Epic plans leadership changes as President Sumit Rana prepares to leave

Epic is preparing for a leadership transition as President Sumit Rana plans to step away from the company for personal reasons. CEO Judy Faulkner has asked four senior leaders to take on expanded responsibilities as Epic adjusts to Rana’s departure.

Rana told Epic employees in an email on July 3 that he intends to leave the company. Epic did not immediately name a single executive to succeed him. Instead, a spokesperson said a “small group of strong leaders” will assume additional responsibilities after he departs.

In a separate email to staff on Tuesday, Faulkner identified the executives who will take on broader roles: Seth Howard, executive vice president of research and development, along with Mark Lipsky, Erv Walter and Garrett Adams, all senior vice presidents of R&D. The company said these leaders will help fill the gap when Rana leaves.

Faulkner said in the email that Epic has long focused on developing leaders from within. She pointed to the company’s history of promoting people who have grown with the organization and said Epic has “an outstanding group of seasoned people throughout Epic whose leadership is critical to the company’s success.”

Epic also said its culture remains centered on cultivating new leaders who can contribute to the company’s future. The spokesperson’s comments echoed Faulkner’s message that the company expects to keep advancing through internal leadership development rather than a single immediate replacement.

Rana’s time at Epic has spanned nearly 28 years. He began as a software developer and moved through a series of leadership positions at the electronic health record company before becoming president two years ago. Epic said his last day will be August 14.

His departure comes after a career that started in late 1998, when he joined Epic shortly after graduating from Delhi College of Engineering, according to his LinkedIn page. Rana was one of the original developers of MyChart, Epic’s patient portal, which the company says is used by 195 million patients globally.

Rana had been widely seen as a possible successor to founder Judy Faulkner, who is 82. The company does not have near-term plans for Faulkner to retire, according to the report.

In his message to employees, Rana said he decided to step away after his father died last November. He said the change will allow him to be more present for his mother, who lives in India, and to spend more time with his wife and children.

“My mother lives in India, and this change will allow me to be present for her and help her navigate this tender chapter,” he wrote. “It will also let me devote more of my time and my whole heart to my wife and kids.”

Rana’s email framed the move as a personal decision rather than a business issue. Epic’s statement also emphasized continuity, saying the company’s long-standing approach has been to grow leaders who can make strong contributions over time.

Rana has held a range of key roles during his years at Epic, including responsibilities tied to research and development. His promotion to president came after years of advancement within the company. Epic did not provide additional details about whether his responsibilities will be redistributed beyond the leaders named in Faulkner’s email.

In an interview with Healthcare IT Today on Friday, Rana said he was proud of Epic’s work in artificial intelligence. He said the company’s AI efforts are helping clinicians recover “precious time” so they can focus on the patient in front of them.

He also said Epic’s AI tools are helping by flagging incidental radiology findings, reducing work that adds no value and automating essential tasks so there is less administrative burden for both providers and payers. The publication reported that Epic has built 110 AI capabilities, with another 90 on the way.

Epic continues to expand its technology platform with AI features. At HIMSS 2026, the company announced plans for a fully integrated platform called Agent Factory, which it said will be used to create and monitor AI agents that reason and act across workflows. The company also has continued work on interoperability and on the Trusted Exchange Framework and Common Agreement, or TEFCA, a government-backed health data-sharing initiative.

Rana cited those initiatives among the accomplishments he is proud of from his time at Epic. In his note to staff, he thanked colleagues for their work and said it had been a privilege to work alongside people he described as brilliant, hardworking and deeply committed.

“You are so much of what makes Epic, Epic,” he wrote. He added that he believes the company’s best days are still ahead and encouraged employees to continue its long-running motto: “Do Good, Have Fun, Make Money.”

The leadership changes come as Epic moves ahead without naming a direct successor to Rana. For now, the company is relying on a group of experienced leaders to take on added duties while it prepares for one of its most significant executive transitions in years.