Catherine Mohr Keynote Speaker

Expert on the future of medicine
Pioneer of surgical robots and sustainable technologies
Inventor and entrepreneur

Catherine Mohr's Biography

Catherine Mohr is an expert in the fields of robotic surgery and sustainable technologies. She holds patents for medical devices, has been involved with several start up companies and today is Senior Director of Medical Research for Intuitive Surgical, maker of the da Vinci robotic surgical system. She holds a medical degree plus degrees in mechanical engineering and has worked in the fields of alternative energy and transportation—including alternate energy vehicles, and sustainable technologies.

During her initial training as a mechanical engineer at MIT’s AI Laboratory, Catherine developed compliant robotic hands designed to work in unstructured and dynamic environments. Later, while pursuing an MD degree at Stanford, she identified needs for new laparoscopic surgical instruments and collaborated to develop the first totally robotic roux-en-Y gastric bypass, and invented and then started a company to commercialize the “LapCap” device for safely establishing pneumoperitoneum.

She is a leading expert on robotic surgery and the future of medicine, bringing frontline insight as Senior Director of Medical Research at Intuitive Surgical, maker of the da Vinci surgical system.
She translates how robotics and intelligent tools are reshaping healthcare into clear strategic implications for leaders, helping organisations understand what innovation will change in surgery, patient outcomes and clinical practice.
She brings rare credibility as an inventor and entrepreneur with multiple patents and start-up experience, connecting breakthrough engineering to real-world adoption, regulation and impact.
She draws on deep technical expertise across medicine and mechanical engineering, including early work at MIT’s AI Laboratory and surgical innovation at Stanford, to make complex technologies accessible and decision-ready.
Her talks equip audiences to think boldly about sustainable, high-performance healthcare, linking medical innovation with broader lessons in design, systems thinking and transformative change.