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Inside ViVE 2026 with Rich Scarfo (HLTH/ViVE) & Russ Branzell (CHIME) – Part 2: Turning Conversations Into Outcomes

Inside ViVE 2026 with Rich Scarfo (HLTH/ViVE) & Russ Branzell (CHIME) – Part 2: Turning Conversations Into Outcomes

Rich Scarfo

President, HLTH/ViVE

Rich Scarfo is a visionary leader and event innovator who has built his career on redefining how industries connect. As President of HLTH, he spent the past seven years transforming the startup into the world’s leading healthcare innovation event and helped launch HLTH Europe, now entering its second year. He was the driving force behind ViVE, launched in 2022, which has rapidly become the top event for C-suite leaders and decision-makers, and the industry’s brightest companies, in digital health and health IT.

Known for breaking industry norms, Rich has a storied background that includes senior roles at CES, where he helped expand the show into a broader consumer tech platform, and co-launching E3, which became the flagship event for the video game industry. He also held leadership roles at the Foundation for the National Institutes of Health and HIMSS, where he created the Personal Connected Health Alliance following HIMSS’s acquisition of his first event—the mHealth Summit. Across every chapter, Rich has built platforms that challenge the status quo and deliver real impact.

Russ Branzell

President and CEO, CHIME

Russell P. Branzell is the CEO and president of the College of Healthcare Information Executives (CHIME) and its affiliate associations: the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Security (AEHIS), the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Technology (AEHIT) and the Association for Executives in Healthcare Information Applications (AEHIA).

Prior to joining CHIME as president and CEO in April 2013, Branzell served as CEO of the Colorado Health Medical Group.  Prior to that, he was the vice president of information services and CIO at Poudre Valley Health System and the president/CEO of Innovation Enterprises (PVHS’ for-profit information services entity). Before joining PVHS, Branzell was the regional deputy CIO and executive director of information services for Sisters of Mercy Health System in St. Louis, Mo. Branzell served on active duty in the United States Air Force and retired from the Air Force Reserves in 2008. While on active duty, he served in numerous healthcare administration positions, including CIO for the Air Mobility Command Surgeon General’s Office. In 1996, he was selected for the Air Force Medical Service Fellowship program and completed a CIO internship at the Unity Health System in St. Louis.

A native of San Antonio, Branzell earned an undergraduate degree in business administration, specializing in human resource management and labor relations, from the University of Texas. In addition, he earned a master’s degree in aerospace science from Embry-Riddle University with an emphasis in management.

Inside ViVE 2026 with Rich Scarfo (HLTH/ViVE) & Russ Branzell (CHIME) – Part 2: Turning Conversations Into Outcomes

In Part Two of this special ViVE series, the conversation moves from why ViVE exists to how leaders and solution partners actually extract value from it.

Eric Glazer continues the discussion with Rich Scarfo, President of HLTH/ViVE, and Russ Branzell, President & CEO of CHIME, focusing on how different audiences experience ViVE and what separates attendees who walk away with clarity and momentum from those who don’t.

Rich and Russ share practical perspectives on how senior healthcare leaders should navigate ViVE, how to balance content sessions with curated meetings, and what intentional preparation looks like before, during, and after the event. They also discuss what “showing up the right way” means for solution partners, what makes a partner conversation valuable from an executive standpoint, and how to build trust that extends beyond the conference.

If you’re attending ViVE 2026, or deciding how to approach large industry convenings more strategically, this episode offers concrete guidance on how to turn time spent onsite into outcomes that last well beyond the event.

Resources:

Take a look at what’s in store at ViVE 2026, taking place Feb. 22-25 in Los Angeles – https://hlth.com/events/vive

Attend ViVE using discount code V26BSV for $250 off the General Attendee ticket – https://hlth.com/events/vive/register

 

Rich Scarfo

President, HLTH/ViVE

Russ Branzell

President and CEO, CHIME

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