See the Human Being First (ft. Phoebe Yang)

See the Human Being First (ft. Phoebe Yang)

From DGTL Voices with Ed Marx by dgtlvoices

May 7, 2026 · 37 min · Episode 310

About this episode

Phoebe Yang discusses her career journey and the importance of seeing the human being first in healthcare.

Phoebe Yang is the daughter of a single-parent Chinese immigrant father who raised three daughters in Pine Bluff, Arkansas. She went to law school intending to become a law professor, until her father was diagnosed with late-stage colorectal cancer and given four months to live. That moment changed everything. From there, Phoebe built a career that spans AOL Time Warner (launching their China office), Discovery (turning around Discovery Health and doing early deals with Amazon, Google, and Microsoft when nobody else wanted them), the Obama administration's FCC, the Advisory Board Company, Amazon, and board roles at GE, Doximity, and CommonSpirit. She now teaches the business of AI at Stanford. In this episode, Phoebe talks about why healthcare is the only industry where the greatest predictor of success is tied to how well you see the human being first, what curious humility means in a board role, why Socrates feared the written word the same way we fear AI, and what it means to sit alone in a Roman church with two Caravaggio paintings all day. https://marxadvisory.com

People in this episode

Host: Ed Marx

Guest: Phoebe Yang

Topics covered

  • healthcare
  • AI
  • career development
  • personal transformation
  • board roles
  • Socrates
  • art

Keywords

  • healthcare
  • AI
  • Phoebe Yang
  • Socrates
  • Caravaggio
  • board roles
  • personal transformation

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: AOL Time Warner, Discovery, Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Obama administration, Advisory Board Company, GE, Doximity, CommonSpirit

Books & works: Caravaggio

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