Dr. Viren Naik is the Chief Executive Officer of the Medical Council of Canada, leading its mission to serve as a trusted keeper of physician credentials, and assessor of a physician’s general competencies to inform safe licensure decisions. He is a Professor of Anesthesiology at the University of Ottawa and has over 25 years of experience as an educator, researcher, and leader.

In 2009, he was recruited from the University of Toronto to establish the University of Ottawa Skills and Simulation Centre as the founding Medical Director. In 2014 while completing his Executive MBA, he served as the Vice President, Education for The Ottawa Hospital, one of the busiest academic health sciences centres in the country. Between 2017 and 2022, Dr. Naik served as the Director of Assessment for the Royal College of Physicians & Surgeons of Canada and oversaw the credentialing and examinations for all specialties in Canada.