Executive Leadership

Eric Grossman

Eric is the CEO and founder of NextHealth. Previously, Eric was the Vice President and General Manager of TriZetto’s Consumerism and Analytics business unit. As Vice President of Enterprise Strategy, Eric formed and managed a committee of 25 health plan executives to shape TriZetto’s operational and strategic direction. As an outcome, he chartered a client-funded, 12-month project to evaluate the analytics market and develop a go-to-market strategy.  Prior to TriZetto, Eric was the founder and CEO of Connecture (NASDAQ: CNXR). Connecture is the leader in health plan sales automation solutions.  Eric was also Chief of Staff to the Vice Chairman of Ernst and Young. Eric is currently a Governor-appointed, two-term member of the Board of Directors for the Colorado Health Benefit Exchange.

Biography:
Eric enjoys spending time with his family; he has twins – a boy and a girl. He likes to stay active with his favorite pastimes of golfing, running, and skiing.

Degrees:
B.B.A. from the Goizueta Business School, M.B.A. from Emory University

Gene Libov

Gene Libov is a certified Information Security professional with over 18 years of experience.

As the founder of Planet 9 Security Consulting, Gene has been helping global companies keep their critical information safe and comply with regulations. As a global information security expert, he serves as the Chief Information Security Officer for NextHealth Technologies.

Prior to establishing Planet 9, Gene was Director of Blue Shield’s Security Assurance team. In addition to leading IT and security audits as well as compliance activities, he oversaw internal and third-party security risk management. Gene also worked as a security engineer at Clorox where he developed security policies and standards, managed security incidents, and deployed enterprise security solutions.

He serves as a member of technical advisory boards for Stratus Digital Systems, SpinBackup, and MedChain.

Education:
Gene received his Bachelor of Science in Information Technology Management with specialization in Cyber Security. He is a Certified Information Security Professional (CISSP).

Jeff Maxwell

Jeff leads healthcare solutions strategy and market development, fosters innovation and develops sources to add new growth opportunities.  Prior to joining NextHealth, Jeff held a number of strategic sales roles with HealthSparq, Lawson Healthcare, Phytel, and Healthvision. He has over a decade of experience working with health plans, health systems and provider organizations. Jeff has consulted with these organizations to build and implement technologies to improve patient care, impact health outcomes and deliver superior quality and cost data for healthcare consumers.

Biography:
Outside of work Jeff enjoys spending time with his wife and three kids, enjoying the outdoors and being involved in his local community.

Education:
Jeff graduated from Portland State University where he earned a BS in Business Management and a second Major in Marketing.

Melissa O’Connor

Melissa brings over two decades of digital and high tech expertise to her role at NextHealth. She launched and ran New York Magazine and TV Guide’s websites for NewsCorp as Director of Electronic Media. She was Director of Business Development for digital consulting firm iXL (acquired by Scient, and now part of Publicis Group), building the retail practice to $5M in two years. She founded the Manhattan offices of digital technology consulting firm ZEFER (later acquired by NEC), building it to over $40M in revenues in two years as a Managing Director. Most recently, Melissa was the President and COO of micro-optics technology company Genie Lens until its sale to investors in 2013. She received her MBA from Harvard Business School and her BA in Psychology from Duke University.

Biography:
In her spare time, Melissa enjoys volunteering for various non-profit organizations. She tries to carve out as much time as possible to travel to remote places to scuba dive and sail with her husband and two sons.

Degrees:
B.A. in Psychology from Duke University; M.B.A. from Harvard Business School

Dr. Doug Popken

Dr. Popken is an expert in operations research, predictive modeling, and data wrangling. He has written or coauthored numerous scientific publications in the areas of health risk analysis, logistics, and simulation. He has been an Edelman Award Finalist for his work in quantitative health risk analysis of animal antibiotics. Previous job experiences include positions as a military logistics analyst, professor, project manager, and independent consultant. He managed his own operations research consulting company for 17 years. He organized teams of exceptional business analysts, engineers, scientists, mathematicians and software engineers to create innovative solutions for clients. He is a long-time member and active participant in INFORMS (the Institute for Operations Research and Management Science).

Biography:
Doug likes to mountain bike and golf but may be found at the gym when time or weather prevent going outside. Favorite family vacations involve sunny beaches and snorkeling. He usually listens to jazz, blues, or classic rock and is a fan of hard science fiction.

Degrees:
PhD in operations research from UC Berkeley, Masters of Engineering and B.S. degree in the same field from Cornell University

Ron Villarreal

As the Senior Vice President of Finance, Ron brings over 2 decades of experience including public accounting, financial planning and analysis for large multinational firms, and starting two companies with his entrepreneurial spirit.  His resume includes both Disney and Activision and he is a current active CPA.  More recently, at Nexon America, Ron assisted the strategic vision of growing the product pipeline for a SaaS company and helped with the transition from data centers to cloud data warehousing.  He worked closely with technology leaders and helped save millions of dollars while maximizing return on investment in technology.

At NextHealth Technologies, Ron oversees all financial operations and human resource activities, as well as manages capital raising efforts.

Biography:
Ron started the Denver Finance and Accounting Networking Group and is on the committee Board of FEI (Financial Executives International).  During warmer weather, he will carve out time to camp in the mountains and explore the off-roading trails.  Closer to home, Ron enjoys comedy shows and live sporting events.

Degree:
MBA in Finance from the Anderson School of Business at the University of California, Los Angeles; BS in Accounting from Texas A&M University