Ali Parsa

Ali Parsadoust
Born	Ali Parsadoust (1965-01-24) January 24, 1965 Rasht, Iran
Other names	Ali Parsa
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, former investment banker
Years active	1993–present
Known for	Founder and CEO of Babylon Health; co-founder and former CEO of Circle Health

Ali Parsadoust (widely known as Ali Parsa; born 24 January 1965) is a British-Iranian entrepreneur in the healthcare sector and a former investment banker. He founded and served as CEO of the now-insolvent digital health firm Babylon Health, and he also co-founded and previously led hospital management company Circle Health.

Early career

Born in Rasht, Iran, to middle-class Persian parents, Parsa left the country in 1981 following the revolution. After independently preparing for his O and A-levels, he enrolled at University College London (UCL), where he completed a bachelor's degree in civil and environmental engineering in 1987, followed by a PhD in engineering physics in 1995. During his studies, he co-established Victoria & Gilan (V&G), a media promotion enterprise that earned him the Royal Award for Young Entrepreneur of the Year in 1993.

In 1995, Parsa sold V&G and transitioned into investment banking with Credit Suisse First Boston, heading corporate finance under Stephen Hester. He subsequently worked at Merrill Lynch from 1997 to 1999, focusing on technology and UK investment banking, before becoming executive director of European technology banking at Goldman Sachs between 1999 and 2001.

Circle Health

In 2004, Parsa launched Circle Health, marking the first private entity to operate a hospital within the UK National Health Service (NHS). Circle Health expanded to become Europe's largest clinician partnership, generating approximately £200 million annually and employing around 3,000 staff. The company went public in 2012, coinciding with Parsa's departure from the CEO position.

Parsa stepped down as CEO of Circle in December 2012 amid financial difficulties related to managing Hinchingbrooke Health Care Trust—the sole NHS hospital run privately. For the first half of the 2012-13 fiscal year, Hinchingbrooke recorded a £4.1 million deficit, exceeding forecasts by £2.2 million. The National Audit Office criticized the franchise procurement process, highlighting Circle's challenging savings targets. Shortly after leaving Circle, Parsa was slated to provide evidence before a House of Commons committee reviewing NHS trust franchising.

Following significant criticism from the Care Quality Commission, Circle lost its contract to manage Hinchingbrooke in 2015.

Babylon Health

Parsa founded Babylon Health in 2014, a London-based company developing mobile health applications that provide subscription-based virtual consultations via text and video. Babylon’s mission includes enhancing private-sector efficiency and quality within the NHS framework.

By 2017, Parsa promoted Babylon as a game-changer for healthcare delivery, predicting that AI-powered diagnostics would eventually outperform physicians. However, Babylon’s chatbot faced scrutiny; a report published in 2019 revealed diagnostic inaccuracies involving critical symptoms.

Recognized by The Times as one of the top 100 global figures to watch in 2012 and listed by the Health Service Journal among the UK's most influential healthcare leaders, Parsa guided Babylon toward an anticipated NYSE listing valued at $4.2 billion scheduled for June 2021.

Babylon debuted on the NYSE in October 2021 but experienced a severe decline in share price from $272.50 to under $1—a collapse Parsa later described as an "unbelievable, unmitigated disaster." As of December 2022, his annual salary was USD 667,340.

In June 2023, Babylon announced intentions to delist from the NYSE and transfer key subsidiaries to MindMaze SA without shareholder compensation due to debt arrangements with AlbaCore. By August 2023, Babylon reversed this plan and declared its withdrawal from the US market.

According to Forbes in August 2023, Babylon began winding down operations in Rwanda, potentially impacting healthcare access for approximately 2.8 million people. Later that month, Babylon filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy liquidation proceedings in the United States.

In September 2023, Babylon’s UK branch filed for bankruptcy and sold its assets to eMed for $620,000 (£500,000).

Personal life

Parsa is wedded to Mairi Johnson, a Canadian who previously worked in banking, and together they are parents to three children.