How Chartis turned firm-wide AI fluency into client impact with DataCamp

The challenge: getting an entire healthcare consultancy fluent in AI

Chartis is a mission-driven healthcare consultancy that works with providers and payers to make healthcare more affordable, accessible, equitable, and sustainable. Its CEO has set out seven strategic objectives to position the firm as tech-forward, and colleague upskilling is one of them.

Deb Johnson, Partner, VP Learning at Chartis, joined in October 2025 after 30 years at Deloitte, where she led the Deloitte Technology Academy. Her brief was to get everyone, from the most senior leaders to brand new analysts, comfortable with AI in a way that maximized reward while managing risk effectively.

Chartis approached AI with the rigor healthcare demands around data privacy and patient confidentiality, and with a clear view of the opportunities.

Deb brought in Kate Kapoor, Director of Learning and a former Deloitte colleague, to run what became the Chartis AI Institute. Both had worked with DataCamp before. They chose it again for its ability to provide both instructor-led and on-demand learning, support all skill levels from foundational to deep technical content, and benchmark capability through skill assessments.

The solution: live learning to launch, platform learning to go deeper

The AI Institute launched in March 2026. For the first six months the goal was simple: get everyone productive and fluent with AI. Chartis is largely tool-agnostic, with ChatGPT Enterprise, Claude, and Copilot all in use. The key aim of the training was to help people understand which tool to use and when.

A live, firm-wide launch

Chartis opened the AI Institute with virtual, instructor-led training delivered by DataCamp Professional Services. Co-Founder and CEO Ken Graboys wanted to send a signal that this was critically important and that everyone would take part, himself included. Deb's view is that to bring along the whole firm, learning needs live collaboration, where teams can discuss concepts and collaborate. "We're all learning together," she said. "It's a safe space."

"We put literally the whole firm through it," said Deb. "Almost 100% of the firm participated in one of three offerings, which was teaching people, demystifying a little bit: what is AI? How does it work? The fact that it's a prediction engine and not a magic genie in a box."

For consultants like Ben Walker, Engagement Manager at HealthScape, a Chartis company that works with health payers, the hands-on element was the most useful part. Ben attended the live sessions, where building agents and writing custom instructions sparked fresh ideas.

Claude 101 as the gateway to a license

When Chartis rolled out Claude, DataCamp became part of the license process. "Part of getting your license was we required everybody to take two courses, one of which was a Claude 101 course that we accessed through DataCamp," said Deb. The other was an instructor-led session built in-house.

The gate reflects how Chartis thinks about AI: the right tool, and the right model, for the right job, with an understanding of what each one costs to run. 

Structured tracks for self-directed learners

Chartis also asked everyone to take an initial skill assessment to set a baseline, and the learning team recommends tracks for colleagues to work through on their own time, including Data Literacy Professional, SQL Fundamentals, and AI Fundamentals.

Katelyn Bunch, Business Process Consultant at Chartis and a recent joiner, "really dove into DataCamp," starting with the recommended tracks before moving on to career tracks of her own choosing. 

The results: supporting AI adoption and efficiency gains

Nine in 10 enrolled colleagues have been active on DataCamp since the AI Institute launched, earning more than 1 million XP between them.

Chartis set adoption as the measure of success for phase one. "I'm thrilled with the results for that first six months," said Deb. "On the tools that were in existence when we started in March, we've tracked a 30% increase in the number of active users. For Claude, which was added after we started the AI Institute: we’ve scaled to around three-quarters of the organization actively using it in their work."

Hundreds of hours saved over a complex client engagement

For Ben, the biggest payoff from AI training has been increased efficiency. His team supports complex RFP responses, which means tracking large sets of requirements across long engagements, and with 15 to 20 people working from the same tool, the time savings add up.

He's also identifying opportunities to increase his day-to-day productivity, including a Copilot agent that tracks his professional goals, and an internal tool that turns a statement of work into a use case slide in the firm's standard template. 

During learning, his "aha" moment was understanding the best applications for each model. "These aren't Swiss Army knives," said Ben. "They all have different strengths and they're all better off with separate use cases."

Getting more value from client data

For Katelyn, who previously worked as an Epic analyst, the SQL track turned skills tied to one system into skills she can use with any client's data.

The AI courses also helped her consider the real-world applications of AI for clients. “It’s been valuable to understand what our clients are facing in terms of AI implementation, and opportunities to reimagine their workflows," she said.

What's next: from fluency to client impact

With phase one's adoption goals met, the AI Institute is looking ahead to more role-specific learning. Strategy consultants, analysts, and the technical and product hires the firm did not have a year ago each need something different. "We are shifting focus from fluency and personal productivity, to more strategic and healthcare specific use cases," said Kate.