Former Livongo Health and Cerner executive Zane Burke has joined Quantum Health as its new CEO, the company announced Wednesday.
Burke, who will also serve as a member of the board of directors, will replace Kara Trott, founder of the 22-year-old healthcare navigation company, as CEO on Sept. 27, at which point Trott will transition to chairman of the board.
As Quantum Health seeks to scale, it was important to hire a CEO with experience growing other healthcare companies, according to Trott.
"There's additional skills and support that the organization needs that we didn't have resident within the company," Trott told Modern Healthcare. That included skills like "scaling, understanding how to access different end markets and just a broader experience set of having been there a few other times."
She highlighted Burke's experience scaling two successful healthcare software companies.
Burke most recently served as CEO of Livongo, a digital health company focused on chronic disease management, where he led the company through one of the largest initial public offerings in the digital health space in 2019, as well as a $18.5 billion merger with telehealth giant Teladoc Health last year. Burke left Livongo after the merger.
He joined Livongo as CEO in 2018 after serving as president of Cerner, an electronic health records company.
"We all know that healthcare is challenging to navigate," Burke told Modern Healthcare. At Quantum Health, "our real objective is: how do we get to care navigation for all?"
Burke will lead Quantum Health through its next phase of growth, according to a company news release. Dublin, Ohio-based Quantum Health, a privately held company that Trott founded in 1999, contracts with self-insured employers to coordinate care for members, including addressing billing and benefits questions and connecting members to healthcare services.
That next phase could involve expanding into adjacent markets, beyond employer-sponsored health plans, Trott said.
Quantum Health also plans to build out its leadership team and hire for new roles.
In early September, Quantum Health hired Drew Domecq, previously executive vice president and chief information officer at retail shoe company Designer Brands, formerly DSW, as its chief technology officer. The company also added Peter McClennen, previously president at Teladoc, as a member of its board of directors.
Trott declined to share Quantum Health's annual revenue, but said the company has been cash flow positive since 15 months after it launched and has been profitable since its second year of operation.
Businesses that guide consumers through the complicated healthcare landscape with member engagement and care coordination services have become a popular area within digital health.
Glen Tullman, Livongo's founder and former CEO at EHR company Allscripts, launched Transcarent, an employee health navigation startup, earlier this year. He now serves as executive chairman and CEO of the company, which already has raised $98 million from investors, according to Crunchbase.
Accolade, an employee benefits company that went public last year, in June acquired direct-to-consumer virtual primary care startup PlushCare. And telehealth company Doctor On Demand in May merged with Grand Rounds, a company focused on navigation for specialty healthcare.
Quantum Health in late 2020 announced a growth investment from private equity firms Warburg Pincus and Great Hill Partners, although it didn't disclose the investment amount. Quantum Health doesn't disclose investment details or how much funding the company has raised to date, Trott said.
