Bhaskar Sambasivan

Chief Executive Officer Saama

Last Reviewed: September 18, 2026

Executive Summary

Bhaskar Sambasivan is the chief executive of Saama, the Campbell, California company that builds AI-driven data products for clinical research and commercial operations in life sciences, and whose platform supported the clinical trial behind the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine. He took the role in February 2024 after more than thirty years spent at the point where healthcare and technology meet — as chief executive of CitiusTech, as chief strategy officer and president of patient services at EVERSANA, and, for nearly fifteen years, running Cognizant’s Global Life Sciences business. His career has been built on the services and transformation side of pharma rather than in research, which is the relevant background for a company whose central problem is getting clinical data into usable shape fast enough to shorten the path from trial to patient.

Career Highlights

• Appointed chief executive officer of Saama on 20 February 2024, succeeding Vivek Sharma.
• Also serves as chief executive of Astraa, the Saama brand extending the company’s analytics platform into insurance, capital markets, consumer goods, healthcare and the public sector.
• Led Cognizant’s Global Life Sciences business for nearly fifteen years as senior vice president and global markets leader.
• Served as chief executive officer of CitiusTech, the healthcare technology services company.
• Served as chief strategy officer and president of patient services at EVERSANA.
• Named a PharmaVOICE 100 honoree in 2017 and again in 2018, in the Change Agent category.
• Serves on the advisory board of TiE New Jersey.

Professional Journey

Sambasivan spent the bulk of his early and middle career at Cognizant, where over close to fifteen years he rose to senior vice president and global markets leader for life sciences, running the company’s Global Life Sciences business. That period coincided with the pharmaceutical industry’s shift of clinical, regulatory and commercial operations onto digital infrastructure, and it was the work that brought him public recognition: PharmaVOICE named him to its 100 list of influential and inspirational leaders in life sciences in 2017 and again in 2018, in the Change Agent category, with Cognizant issuing press releases on both occasions.

He then moved into senior roles closer to the commercial end of the industry, serving as chief strategy officer and president of patient services at EVERSANA, the commercialisation services company, before taking the chief executive role at CitiusTech, a healthcare technology services and solutions business. Across those moves the constant has been the same market — pharmaceutical and life sciences companies buying technology and services to change how they operate — approached from successively more senior operating positions.

Saama announced his appointment as chief executive on 20 February 2024. He succeeded Vivek Sharma, who stepped down for personal reasons after a period of growth and expansion for the company. On taking the role Sambasivan described the life sciences industry as in a vibrant and innovative period and argued that Saama was uniquely positioned to lead the current transformation in clinical research.

Saama itself builds AI-powered products for clinical and commercial operations in life sciences, with a quarter-century pedigree in data and analytics and a platform that was used in the clinical trial for the world’s first COVID-19 vaccine. Alongside the core life sciences business, Sambasivan also heads Astraa, a Saama brand launched in April 2023 — before his arrival — that takes the same analytics platform into insurance, capital markets, consumer goods, healthcare and the public sector. Under his leadership Saama has continued to push into agentic AI, introducing modular and adaptive AI agents for clinical innovation and an AI-driven data platform aimed at accelerating clinical development.

Education

Indian Institute of Science

Master of Engineering. No undergraduate institution, field of study or years could be established, and the degree does not appear on Saama’s own leadership page or in the company’s press materials.