Digital diabetes company Virta has named Dr. Robert Ratnerits next Chief Medical Officer. Ratner comes to the position following his tenure as Chief Scientific and Medical Officer for the American Diabetes Association. This news comes only a few months after the company announced its $93 million Series C funding round.
Ratner has been involved with the San Francisco-based startup for some time, since he also served as an advisor for the company.
“Our understanding of what is possible at scale in diabetes care is changing rapidly,” Ratner said in a statement. “There's sufficient evidence that sustained remission is achievable for many, and this is why I am joining Virta – to help bring this life-changing option, delivered via a novel, virtual-care model, to the millions of Americans who want it.”
This morning insurtech startup Bright Health announced that acting president G. Mike Mikan will now step into the role as CEO and president. He will be taking the reins from Bob Sheehy, who was one of the original founders of the company. Bright Health is a particularly well-funded startup, closing a $645 million Series D fund in December.
The company also announced that Jeff Immelt, former chairman and CEO of General Electric, will be joining its board of directors.
“Bright Health is fundamentally changing the health care experience in this country,” said Mikan. “Our technology-enabled alignment model solves the problems created by a disjointed care delivery system, which allows us to provide our members with true value-based care. With this model and the advanced intelligence it affords us, I see unlimited potential for new product development and diversification through collaborative financial alignment across the industry.”
In early April SOC Telemed tapped Sam Dvorchik as its next Chief Revenue Officer. As part of his new role he will head up the business-development and marketing-strategy efforts at the company.
Before this job, he served as vice president of sales at tech company Brightfield and vice president of market performance technology at Optum Analytics.
“In the telemedicine industry, a people-first approach to care delivery is paramount and SOC’s commitment to putting people first is unrivaled. I’m thoroughly impressed by the caliber of people that work here,” Dvorchik said in a statement. “The entire organization is deeply committed to working together on connecting patients to the care they need, when they need it and transforming the way that healthcare is delivered.”
Health tech company RDMD announced that Nabeel Hyatt, general partner at Spark Capital will be joining the board of directors. This news comes as part of a $14 million funding round led by Spark.
“There are more than 7,000 rare diseases, impacting 1 in 10 people globally, and few drugs to treat them,” Hyatt, said in a statement. “RDMD is both fueling rare disease drug development and helping patients become active participants in the creation of future therapies for their conditions. I am thrilled to join the board to help contribute to the rapid success the company has made to date.”
Texas-based virtual-care infrastructure platform Wheel named Chris Norris as its next Chief Technology Officer and Chris Donus the next Chief Financial Officer.
Norris joins the company after working at Darby Smart as the vice president of engineering and analytics. Before this role, Donus worked at Lyft as the vice president of express drive.
“This is a mission-driven company out to transform an industry and improve people’s health, work and lives,” Donus said in a statement. “Telemedicine is at a crossroads and Wheel is the only company that’s providing the infrastructure that telemedicine needs to scale. The team is unparalleled, and the prospect of working with this group of people to radically improve the industry through technology feels like a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
Unite Us, a care-coordination software maker that looks to connect social services with healthcare, named Christina Mainelli as its new Chief Operating Officer. In her new role, she will be in charge of the marketplace and care-delivery model. Prior to this role, she served on the executive leadership team at Beacon Care Services. She also has experience working at CareCentrix and Anthem.
"I believe that social determinants of health is the next frontier in achieving whole-person care, and Unite Us is leading the charge to ensure that people get what they need, when they need it most," says Mainelli. "As COO, I am excited to help Unite Us continue to scale and advance its mission to make an even greater impact on people, particularly those in vulnerable and underserved populations," she adds.
