Bio
(or please see my CV or Google Scholar profile)
David Van Sickle is a health technology entrepreneur and operating executive best known as the co-founder and CEO of Propeller Health, a pioneering digital respiratory platform acquired by ResMed (NYSE: RMD) in 2019 for $225 million.
At Propeller, David led the company from concept to global commercialization, building one of the earliest evidence-driven connected therapeutic platforms at the intersection of devices, pharmaceuticals, data science, and patient experience. The company partnered with leading global pharmaceutical firms including AstraZeneca, Boehringer Ingelheim, GSK, Novartis, Orion, and others, and worked with major health systems, payers, and PBMs across 19 countries. Under his leadership, Propeller generated more than 30 peer-reviewed publications demonstrating clinical and economic impact and secured multiple issued patents in connected device technology and predictive analytics.
Following the acquisition, David continued to lead the Propeller business unit within ResMed, reporting to the President of the Sleep & Respiratory Care division. In that role, he oversaw the integration of the business into a global public company, aligned strategy across product, commercial, regulatory, and corporate development teams, and helped shape ResMed’s broader digital health platform strategy. He later served as Entrepreneur in Residence within ResMed’s corporate strategy group, exploring new platform concepts in sleep and respiratory care.
David currently serves as a board member, investor, and advisor to health technology companies in the U.S. and Europe. He is a member of the Investment Committee at LifeArc Ventures (London), a Non-Executive Director at Closed Loop Medicine (UK), a board member at Ozlo Sleep, and a senior advisor to SHS Capital, a German private equity firm focused on healthcare growth investments. He is also an active investor in more than twenty health technology companies.
He began his career as an Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), leading field epidemiology investigations and public health responses following Hurricanes Katrina and Rita and the Graniteville chlorine gas disaster.
David holds a PhD in Medical Anthropology from the University of Arizona. He has authored more than 30 peer-reviewed publications and is an inventor on multiple issued U.S. patents related to connected medical devices. He has been recognized as a White House Champion of Change for Technology & Innovation and is a frequent keynote speaker at global health and innovation conferences including JP Morgan Healthcare Conference, HLTH, Frontiers Health, and Stanford Medicine X. His work has been featured in The New York Times, The Economist, Forbes, Wired, NPR, and other international media.
He lives in Madison, Wisconsin.
Contact info
+1 (608) 719-9531