Roche’s Digital Transformation: Building Trust and Innovation in Healthcare

Roche is redefining digital transformation in healthcare through AI, storytelling, and human-centred innovation. Under CEO Thomas Schinecker and CDTO Wafaa Mamilli, the company blends technology, trust, and culture to drive lasting impact across global operations.

To say that driving innovation and digital transformation into long-established multinational firms is challenging is, at best, an understatement.

It’s a challenge that’s compounded further for businesses in highly regulated industries like healthcare or financial services where today’s flashy innovation, could cause tomorrow’s market crash.

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Taking risk when your risk averse
In industries like these risk aversion is often essential to maintaining customer trust so any initiative that could put that reputation at risk needs to be trialled rigorously before being put into practice.

As the focus of healthcare and health policy shifts from cure to care, Roche - the Swiss headquartered global pharmaceutical and diagnostics leader - has pioneered digital transformation.

Starting the digital journey
At the start of the decade under Thomas Schinecker, then head of the company’s diagnostics business, Roche redefined how innovation is embraced internally for digital pathology (using technology to digitalise specimens from glass slides for testing and diagnostics).

And complementing internal innovation with storytelling-driven strategies, dynamic ecosystems, and a patient-first mindset to maintain reputation and trust with customers.

Such was the success of the firm’s efforts to digitalise the business, at the beginning of 2025 Schinecker was made CEO of Roche. And his mission to put digital transformation, AI and data at the heart of the business is now moving up a gear with the appointment of Wafaa Mamilli as chief digital technology officer in February this year.

It’s a wide-ranging role. In this new position Mamilli will report directly to the company’s corporate executive committee and the CEO, and also oversee the group’s IT operations (previously the responsibility of the CFO).

“Technology - and particularly AI - has never been more promising in shaping the future of healthcare. I am excited to build on Roche’s strong foundation, leveraging digital, data, and AI to prevent, stop, and cure diseases while amplifying the role of technology in delivering impactful solutions worldwide.”

Wafaa Mamilli, CDTO, Roche

So how are they embedding transformation across the company’s global operations?

A big part of the success so far has come from a clear mission. Central to Roche’s transformation has been a future-oriented digital health strategy that relies on internal engagement and external partnerships.

In one instance the firm worked with the Board of Innovation, an innovation consultancy, to build a human-centred innovation vision, mapping the digital health landscape and anchoring transformation around tangible market trends.

“With the speed of technology and its strategic importance to our business now and for the future, I am thrilled to have Wafaa Mamilli joining us. She is a visionary leader with deep technical and business expertise who will be instrumental in leveraging the power of digitalisation and artificial intelligence across our business.”

Thomas Schinecker, CEO, Roche

The inside-outside balance
Innovation is essential for legacy firms to keep up with competitors and match customer expectations. But internal initiatives - to drive adoption, build staff advocacy - so innovations get used and promoted are just as important.

Internally, Roche’s narratives focused on empowering cross-functional teams and leaders to co-create solutions, to overcome legacy silos, and create a culture rooted in co-innovation.

Structures like the firm’s Cobas digital ecosystem (see, open innovation diagnostics ecosystem, below) - which integrates real-time clinical diagnostics solutions with startup-led apps - are one example of how Roche combines narrative clarity with operational innovation to get buy-in across the organisation.

Trust is all
Building trust has also played a key role in how the company plans and implements innovations.

As the cornerstone of healthcare adoption Roche has invested deeply in mechanisms to build internal and external confidence. At the heart of this is an AI Trust & Ethics framework ensuring that artificial intelligence solutions are not only functional but are also explainable, compliant, and ethical.

Strict regulatory compliance and governance also plays a role. Roche’s governance models align with evolving regulations like Germany’s DiGA reimbursement pathway that demand concrete evidence.

Speak up, speak clearly
And for an industry at the apex of science where consumer understanding can be plagued by an alphabet soup of abbreviations and scientific terminology, the company has worked hard to simplify complex concepts and technologies, aligning them with Roche’s values of safety, reliability, and patient benefit.

The company uses these stories to build confidence among healthcare providers adopting platforms like the Cobas pulse device, which connects to diverse applications developed by MedTech startups across the globe.

The efforts are paying off. By combining evidence-based storytelling with compliance and strategic communication, the company is finding that internal stakeholders adopt new tools faster and more confidently (see Impacts & Outcomes, below) and saving costs.

Homing-in innovation
Working holistically across the company’s businesses and operations Roche is consolidating an environment that supports a culture of continuous learning and agile experimentation.

An effort it hopes to build on with a network of innovation hubs like its innovation centre near Barcelona in Spain where 1,400 multinational professionals co-create next-gen diagnostics and software.

Roche’s approach is a clear example of how embedding purpose into internal stories - such as “designing for more time with patients” - fuels cultural shifts that are essential for successful transformation internally as well as with customers.

Patients and focus ;)
For maximum impact in an industry where patients’ lives are at stage these narratives tie digital transformation directly to improved health outcomes and professional satisfaction.

As digital health systems reduce administrative waste and accelerate lab and drug development times, Roche’s internal teams are increasingly connecting their roles directly to broader impacts.

An approach where ‘shiny new thing’ technologies or new platforms are not the focus of attention. Instead Roche is telling a hopeful, unified story of progress, shared goals, and ultimately, human-centred health.

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Roche: Digital Transformation Impact

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Simon Hardie is an author and founder of findexable - the digital analytics and insight platform. He co-hosts the Born to Disrupt podcast with Mingzulu and Disrupts