How a trailblazing executive is redirecting capital, innovation, and attention toward one of America’s most overlooked health crises.
As the 2024–2025 Leadership & Society Initiative (LSI) Fellows brought their capstone projects to a close, they stood before peers, faculty, and global leaders to share what comes next and how they aim to lead with greater purpose. Among them was Janet Foutty, a renowned business leader and former CEO of Deloitte Consulting and former Chair of Deloitte, who brought the full weight of her experience, passion, and vision to a project that reflects both personal conviction and systemic urgency.
After decades leading innovation, transformation, and growth across industries, Janet is turning her focus to one of the most overlooked and underfunded areas in the U.S. healthcare system: women’s health.
Her project, Why Women’s Health Matters—And What I’m Doing About It: A Personal Learning Journey, charts a bold new mission to drive capital, talent, and attention toward improving health outcomes for women. Drawing on her 30-year career at Deloitte, where she served as both CEO of Deloitte Consulting and Chair of Deloitte’s U.S. Board, Janet is making a compelling case for redefining how we think about women’s health—moving beyond the narrow and often default focus on reproductive care to address the full spectrum of health challenges women face across their lifespans.
Rather than centering her work solely on reproductive health, Janet is committed to changing the narrative that women’s health is only about sexual and reproductive issues. She is drawing attention to critical underinvested areas, women’s longevity and the distinct ways common diseases such as heart disease, Alzheimer’s, autoimmune diseases, and lung cancer disproportionately impact women. Drawing on stark data, she highlighted the profound inequities—women pay more for healthcare, are diagnosed later than men, and remain underrepresented in clinical research and medical training. Although women live longer than men in the US by 7 years, they live 25% more of their live in poor health. Women’s health receives less than 3% of total healthcare R&D funding and just 2% of investment dollars, despite the “ghost market” for women’s health being valued at $360 billion. Closing this gap could contribute $1 trillion annually to the global economy by 2040. Meanwhile, women’s health receives less than 3% of healthcare R&D funding, despite the opportunity to unlock $1 trillion in global economic impact by 2040. Rooted in a strong sense of purpose, Janet is committed to driving greater investment, innovation, and attention to women’s health across sectors and over the course of a woman’s life.
Her experience in LSI played a pivotal role in shaping her purpose plan.
As part of her journey, Janet audited two courses that helped her deepen her understanding of complex systems: Perspectives on Capitalism with Rob Gertner, and Introduction to U.S. Health Policy & Politics with Loren Saulsberry. The latter, in particular, expanded her grasp of the political and structural barriers impacting women’s health access and innovation.
“Through the LSI fellowship, I gained the time and perspective to deeply understand the profound underinvestment in women’s health which I had a sense of but hadn’t fully appreciated— in research, capital, and commercialization. This, along with other dimensions of the program strengthened my commitment to help close these gaps and ensure that women’s health receives the attention, innovation, and resources it deserves.” says Janet.
Beyond the classroom, LSI’s immersive experiences were equally formative. During the Paris Immersion, a travel study experience for Fellows on “Healthy Aging & the New Longevity”, Janet was able to connect global health trends with her personal passion. She also participated in a two-part workshop series on cardiovascular health, led by Fellow Ray Stainback, which offered deeper insight into one of the leading and often under-researched causes of mortality in women.
Janet’s project is a clear embodiment of what LSI stands for: a belief that leadership is not just about success, but about reshaping systems and improving lives. The fellowship’s closing symposium, where Fellows share their “purpose plans,” was a powerful reflection of what it means to lead with courage and clarity and Janet’s journey stands out as a model of what’s possible when deep experience meets a renewed sense of purpose.
In this next chapter of her career, Janet is channeling her energy into the intersection of women’s health, leadership, and technology. She recently joined Amboy Street Ventures as an advisor, supporting investments in science-backed companies focused on women’s health, and continues to engage with mission-driven organizations like Women’s Health Access Matters.
As she steps into this next chapter of purpose-driven work, Janet leaves a lasting impression on the LSI community: one of influence used wisely, passion guided by data, and leadership grounded in service. View her full presentation here.
The University of Chicago Leadership and Society Initiative (LSI) supports accomplished leaders in successfully transitioning from their longstanding careers toward purposeful next chapters. LSI Fellows immerse themselves in UChicago’s unparalleled environment of big ideas and multigenerational dialogue, gaining frameworks for learning from their past and planning for their futures.
Through LSI’s rigorous and customizable curriculum, Fellows engage with eminent faculty and expert practitioners to explore how their next chapter can be meaningful for them and for society. This Fellowship is a commitment to personal growth, enduring wellness, and dynamic engagement with pressing societal issues.
Contact us to learn more about LSI.
With a career spanning technology, strategy, and innovation, Rénu reflects on how the Leadership and Society Initiative (LSI) fellowship is shaping her next chapter.
A conversation on purpose, intellectual vitality, and continuing the work of lifelong learning at the University of Chicago Graham School.
Activate Fellow Constance Filling reflects on learning, leadership, and the power of bringing people together.