Lily sarafan biography

I’m Lily Sarafan. I was born in Iran. I’m a proud, grateful Iranian-American living in the Bay Area. I am the President and Chief Executive Officer of HCA, the largest private pay provider of in-home care for seniors in North America.

As a Stanford student, I was really fortunate to be exposed to a number of different disciplines. After I finished my undergrad and graduate degrees I was planning on attending Stanford Law, until I met a brilliant local couple operating a senior care business four blocks from campus. Until that point, I had never considered healthcare or the older adult population in my career plans, but after a few deep conversations about the fragmentation and lack of creativity in this sector, I saw the true opportunity to create a transformative company and bring attention to this vital sector. Of course, in my head, the plan to return to Stanford Law was always on the horizon – and then next year became five years later while HCA continued to succeed and scale across the nation. Before long, we had grown to hundreds of employees, and then thousands, and I found it extremely meaningful and high-impact to find ways of applying scale and innovation to improve quality of life and the human condition — not just technology for the sake of technology. The journey has been incredible.

First and second-generation immigrants make up a huge cadre within our organization. This is true from the caregivers who are providing services in the field to operations team members in our offices to our executive team, the members of which hail originally from China, Iran, South Africa and beyond.

The current immigration policies and the travel ban have not adversely impacted our company at this stage, but it has certainly affected other aspects of my life. I’m deeply involved in the Iranian-American community, having served on boards of some of our largest community organizations. I’ve lived in the United States since I was a young child, while my f

Lily Sarafan is co-founder and Executive Chair of TheKey, where she served as chief executive through December 2020 and led the company from startup to industry leader with more than 10,000 employees powering its mission. Lily is also a board member of Instacart, Thumbtack, and Kyo and an investor/advisor to early-stage companies and funds.

Lily is a member of the Board of Trustees at Stanford University, where she also serves on the Freeman Spogli Institute Council, the Undergraduate Cabinet, and the Interdisciplinary Life Sciences Council. She is also a founding partner of Project BIG (the Stanford Brain-Immune-Gut Initiative) and an appointed member of the California Governor’s Alzheimer’s Task Force.

Lily earned an M.S. in Management Science and Engineering and B.S. in Science, Technology and Society from Stanford. She has been named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, Women Health Care Executives Woman of the Year, and a 2020 Fortune 40 Under 40. Lily is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.

Lily Sarafan, a Stanford graduate who co-founded and serves as executive chair of the senior in-home care provider TheKey, has been elected as chair of the Stanford University Board of Trustees.

Sarafan, who was elected to the board of trustees in 2020, begins her two-year term on July 1. She will succeed Jerry Yang, Yahoo! co-founder and venture capitalist, who has served as chair since 2021. Yang will continue to serve on the board.

“It’s the honor of a lifetime to be asked to serve the university and community I love in this capacity,” Sarafan said. “I look forward to building on the phenomenal foundation laid by Jerry and all of our past chairs and to have the opportunity to work more closely with two dynamic leaders in President Jon Levin and Provost Jenny Martinez.”

Yang described Sarafan as “an exceptional choice to lead the board as Stanford navigates the changing landscape of higher education.”

“She is a person of intellectual curiosity, wide-ranging expertise, deep principles, and personal dynamism,” he continued. “She’s also a proud alum who is deeply involved in a cross-section of university life, from the life sciences to the undergraduate education cabinet. I know Lily will lead the board with great energy and vision.”

Sarafan said she looks forward to collaborating with Levin and Martinez as they strengthen Stanford’s fundamental purpose of discovery and learning and amplify its culture of inquiry and possibility.

“They bring fresh perspectives to leadership in higher education, and I am excited to work alongside them on advancing our priorities,” she said. “For the board itself, I hope to continue the spirit of collegiality and devotion to mission that has characterized Jerry’s inspired leadership in recent years. I also aim to build stronger connections between our board and all the key constituencies at Stanford, with a particular focus on our faculty and students.”

Lifelong Cardinal

Sarafan was born in Tehran and grew up in San Jose aft

"As a passionate supporter of the life sciences and a longtime admirer of Carolyn, I’m inspired by the way ChEM-H emphasizes diversity of all forms to recruit and train a new generation of entrepreneurial researchers. It will take a broad range of disciplines, experiences, and people to maximize the impact of world-class science on human health." - Lily Sarafan '03, MS '03

Lily Sarafan is cofounder of TheKey, serving as its chief executive through December 2020. She led the company, which provides care solutions for seniors, from a startup to an industry leader with more than 15,000 employees. She also is a board director at several companies including Instacart and Thumbtack.

At Stanford, Lily serves on the Board of Trustees, the Freeman Spogli Institute Council, the undergraduate cabinet, the LEAD Council (Lifelong Engagement and Advocacy for Development), and the Life Sciences Council, which supports the Wu Tsai Neurosciences Institute, Stanford Bio-X, and Sarafan ChEM-H. She is the founding partner of Project BIG: The Stanford Brain Immune Gut Initiative, which seeks to unlock the cause and cure for multiple sclerosis and other neurological and autoimmune diseases. At Sarafan ChEM-H, Lily also supports the Sarafan Fellows as part of the Chemistry/Biology Interface program, which trains predoctoral students who want to pursue research at the intersection of chemistry, biology, engineering, and medicine. Lily earned her bachelor's and master's degrees from Stanford.

Lily is an appointed member of the California Governor's Alzheimer's Task Force and serves in various other leadership roles to advance precision health, economic development, and informed civic engagement. She has been named to Fortune's 40 Under 40 list of influential leaders, is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute, and a World Economic Forum Young Global Leader.