As Northwell Health’s chief experience officer, Sven Gierlinger drives cultural transformation across Northwell’s 21 hospitals while focusing on putting patients first. A previous hotel executive with the Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Mr. Gierlinger brings a unique perspective to customer service. However, his medical journey and personal patient experience—having spent months in the hospital battling Guillain-Barré syndrome—motivates him to disrupt the status quo in health care. From elevating hospital food to Michelin-star status, to harnessing technology and artificial intelligence to analyze patient and caregiver survey responses, Mr. Gierlinger keeps the pulse of Northwell’s patients and improves their experience every step of the way.