How the MIT EMBA Empowered One Alum to Lead with Innovation and Purpose

Founder & CEO of Trailhead Health Partners, Senior Vice President of Strategic Development & Corporate Relations at Apricity Robotics, and a 2014 graduate of the MIT EMBA, Brian Rosnov has built a career spanning more than 25 years in the healthcare and biotech industries, including a distinguished tenure at Philips. Today, as an entrepreneur and CEO of his own firm, he helps leadership teams solve challenges in innovation, partnership development, and growth strategy—skills he credits to his time at MIT Sloan.

Why did you decide to pursue the MIT Executive MBA at this stage of your career? What holes were you trying to fill with this degree?

There were a few key reasons. First, my employer at the time, Philips, was willing to sponsor me, which made the decision easier. I had been with the company for more than a decade, mostly within the R&D organization, but I knew I wanted to transition into more strategic and business leadership roles. To grow further I needed to go beyond my swim lane. At the time, I was managing a global cross-functional team of about 150 people and running a significant product line within our patient monitoring business. 

The EMBA was less about filling holes. It was more about teaching me how to operate at a higher level in my organization, or in any organization.

I saw the EMBA as an opportunity to refine my understanding of the "other side" of business—the financial, strategic, and leadership elements that drive organizations at the global level. MIT Sloan’s emphasis on technology and innovation really appealed to me as a technologist, and the program’s flexibility was critical, given that I had five young children at home. It was also a bonus that the campus was close to where I lived in Boston.

What lessons or courses stood out to you the most during the program?

Roberto Fernandez’s course, Organizational Processes, was transformative. It taught me about the politics, power dynamics, and influence within organizations—skills I didn’t realize were so critical until I moved into leadership roles. I always thought of myself as a non-political person, but I learned that to lead effectively and drive initiatives, you have to understand stakeholder dynamics and influence them strategically.

Christopher Noe’s class, Financial Accounting, was another standout. His ability to weave storytelling into teaching financial statements was incredible. I learned how to interpret a company’s strategy, or its missteps, just by analyzing its financial reports. That skill has been invaluable, whether I’m evaluating investments or advising startups.

Fiona Murray’s courses on innovation and entrepreneurship were also memorable. Her energy and insights into creating value through innovation have influenced how I approach problem-solving and strategy, both at Philips and now in my consulting work.

Can you share examples of how you used what you’ve learned from the EMBA program after graduation? 

I was fortunate to be given a lot of freedom to develop new strategies at Philips, which was exhilarating. When I was contemplating applying to the EMBA program, I was leading the in-hospital ambulatory care business category within Philips’ Patient Monitoring business unit, which, at the time, was roughly a $50 million business, predominantly in North America. We had just launched a new platform that had the potential to redefine the business while I was applying to the EMBA program. I was ecstatic that I was accepted, and my ability to apply in real-time learnings throughout the EMBA program directly back into the business I was responsible for was fundamental to the 7x growth we achieved during my tenure. 

Another example that comes to mind is how I applied lessons from Roberto Fernandez’s class on power and influence. About a year after graduating, I transitioned from the business I was running into Philips’ corporate venture capital team. Within the corporate venture domain, I wasn’t driving a specific P&L but instead, transactions which would deliver value across Philip’s global portfolio. In this world, the ability to manage, curate, and influence senior leadership relationships and decision making internal and external to the company is critical to being effective. One’s ability to build trust, align diverse stakeholders, and “read” the power dynamics in decision making is key, and the frameworks learned in Roberto’s class were essential. To this day, I still refer back to the materials from class and share it with the startup founders I advise.

What does Trailhead Health Partners focus on, and how have you been using what you’ve learned from the EMBA program in what you do?

Trailhead Health Partners provides strategic business development, fundraising, and commercialization advisory services to founding leadership teams across the health technology industry. Our sweet spot is seed+ stage innovation-driven companies validating product/market fit and needing to build scalable commercial channels for the growth stage of their business. As a 25+ year leader within industry and an EMBA alum, I’ve lived these challenges from every perspective imaginable as an innovator, a business operator and leader, an investor, and board member. But the proudest accomplishments of my career have been in talent development, seeing something special within individuals who are often undervalued and misunderstood, and working with them on their journey to unlock their full potential. Trailhead has allowed me to bring both the business and talent development together in a way that allows the firm to selectively engage with clients where we can add real value and get our hands “dirty” with the founders along their journey. Truly “mens et manus.”       

I’m still an innovator at heart, and our current portfolio of clients are all working on breakthrough innovations that we believe will transform segments of the healthcare industry over the next five years. But great innovations are not enough to guarantee success. There are so many challenges founders face along the way, and I’m humbled by the trust our clients have in us to be part of their team and support them holistically, as individuals and as leaders of growing companies. Each client relationship is unique and evolves daily, and the skills I learned throughout the EMBA program have been essential in my transition to CEO and launching a professional services firm.

In addition to our work at Trailhead, I recently joined the leadership team at Apricity Robotics, an Ohio-based startup innovating at the frontier of autonomous robotics in healthcare. This is a dream opportunity that came to me through my network, and I am so greatful to the EMBA program for enabling me to create the foundation for this next phase of my professional life.

How has your life changed since the EMBA program?

It transformed my perspective on who I was and who I could become. Before the program, I was the type of person who was content with my work. I could have continued doing what I was doing and been satisfied, though with some lingering “what if…” regrets. The program helped me believe and visualize what I could achieve. It gave me the confidence to make multiple significant career changes and embrace new opportunities. 

That said, this most recent career transition has been very stressful, particularly given my unique family obligations (in 2024, we had four members of our immediate family, including my wife, in college!). But I could never have predicted the joy I now feel every day in my work and in my relationships. It’s been both incredible and shocking at the same time. 

This experience opened a whole new world of financial, professional, and personal flexibility for me, and I’m excited to see where it takes my family and I over the next decade. If I hadn’t gone to the EMBA program, I wouldn’t be doing what I’m doing now, and I don’t think I would have been as happy and as hopeful about the future.