Founder, The Overtone Group; former Chairman & CEO, Cardinal Health

George Barrett is the founder of The Overtone Group. He is a healthcare industry leader, educator, and frequent speaker on leadership, with a distinguished career as a business executive of global corporations. He served as chairman and CEO of Cardinal Health, a Fortune 20 multi-national healthcare services and products company, for nearly a decade, ending in November 2018. Under his tenure, Cardinal Health was recognized as one of Fortune’s World’s Most Admired Companies, Forbes America’s Best Employers, and received numerous awards for its public health, corporate social responsibility, and philanthropic initiatives.

Barrett is a director on corporate, public sector, and non-profit boards, including Target Corporation, National Resilience, Digital Diagnostics, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, and is vice chair of The Conference Board. He co-chairs a National Academy of Medicine Action Collaborative on Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector. He is the former chair of The Healthcare Leadership Council. Barrett was a director of the Fourth District of the Federal Reserve Bank and served as a member of President Obama’s White House Business Council. A lifelong performing musician and arts supporter, he is a trustee of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

Barrett is a visiting professor of practice and senior fellow at New York University’s Stern School of Business, an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, and a frequent lecturer at other universities. He is a graduate of Brown University with a dual concentration in history and music and earned an M.B.A. from New York University. He serves on the board of Brown’s Committee on Medical and Health Affairs, and Brown’s Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs. He holds multiple honorary doctorates and is the recipient of the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for a life dedicated to statesmanship and community service.