NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Consonance Capital Partners, a leading U.S.-based healthcare private equity firm, today announced that it has added health care leaders Hyong (Ken) Kim, MD, Jeffrey Le Benger, MD, Bill Lucia, and Eric Major to its Operating Council and Senior Advisory Board. Consonance Capital Partners’ Operating Council and Senior Advisory Board members work closely with the firm’s investment professionals, bringing valuable market insights, helping to source and diligence deals, and advising portfolio company management teams and serving on their boards of directors.
“We are thrilled to welcome Ken, Jeffrey and Bill to our Operating Council and Eric to our Advisory Board. Their experience as health care business and policy leaders increases the impact of our efforts to partner with world-class management teams who are running great health care businesses that provide high-quality care and services, and will enhance the results of our partnerships,” said the firm’s four managing partners and co-founders, Mitchell Blutt, Benjamin Edmands, Stephen McKenna, and Nancy-Ann DeParle. “They are joining other transformational health care leaders already serving on our Operating Council and Senior Advisory Board.”
- Hyong (Ken) Kim, MD, is the former Chief Medical Officer of the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) of the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), where he advised in all payment and clinical model development, including for demonstrations of direct contracting, bundled payment, primary care first, and risk adjustment models. At CMMI, Dr. Kim also chaired the Quality Improvement Council and created operational pathways for performance reviews for all 36 CMMI models. From 2013-2018, Dr. Kim was co-founder and Chief Medical Officer of Alignment Healthcare (NASDAQ: ALHC), where he built and managed Alignment’s clinical and operations team, developed its clinical model, and implemented an in-house, AI-enabled clinical data analytics platform and mobile app. Board-certified in internal medicine, from 1999-2013, Dr. Kim held various roles at CareMore Health, starting as a hospitalist and ultimately serving as Chief Medical Officer from 2009-2013.
- Jeffrey Le Benger, MD, FACS, is Executive Chairman of the board that governs Summit Health, the health care network formed by the 2019 merger of Summit Medical Group and CityMD. A Consonance Capital Partners portfolio company, Summit Health offers high-quality primary, specialty, and urgent care through more than 2000 providers, 9000 employees, and 200 locations in New Jersey, New York, and Central Oregon. Before becoming Executive Chairman in October 2021, Dr. Le Benger served as chief executive officer of Summit Medical Group since 1999 and of Summit Health since 2019. He led Summit Medical Group, one of the nation’s premier independent physician-driven multispecialty medical groups, through its successful merger with CityMD, the leading urgent care provider in the New York metro area. A thought leader in physician group practice management, value-based care, and population health management, Dr. Le Benger is board-certified in otolaryngology, head and neck surgery, and facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, and is a Fellow of the American College of Surgeons.
- Bill Lucia is the former chairman, president, and chief executive officer of HMS Holdings Corp (NASDAQ: HMSY), a leading healthcare analytics and technology company. Under Mr. Lucia’s leadership, HMS grew to $673 million in revenue, serving 500 healthcare payors and 50 government agencies in more than 40 States. Before becoming CEO, Mr. Lucia served as HMS’ president and chief operating officer, and held leadership positions in the life insurance industry, serving as senior vice president, operations, and chief information officer for Celtic Life Insurance Company. He serves as a director of Consonance Capital Partners’ portfolio company Sellers Dorsey, a leading Medicaid finance, strategy, and consulting firm. He also serves on the Steering Committee for the IMPAC Fund, a group of business leaders dedicated to finding bipartisan solutions on immigration reform, and on the International Advisory Board for ANDHealth, a digital health incubator based in Australia.
- Eric Major is the former President of Stryker Spine, which he joined as part of its 2018 acquisition of K2M Group Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTWO), a medical device company he founded in 2004 to address the world’s most challenging spinal pathologies. Under his leadership, K2M grew into a publicly traded global leader serving patients in over 40 countries during the company's 14 straight years of uninterrupted revenue growth. Prior to founding K2M, Mr. Major founded and served as the President & CEO of American OsteoMedix, Inc. (“AOM”), a pioneering minimally invasive spinal device company that was acquired by Interpore Cross International in 2001. Eric is an active member of the medical device industry and has served on the Board of Directors of the Medical Device Manufacturers Association (MDMA), as well as the AdvaMed CEO Advisory Council.
About Consonance Capital Partners
Consonance Capital Partners invests in private companies in the lower and middle markets of the U.S. healthcare industry, with an emphasis on businesses driving efficiency, cost containment, and high-quality care to patients. Consonance Capital Partners participates in growth equity, leveraged buyout, carve-out, recapitalization, and special situation transactions. For more information, visit www.consonancecapitalpartners.com