Chairman and CEO Steve Beard Interview with McKinsey: How Covista Is Changing Education For Healthcare Professionals
Covista Chairman and CEO Steve Beard recognized the moment was right for transformation after being confronted with data that couldn’t be ignored: the U.S. produces far fewer healthcare workers than it needs.
In an interview with McKinsey, Beard discussed how that realization reframed everything at the company—and set in motion a series of bold initiatives that reshaped its purpose, structure and culture to focus squarely on addressing the national shortage of healthcare workers. Here are a few highlights:
- Over the past four years, Covista has narrowed its educational portfolio to five institutions centered on healthcare education, creating pathways into healthcare careers for career changers, working parents and adult learners—the people traditional higher education has often left behind.
- In early 2026, the company rebranded from Adtalem Global Education to Covista, reflecting the completion of its consolidation into a combined portfolio systemically important to U.S. healthcare and marking the start of a new chapter focused on impact at scale.
- The company has embraced AI as a complement to the value colleagues, faculty and students bring to their work, promoting AI literacy across the organization. Through a partnership with Google Cloud, Covista developed healthcare-specific AI credentials that are accessible to students and alumni at each institution, allowing them to practice using them before entering the workplace.
Strategic collaborations with large health systems—such as SSM Health and Advocate Health—are expanding access to nursing education and building direct pipelines into the communities that need them most. The SSM Health partnership alone is projected to deliver about 400 nurses per year at full scale, with SSM Health providing financial support and clinical placements.
