Head of Commercial Strategy, Pulse

Sword Health is shifting healthcare from human-first to AI-first through its AI Care platform, making world-class healthcare available anytime, anywhere, while significantly reducing costs for payers, self-insured employers, national health systems, and other healthcare organizations. Sword began by reinventing pain care with AI at its core, and has since expanded into women’s health, movement health, and more recently mental health. Since 2020, more than 700,000 members across three continents have completed 10 million AI sessions, helping Sword's 1,000+ enterprise clients avoid over $1 billion in unnecessary healthcare costs. Backed by 42 clinical studies and over 44 patents, Sword Health has raised more than $500 million from leading investors, including Khosla Ventures, General Catalyst, Transformation Capital, and Founders Fund. Learn more at We are seeking a Head of Commercial Strategy to work with the General Manager to establish Pulse, Sword's AI care for cardiometabolic health solution, as the category leader across health plans, self-insured employers, brokers, consultants, and platform partners. This is not a quota‑carrying sales role. This is a high‑impact individual contributor leadership role. You will not manage a team, but you will be expected to drive outsized strategic impact through personal expertise, relationships, and influence across the organization. The role is focused on market positioning, competitive differentiation, pipeline generation, and commercial intelligence that ensures Pulse wins against every incumbent in the cardiometabolic space. Category Leadership & Market Positioning Define and own the category narrative for AI‑powered cardiometabolic care, positioning Pulse as the definitive next‑generation solution that makes legacy point solutions obsolete. Build and maintain a comprehensive competitive intelligence operation against Hello Heart, Omada, Virta, Vida, Noom Med, Lark, and emerging entrants—understanding their positioning, pricing, clinical evidence, and client traction. Develop differentiated positioning by buyer persona: health plan medical directors, employer benefits leaders, broker/consultant advisors, and platform/channel partners. Create and evangelize the “why Pulse wins” narrative backed by clinical evidence, AI differentiation, outcomes‑based pricing, and total cost of care impact. Author thought leadership content—white papers, conference presentations, webinars, op‑eds, and industry panel appearances—to establish Pulse and Sword as the intellectual leader in cardiometabolic AI care. Pipeline Generation & Commercial Enablement Generate qualified pipeline for the sales team through relationship-driven business development, strategic partnerships, conference presence, and thought leadership— not through direct deal closing. Build and leverage a deep personal network across health plans, brokers, benefits consultants, employer coalitions, and industry associations to open doors and create warm introductions at scale. Create world‑class sales enablement materials—competitive battle cards, objection handling guides, RFP response frameworks, case studies, ROI models, and pitch narratives—that give our sales teams an unfair advantage in every conversation. Partner with the broader sales organization to support upstream deal strategy, competitive positioning in active opportunities, and win/loss analysis to continuously improve our approach. Support strategic client conversations and finalist presentations where deep market expertise and credibility are needed to close—without carrying a personal quota. Client Transition & Cross‑Sell Strategy Develop and execute the strategic playbook for transitioning existing Sword clients to the full Pulse cardiometabolic solution, ensuring a seamless narrative from movement health to comprehensive cardiometabolic care. Identify and prioritize cross‑sell and upsell opportunities within the existing client base, working with account management and sales to drive net new bookings from existing relationships. Create compelling business cases and ROI narratives that make the expansion an obvious decision for current clients. Product Strategy Influence Serve as the voice of the market inside the Pulse product team, translating buyer needs, competitive gaps, and market trends into actionable product strategy inputs. Inform the product roadmap by surfacing what health plans, employers, and brokers are asking for, what competitors are building, and where the market is heading. Partner with the Head of Product to ensure clinical evidence strategy, feature prioritization, and product packaging align with what wins in the market. Collaborate with the clinical and data teams to build the evidence base—studies, outcomes reports, case studies—that reinforces category leadership. PBM & Pharmacy Channel Strategy Own or heavily influence Pulse's PBM partnership strategy, developing prior authorization companion programs, step therapy integration, and formulary‑linked preferred status to position Pulse as a required behavioral intervention alongside GLP‑1 prescriptions. Build relationships with major PBMs—CVS Caremark, Express Scripts, Optum Rx, Prime Therapeutics—and pharmacy benefit consultants to position Pulse as a clinical and cost‑management complement to high‑cost cardiometabolic drug therapy. Develop the business case and partnership models that demonstrate how Pulse reduces total pharmacy spend—particularly GLP‑1 costs—by driving lifestyle‑based outcomes that reduce medication dependency or enable dose optimization. Translate early client interest in PBM integration into a structured partnership strategy and go‑to‑market approach. Partner with the Head of Product and clinical team to ensure the product roadmap supports PBM integration requirements (outcomes reporting, clinical protocols, data sharing frameworks). Industry Presence & Relationships Represent Pulse at major industry conferences as a visible, credible voice. Cultivate relationships with key industry analysts, consultants, and influencers who shape buyer perception and vendor shortlists. Build and maintain a personal brand as a thought leader in cardiometabolic care innovation and AI‑powered healthcare delivery. Develop strategic partnerships with industry bodies, research institutions, and clinical organizations that elevate Pulse's credibility and reach. Requirements 10–15 years of experience in healthcare strategy, commercial strategy, product marketing, or business development within digital health, health plans, benefits consulting, or healthcare technology. Deep, established relationships across the health plan, broker/consultant, and employer benefits ecosystem—open doors through a genuine network. Proven track record of positioning a product or solution as a category leader in a competitive healthcare market, with measurable impact on pipeline generation and win rates. Experience head‑to‑head with established digital health solutions and winning—understanding the cardiometabolic competitive landscape and how these buying decisions are made. Strong understanding of health plan and employer purchasing processes—RFP cycles, broker/consultant influence, medical director evaluation criteria, and benefits committee decision‑making. Exceptional storytelling and communication skills—command a room at HLTH, write compelling white papers, and build a battle card used by sales reps. Strategic thinker who can translate market intelligence into product strategy recommendations and commercial positioning. Comfort operating at the intersection of product, marketing, and sales without owning any single function—acting as connective tissue. Familiarity with PBM dynamics, pharmacy benefit design, and how formulary decisions, prior authorization policies, and step therapy protocols influence healthcare purchasing—or the ability to learn quickly. Self‑starter who thrives in ambiguity and can build a function from scratch in a fast‑moving environment. This is an IC role—driving impact through personal expertise and influence, not team management. Preferred Qualifications Direct experience in the cardiometabolic, diabetes, hypertension, or GLP‑1 space—as a vendor, payer, consultant, or buyer. Track record as a recognized thought leader or speaker in digital health or healthcare innovation. Experience at high‑growth health tech companies where you helped establish or disrupt a product category. Understanding of AI‑native healthcare products and the ability to articulate technical differentiation to non‑technical buyers. Experience with outcomes‑based or value‑based pricing models and how to position them competitively. Background in management consulting, health plan strategy, or benefits consulting before moving to an operating role. Direct experience working with PBMs or pharmacy benefit strategy—understanding prior authorization programs, step therapy design, and formulary management as commercial levers. Proficiency leveraging AI tools to accelerate research, content creation, and competitive analysis. Success Metrics Pipeline generated Competitive win rate Net new bookings influenced Client expansion rate to life stages Sales enablement adoption Benefits & Perks Comprehensive health, dental and vision insurance Life and AD&D insurance Financial advisory services Supplemental insurance benefits (accident, hospital and critical illness) Health Savings Account Equity shares Discretionary PTO plan Parental leave 401(k) Flexible working hours Remote‑first company Paid company holidays Free digital therapist for you and your family Compensation This range includes base, variable and equity. These compensation bands are just the starting point. Once someone joins and proves they are an outlier talent, we adjust quickly to ensure their compensation aligns with their impact. Legal & Employment Notices Applicants must have a legal right to work in the United States, and immigration or work visa sponsorship will not be provided. SWORD Health, which includes SWORD Health, Inc. and Sword Health Professionals (consisting of Sword Health Care Providers, P.A., SWORD Health Care Providers of NJ, P.C., SWORD Health Care Physical Therapy Providers of CA, P.C.) complies with applicable Federal and State civil rights laws and does not discriminate on the basis of age, ancestry, color, citizenship, gender, gender expression, gender identity, gender information, marital status, medical condition, national origin, physical or mental disability, pregnancy, race, religion, caste, sexual orientation, and veteran status. #J-18808-Ljbffr Sword Health