Keck Medicine of USC, has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Top Executives for dedication, achievements and leadership in Human Resources Management.
Dr. Vyas has enjoyed a long and successful career in human resources and organizational leadership, currently serving as the chief human resources officer at Keck Medicine of USC since 2022. In this capacity, she oversees the entire health enterprise, which encompasses four hospitals, more than 90 ambulatory locations and several clinics in Las Vegas. Dr. Vyas is responsible for system-level human resources strategy and operations, reporting directly to the chief executive officer of the health system. She also acts as the principal strategic advisor on human resources matters to the executive leadership team, guiding talent acquisition, compensation, employee and labor relations, organizational development, and, among other areas, internal communications.
A significant achievement during her tenure at Keck Medicine of USC has been leading the workforce integration of USC Arcadia following its acquisition in July 2022. This complex initiative is part of a multiyear plan to fully integrate the workforce by 2025. Dr. Vyas manages a matrixed reporting structure across the enterprise, collaborating with various heads of human resources at each hospital and ambulatory location to ensure alignment with organizational goals.
In addition to her executive responsibilities, Dr. Vyas has contributed to academia as an adjunct professor of management and organization at the Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California since 2023. Her academic involvement extends back to 2017 when she joined the Lucas College and Graduate School of Business at San Jose State University as adjunct faculty, a role she held until 2023.
Earlier, Dr. Vyas served as the deputy chief human resources officer for the University of California (UC) Davis Health from 2020 to 2022. In this role, she provided strategic leadership for all human resources functions across UC Davis Health’s workforce of approximately 15,000 employees, including those at the medical center, ambulatory locations, UC Davis School of Medicine and Betty Irene Moore School of Nursing. As a key member of the system-wide human resources leadership team, Dr. Vyas influenced policy development and program implementation while serving as a principal executive on the health system’s executive team.
For more than 15 years, Dr. Vyas was affiliated with Stanford University Medical Center. She began in 2006 as a manager of human resources before being named director of human resources from 2009 to 2012. She then spent nearly 10 additional years as the executive director of human resources and as an executive human resources business partner at Stanford Children’s Health | Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital Stanford. In 2018, Dr. Vyas notably founded the diversity, equity and inclusion function at Stanford Children’s Health and represented the hospital on the Stanford Medicine diversity cabinet.
Before joining Stanford Medicine Enterprise, Dr. Vyas was a program lead for talent management and workforce planning at San Jose State University’s human resources department from 2002 to 2006. Her responsibilities included compensation administration, recruitment, HRIS management, performance management and organizational development. Dr. Vyas also participated in union bargaining activities at California’s largest public university campus.
Among other notable roles, Dr. Vyas worked as a human resources and organizational development consultant for Zomax Inc. and several other organizations between 1999 and 2002. She began her career in 1995 as a personnel manager at Bikaner Ceramics Private Ltd. in India before relocating to the United States.
Dr. Vyas has held a bachelor’s degree from Jai Narain Vyas University in Jodhpur, India, since 1995, a Master of Science in industrial-organizational psychology from San Jose State University since 2002, and a Doctor of Philosophy in organization and management from Capella University since 2015. Beyond her formal education, she completed numerous professional certifications that have supported her expertise. These include being a senior certified professional by the Society for Human Resource Management, holding a compensation and benefits specialty certificate from San Jose State University, and earning designations as a human capital strategist and strategic human resources business partner from the Human Capital Institute.
Throughout her career, Dr. Vyas has maintained active involvement in professional organizations, such as the International Association for Human Resources Information Management, where she has been active on the board since 2019, the Academy of Management, the American Society for Healthcare Human Resources Administration and the Forbes Human Resources Council as a member of its HBR advisory council. Her commitment extends beyond her work-related endeavors through civic engagement as an advisory board member for HR.com’s HR Skills & Strategies Research initiative, a member of the SoCal CHRO governing board, and an adviser with Perceptyx.
Recognized for her thought leadership through publications, Dr. Vyas has contributed numerous works to the Forbes HR Council, Forbes.com, ProFile Magazine, the People + Strategy Journal and other notable publishers. She has covered topics that include virtual workforce programs, company cultures, transformative change, and more.
Dr. Vyas has received numerous accolades, including recognition in Becker’s Healthcare as one of the Top Chief HR Officers and Chief People Officers to Know in 2025. She was previously honored as a Woman of Influence Honoree by SUCCESS, among the 10 Most Influential HR Executives to Follow by The Chief Navigator, and among the Top 25 Healthcare HR Leaders to Follow by Perceptyx, among other recognitions.
Looking ahead, Dr. Vyas is preparing to publish her first solo book titled “Reciprocate to Transform,” which will explore emotional intelligence, ethical decision-making, self-awareness, relationships and organizational behavior. As an industrial-organizational psychologist, author, speaker, TED Talk presenter and advocate for ethical leadership, she aims to influence business communities beyond traditional human resources by promoting long-term thinking, collective consciousness and positive change across industries.
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