Welcome to this week's Chutes & Ladders, our roundup of hirings, firings and retirings throughout the industry. Please submit the good news—or the bad—from your shop, and we will feature it here at the end of each week.
Watershed Health
Watershed Health hired Effie Carlson as its CEO. The company's founder, Chip Grant, is transitioning to chief medical officer and executive chair.
Carlson is a seasoned healthcare executive and successful entrepreneur who joined Watershed in 2021 as an advisor, quickly becoming interim chief revenue officer and chief strategy officer until her current appointment to CEO.
"As a physician, I’ve experienced firsthand the challenges of delivering quality, coordinated care in systems that struggle with fragmented communication, outdated or incomplete patient data, and insufficient collaboration across the care continuum. These barriers make it incredibly difficult for providers to offer the best care for patients,” Grant said in a statement. “I founded Watershed more than a decade ago to address these challenges in my own community and could not be more pleased that Watershed is now solving it for communities across the country. As the company continues to grow and expand its reach, the demands of leadership have also evolved. Effie’s healthcare industry and business experience, strategic direction, and deep connections make her the right person to lead Watershed into this exciting next chapter of growth and momentum."
Watershed Health fights one of the healthcare industry’s biggest problems: uncoordinated care, which costs the U.S. roughly $340 billion annually in wasted resources.
NextGen Healthcare
NexGen Healthcare is rounding out its C-suite with the addition of technology veteran Sanjeev Kumar as chief data and analytics officer.
Kumar will oversee advanced analytics and artificial intelligence/machine learning across NextGen Healthcare’s software solutions to optimize provider efficiency and patient outcomes.
“Dr. Sanjeev Kumar has been a leader in artificial intelligence from its earliest stages, well ahead of its rise to the global spotlight," David Sides, CEO of NextGen Healthcare, said in a statement. "His appointment underscores our commitment to delivering best-in-class technology. Dr. Kumar's vast experience will propel our data analytics, AI, and machine learning strategies forward, accelerating our work to drive better outcomes for our clients and their patients.”
Kumar brings more than two decades of leadership in data analytics and AI/ML across industries such as healthcare, retail, manufacturing, and oil and gas.
Most recently, as chief data officer at Gainwell Technologies, he led the development and growth of Genius, a SaaS-based, multitenant platform for data, analytics and AI. Under his leadership, Kumar and his teams collaborated closely with Medicaid agencies across the nation, leveraging advanced analytics to enhance the lives of millions of members. His experience includes leadership roles at Fortune 500 companies such as Dell, Honeywell and Avis, where he crafted and implemented AI and data strategies and led global teams in digital transformations.
Health Network One
Health Network One appointed Kristin Gasteazoro as chief growth officer.
Gasteazoro will oversee all aspects of the company's national sales and account management strategy across several divisions. A key member of the executive leadership team, she will be instrumental in driving the company's growth by identifying and pursuing new business opportunities.
"We are excited to welcome Kristin to the new role of Chief Growth Officer here at HN1," Steve Carrier, president of HN1, said in a statement. "Her proven track record of success in driving sales growth and building strong relationships within the healthcare industry makes her the ideal candidate to lead HN1's next growth phase."
With more than two decades of senior leadership experience, Gasteazoro’s career highlights include her expertise in solving complex payer issues and developing innovative strategies for revenue growth. Prior to joining HN1, she most recently served as senior vice president at Zelis, where she helped align the interests of payers, providers and healthcare consumers through their connected platform.
Other roles have included vice president of sales, payer division, at Clarify Health Solutions; vice president of health plan sales at Clarify Health; vice president of sales at NovuHealth; and vice president of sales at ValueOptions Inc.
"The opportunity to lead the business development strategy for such a dynamic organization is truly exciting," Gasteazoro said in a release. "I'm looking forward to leveraging my experience to help health plans reduce costs and deliver quality care to their members through value-based solutions."
> LucyRx, a pharmacy benefit manager, added Lankford Wade as president and chief financial officer, Lori Hart as chief human resources officer and Lisa Liburd as vice president of clinical strategy.
> Sutter Health named its first chief scientific officer, Matthew Solomon.
> Clay Holderman joined healthcare digital transformation partner AVIA as its CEO.
> Accuryn Medical tapped Todd Dunn as its chief transformation officer.
> Kodiak Solutions named Eric Busch leader of its finance and reimbursement business.
> Amber Faust has been named VP of global sales for proteomics research tools company company Seer.
> Dave Vort was tapped as chief commercial officer at Cytovale, and will lead the expansion of its rapid sepsis detection solution, IntelliSep.
> Interwell Health welcomed Michael Casey to its board of directors.
> The Coalition for Health AI announced the addition of Kyu Rhee to its board.