Whether it’s adapting to a new process, learning a never-before-used tool or deviating from the norm in another way entirely, opening the door to change in the workplace can be intimidating. Simultaneously, though, what awaits on the other side can ultimately be as exciting as it is initially daunting.

Ani Kukday and his fellow teammates at Rally Health, where he serves as VP of engineering, are currently in the middle of a big shift themselves. By September, the firm will completely come under the fold of parent company UnitedHealth Group and its Optum division (up until now, Rally has been described by the organization as a “non-integrated” part of Optum). In doing so, select team members will join a newly created entity, Optum Digital. 

“The integration of Rally Health is leading to the creation of a new organization, Optum Digital, whose sole purpose is to create an organization for digital excellence to help our users have a simplified experience across their healthcare journey,” Kukday said. “The organization is about building synergy and creating mechanisms to innovate and deliver high-quality products to consumers.”

Kukday views this change as a golden opportunity for Rally team members to bring the organization’s “innovative spirit” to a larger brand while delivering tech-driven solutions at a grander scope. Simultaneously, Rally employees — whom Kukday said can experience growth potential through resources like tuition reimbursement and leadership development programs — will have the chance to learn from the healthcare “domain expertise” boasted by their Optum colleagues.

In sum, it’s a marked departure from when Kukday initially came aboard, but one that’s enticing to the leader. “When I joined Rally, we were a small, scrappy startup eager to change the world and execute our mission of putting health into the hands of the individual,” Kukday said. “Today, we have the opportunity to apply that same drive and spirit to make an impact at a much larger scale, with the full backing of a Fortune 7 company.”

As the organization gears up for the move, Kukday pulled back the curtain on the changes that are in the works and how mixing Rally Health’s innovation-driven mindset with the backing of a larger organization will impact both team members and users.

Ani Kukday

VP of Engineering • Rally Health

How do you think this integration aligns with the direction in which the healthtech industry is heading — and, as a result, sets the organization up for future success?

Consumers expect more of their interactions with the healthcare system to be digital
first, and for those interactions to be seamless. Optum Digital is the consumer-facing digital experience for UnitedHealth Group. We’re in a unique position to be able to build software that transforms healthcare interactions to the high usability standard that consumers demand while reducing costs and improving health outcomes.

As a leader, what is your approach to change management? How do you get your team members excited about the integration?

Change is a natural part of life. My approach is to help individuals understand how their roles and life will be impacted and answer any questions they might have. Personally, I’m very excited about the increased impact on user experience and health outcomes we are now able to have with the massive scale and reach that comes with our deeper integration with Optum.

The organization is about building synergy and creating mechanisms to innovate and deliver high-quality products to consumers.”
 

How would you describe the tech culture at Rally? How do you think it can add value to the tech culture at Optum?

Rally has a culture of speed and innovation. We’re really good at taking a problem and running with it from ideation through execution. We’re excited to bring this innovative spirit and a fresh perspective to some of the larger problems facing the broader Optum organization. Culture is always aspirational and it’s never fully formed. We as a team have to advocate for it, live it and breathe it. There will always be work to be done and ways to improve it. That’s a commitment we all need to make to each other.

Conversely, what do you think the team at Rally can learn from Optum?

Rally is a team made up largely of people who are outsiders to the healthcare industry. We’re excited for Optum to leverage their deep domain expertise to show us the ropes in navigating the broader industry.

Different organizations have different cultures, processes and technological visions. How do you adapt to the norms of a new organization such as Optum while also bringing your team’s talents to the table in a way that adds value seamlessly?

Values are the beliefs and guideposts for behaviors, and hopefully you’ve joined an organization where you can identify with many or all of its core values. Bringing the values to life by living them is one of the fastest ways to accelerate a great culture. Rally Health built a culture around respect, collaboration and ownership. I believe these are easily transferable to UnitedHealth Group and their culture of integrity, compassion, relationships, innovation and performance.

How do you think this integration will benefit customers and users?

The integration will improve collaboration, innovation and prioritization for digital health solutions, as well as offer more capabilities than currently exist. All parts work more smoothly when data and services are interoperable, allowing consumers to live healthier lives and ultimately making the healthcare system work better for everyone.

The integration will improve collaboration, innovation and prioritization for digital health solutions.”

Lastly, what are you hoping to achieve as an engineering leader in Optum Digital after the integration is complete? What are some big items on your team’s engineering roadmap?

Rally engineers take pride in not only delivering high-quality software, but also improving the way we deliver software. For example, I’m excited about the advances that we’re making in Neptune, Rally’s development platform, which helps engineers provision disposable and isolated prod-like environments for testing and enabling CI/CD workflows.