Jim O’Neill Sworn in as Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services

WASHINGTON, DC—JUNE 9, 2025—Jim O’Neill was sworn in today as the Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services by Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. With decades of experience at the intersection of health care, technology, and public service, O’Neill will help Kennedy oversee an agency that includes the National Institutes of Health, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, the Administration for Children and Families, and many others.

 “Jim O’Neill’s extensive experience in Silicon Valley and government makes him ideally suited to transition HHS into a technological innovation powerhouse. He will help us harness cutting-edge AI, telemedicine, and other breakthrough technologies to deliver the highest quality medical care for Americans,” said Secretary Kennedy. “As my deputy, he will lead innovation and help us reimagine how we serve the public. Together, we will promote outcome-centric medical care, champion radical transparency, uphold gold-standard science, and empower Americans to take charge of their own health.”

Deputy Secretary O’Neill’s appointment underscores an intense focus on fostering health innovation, modernizing systems, and restoring evidence-based science and medicine to the center of heath care.

“I am deeply honored to return to HHS,” said Deputy Secretary O’Neill. “All Americans deserve to be healthy, happy, and prosperous, and President Trump and Secretary Kennedy have the right vision and leadership to get us there. I’m eager to help my colleagues find the root causes of chronic disease, support families making healthy choices, and help businesses make health care more affordable and accessible. Together all of us can make America healthy again.”

Deputy Secretary O’Neill previously served at HHS from 2002 to 2008. As the Principal Associate Deputy Secretary from 2007 to 2008 he led reforms at FDA to overhaul food safety regulations and implemented the FDA Amendments Act to improve drug and medical device safety. He helped design and launch HHS’ Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response to lead the health response to emergencies and disasters.

After serving at HHS, O’Neill became a managing director of Clarium Capital, a global macro investment fund. As chief executive officer of the Thiel Foundation, O’Neill funded innovative nonprofits that promote technology and freedom. As co-founder of the Thiel Fellowship, he helped launch the careers of young entrepreneurs who founded science and tech companies worth hundreds of billions of dollars.

More recently, O’Neill served as CEO of SENS Research Foundation where he led efforts to research and develop regenerative medicine solutions for age-related diseases such as Alzheimer’s, cancer, and heart disease. Under his leadership, SENS Research Foundation made progress toward rejuvenating the immune system, eliminating senescent cells, rejuvenating the neocortex, and obviating mitochondrial mutations.

O’Neill holds degrees from Yale University and the University of Chicago and has three children.