Something must have been in the water this week, as four new CEOs took the helm of digital health companies. At first blush, a natural assumption would be that a big investor has come in and put their own operating people into the seat - but that’s not case. It’s also worth noting that building something from scratch, growing it to the point of impact, and reaching a place where it requires a whole new set of skills and capabilities is actually quite a Founder success, not a failure. While we don’t have insight into the dynamics of these organizations, we can glean what they are focused on based on the persona of the individuals at the helm. Some are operators, some growth leaders. Others just have previous CEO experience. There’s no one attribute that unifies them all.

Interestingly, each of these CEOs came into their respective positions in unique ways and at different times in the companies’ journeys - one came through an acquisition, one was a co-founder and succeeded the first CEO, another was in a revenue role before being promoted into the seat, and the last had a decades-long career as a CFO inside of a health plan.

When the Board makes the hard decision to make a change, there’s a great deal of internal discussion about the ideal persona of a successor. It’s easy to focus on immediate organizational challenges or simply hire someone that feels different or fresher than the previous CEO. Our guidance to the Boards we advise is to focus on what’s going right in the company - look at the opportunities that exist before it and look at the person who is most likely to maximize the company’s strengths and lead the team to the next phase of growth.

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PS If you’re looking for CEO roles, or are looking for a successor, our Executive Compensation Study provides salary, bonus and equity benchmarks for founder and non-founder leaders. This is the last day to participate - don’t miss out!

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• Ralph Derrickson joins Valera Health, a virtual mental health care company, as Chief Executive Officer (Source)
• Taylor Justice named Chief Executive Officer at Unite Us, a care coordination company (Source)
• Brandon Arbiter named Chief Executive Officer at Tidepool, a diabetes data management company (Source)
• Susan Diamond named Chief Executive Officer at Wellvana, value-based care enablement company (Source)
• Susan Young joins ESO, a software solution provider, as Chief Financial Officer (Source)
• Hans Hull joins Montai Therapeutics, a medical development company for chronic disease, as Chief Operations Officer (Source)
• Matt Raines joins Sollis Health, a concierge immediate care company, as Interim Chief Technology Officer (Source)
• Thomas Tsang joins Omada Health, a virtual healthcare provider, as Chief Medical Officer (Source)

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• Hims & Hers, a health and wellness company, is hiring a VP, R&D and Innovation & Managing Counsel, Corporate & International
• Cedar, a financial engagement company, is hiring a VP, Deputy General Counsel
• Virta Health, a diabetes and obesity reversal company, is hiring a VP, Sales
• Maximus, a men’s health company, is hiring a Head / Vice President of Finance
• Phil, a prescription management company, is hiring a Director / Vice President of  Business Development

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