About
A clinician's perspective on a changing system.
Dr Tyson Welzel has spent more than two decades in healthcare, moving from clinical practice into group-level governance and innovation leadership. He graduated in Medicine from the University of Cape Town in 2001, and built a clinical foundation in emergency, disaster, hyperbaric, diving, aviation and expedition medicine before taking on clinical management, academic and committee responsibilities, including service as Vice Chair of Stellenbosch University's Institutional Review Board and Human Research Ethics Committee. At Mediclinic Group he held three consecutive group-level roles between 2016 and 2025 — Global GM for Clinical Governance & Development, Group GM for Innovation, and Group Chief Innovation Officer — sitting on the Group Executive Committee and the Growth Committee. He founded Acuvera in August 2025 and is currently completing the INSEAD International Directors Programme.
For many years he served the dual function of clinician and Clinical Manager at a district hospital in Cape Town. Shifting to academia, he joined UCT's Division of Emergency Medicine as Assistant Professor and co-ordinator of the MPhil and PG Dip programmes, and served on the Human Research Ethics Committee of Stellenbosch University from 2011 to 2018. He is a co-founder of the Centre of Excellence in Emergency Medicine in Bern.
In 2016 he joined Mediclinic Group, taking responsibility for clinical governance and health technology assessments before being appointed to spearhead innovation across the organisation in 2019. He founded the Mediclinic radical innovation hub in Zug, Switzerland in 2021, and a secondary hub in Barcelona, Spain in 2023. His portfolio for the Group encompassed strategy, business development, innovation, research, data, automation and marketing. Dr Welzel moved on to establish Acuvera as Managing Partner in August 2025.
Dr Welzel's passion is planning for and assisting with system level change. Healthcare suffers from an incredible status quo bias. Even though we write the year 2026, many of the processes and procedures we use are many years old, not taking advantage of what could be done today. A fundamental rethink is required that is hindered by vested interests of multiple stakeholders on the one hand and a required confluence of medical knowhow, technological knowhow and funding expertise, while improving patient safety, quality of care and experience. While AI and embodied AI will play a major role going forward, healthcare fundamentally still requires empathy and a human touch, both threatened by an absolute lack of appropriately trained carers, nurses and doctors.
Career
2025 – Present
Founder and Managing Partner, Acuvera Consulting GmbH
Founded and now leads Acuvera, an advisory to healthcare organisations on strategy, governance and operations, with offices in Switzerland, the United Kingdom, South Africa and Mauritius.
2021, 2023
Founded Healthcare Innovation Hubs
Established an innovation hub for disruptive innovation in health in Zug, Switzerland and subsequently in Barcelona, Spain.
2019 – 2025
Group Chief Innovation Officer
Appointed to spearhead strategy and innovation across a multinational healthcare delivery organisation operating in five countries. Part of the remit was digital transformation, including implementing AI solutions, as well as product development, clinical research and marketing.
2016 – 2020
Member of the Ex-Gratia Review Committee, Remedi Health Insurance (South Africa), administered by Discovery Health
Reviewed exceptional and disputed benefit claims, contributing to fair clinical and governance decisions on behalf of the medical scheme and its members.
2016 – 2019
Global GM for Clinical Governance
Took responsibility for clinical governance, research and health technology assessments across a multinational healthcare delivery organisation, developing a "ward-to-board" clinical governance system and embedded HTA for service line and CAPEX decisions.
2011 – 2018
Vice Chair (from 2013) of Stellenbosch University's Institutional Review Board / Human Research Ethics Committee
Served on the Human Research Ethics Committee from 2011 and as Vice Chair from 2013, overseeing research ethics governance at Stellenbosch University.
2011 – 2016
Assistant Professor, UCT Division of Emergency Medicine
Programme lead and co-ordinator of the MPhil and PG Dip in Emergency Medicine. Member of Stellenbosch University's Human Research Ethics Committee (2011–2018).
2004 – 2010
Head of Clinical Services, Public District Hospital
Served the dual role of clinician and clinical manager at a district hospital in Cape Town.
2001
MBChB, University of Cape Town
Graduated in Medicine from UCT and began building a career anchored in Emergency Medicine.
Governance & Oversight
- Member, Group Executive Committee, Mediclinic Group (2020–2025).
- Member, Group Growth & Investment Committee, Mediclinic Group (2020–2025).
- Chairman of the Board, Ouroboros Solutions AG, Zug, CH (2020–2025).
- Chairman of the Board, Phoenix Health and Wellness Solutions, S.L.U., Barcelona, ES (2023–2025).
- Vice Chair (from 2013), Institutional Review Board and Human Research Ethics Committee, University of Stellenbosch (2011–2018); contributed to the Committee's international accreditation (AAHRPP).
- Group lead for clinical governance, clinical standards and the clinical accountability structure across Southern Africa, the Middle East and Switzerland (2016–2019).
- Currently completing the INSEAD International Directors Programme (2025–2026).
Beyond medicine
On the rare occasion when there is spare time, Dr Welzel is an avid photographer — both SLR and drone-based — and enjoys a good hike through the Swiss landscape he now calls home.
Specialist interests
- — Corporate and clinical governance
- — Risk and finance oversight
- — Health technology assessment
- — Hospital strategy and the future of care
- — Emergency, disaster and expedition medicine