Committed to providing excellent patient dental care and delivering the latest clinical advancements.
CHAIRMAN & CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
Daniel D. Crowley began leading Western Dental in July 2015. He has been providing dynamic leadership to healthcare services companies, including dental payer and provider organizations, for more than 30 years.
Daniel D. Crowley served as Chairman of the Board of Foundation Health Systems, Inc., now known as Health Net. Before that, he served as Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of one of its predecessor companies, Foundation Health Corporation. Mr. Crowley came to Foundation Health Corporation from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Ohio, where he led operations as the Executive Vice President.
Mr. Crowley built Foundation Health into a Fortune 500 enterprise, with 23 HMOs and more than 17,000 employees in 225 locations, serving the group, individual, Medicare, Medicaid, and TRICARE health benefit markets with an array of integrated health benefit products.
In 1997, Mr. Crowley founded Dynamic Healthcare Solutions to invest and consult in the healthcare industry. Through Dynamic, he has served as a Senior Advisor to a number of major investment firms, served on boards of certain portfolio companies, performed due diligence on investment opportunities across the U.S., and served as a healthcare restructuring officer, senior management advisor, and chief executive.
Mr. Crowley is the founder of the Crowley Children’s Fund, a charity that supports programs for at-risk children. Mr. Crowley earned an MBA and is a U.S. Army Vietnam War combat veteran.
President & Chief Legal Officer
Jeffrey Miller oversees all legal matters, including corporate governance, acquisitions, regulatory compliance, litigation, human resources, and public policy.
Jeff’s professional career has focused on supporting quality care at health care organizations including hospitals, dialysis facilities, and radiology practices. Prior to joining Western Dental, Jeff spent several years as Vice President – Deputy General Counsel and was named Acting General Counsel at DaVita, a Fortune 500 provider of kidney care with more than 2,900 dialysis centers in the United States and internationally. At DaVita, he oversaw legal affairs and managed the company’s 75+ member legal team, including oversight of M&A activity which included a merger that doubled the size of the company and approximately 30-40 practice acquisitions per year. He also had legal oversight of the company’s first international expansion sites. More recently, Jeff served as General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer for Imaging Advantage, a radiology practice management company.
Before taking in-house legal roles, Jeff was an Associate with Latham & Watkins, where he represented large health insurance companies, hospitals and pharmaceutical companies. He also worked at RAND Health where he advised state governments in connection with health care financing initiatives aimed at increasing access to care.
Jeff earned a J.D. from Georgetown University, a Master of Public Health from Johns Hopkins, and a Bachelor of Arts from Duke University.
CHIEF DENTAL OFFICER
Dr. John Luther is responsible for leading the organization’s dental policy, clinical quality, practice standards, and best practices programs.
Prior to joining Western Dental, Dr. Luther served as the Chief Dental Officer & Senior Vice President-Dental Management for DentaQuest, the third-largest oral health enterprise in the country, and served as Chief Dental Officer for UnitedHealthCare Dental, where he was responsible for the development of consumer-driven solutions that support quality of care and managed costs. Dr. Luther also spent five years with the American Dental Association, where he served as Senior Vice President overseeing the division of dental practice, and spent several years with Delta Dental of California. Previously he owned and operated a successful private dental practice in Placentia, CA.
Dr. Luther earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Southern California and a D.D.S. from Northwestern University School of Dentistry.
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Preet Takkar has overall responsibility for operations, including regional field and clinical support, in the organization’s dental practices in California, Texas Arizona, Alabama and Nevada. Preet also oversees the company’s Information Technology, Revenue Cycle, Business Intelligence, and Patient Financing functions.
Preet began his career as a software developer for one of the country’s leading dental practice management software companies, and in the years following has run local dental offices, led regional and statewide operations, overseen practice and financial reporting for an orthodontic practice management firm, and headed IT for a multi-state group dental practice and dental HMO.
Prior to Western Dental, Preet served as Senior Vice President-Practice Financial and Reporting Services for OrthoSynetics, the leading provider of practice management services to orthodontic and dental clinics throughout the U.S., and Vice President of Billing, Collections, and Financial Services for Coast Dental, the fifth largest dental provider in the U.S. with 190 affiliated practices in Florida, Georgia, California, Nevada, and Texas.
Preet earned a Bachelor of Science from California State University-Long Beach.
Executive Vice President & Chief Financial Officer
Bill Dembereckyj heads all financial operations for the organization, including internal and external financial reporting, financial planning and analysis, and purchasing. He is also the interface with the Company’s equity and lending partners and credit reporting agencies.
Bill has more than 25 years of financial and operational experience in the healthcare and insurance industries. Prior to joining Western Dental, Bill served as COO and CFO at HealthSmart, leading the firm through a vigorous business development program that completed 16 acquisitions over a 30-month period and made HealthSmart the largest independent administrator of self-funded health plans in the nation, according to Business Insurance Magazine. Before joining HealthSmart, Bill also had expanding responsibilities as CFO, COO and President at New Life Treatment Centers, a national, venture-capital backed, behavioral healthcare firm. Bill began his career in the Chicago office of KPMG’s audit practice.
Bill holds a Bachelor of Science in Accounting from Biola University and a Master of Science in Organizational Behavior and Strategy from the University of Texas at Dallas. He is a licensed CPA through the California State Board of Accountancy and a member of the AICPA.
CHIEF HUMAN RESOURCES OFFICER
Bob Eisen has more than 25 years of human resources leadership experience, including 20 years in healthcare-related organizations. He has held HR positions at Quest Diagnostics and several hospital groups, including Hospital Corporation of America and, most recently, spent five years with St. Joseph Health in Irvine, Calif., where he was Vice President, Talent.
During his career, Bob has successfully built and led strong HR departments that helped organizations succeed. He has created career ladders with training and development that helped team members build rewarding, long-term careers, and he has created programs to compensate and reward fairly for performance, while fostering cultures that attracted talented individuals and fueled organizational energy and chemistry.
Bob is a graduate of Arizona State University and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
Executive Vice President, Clinical Care
Dr. Zhi Meng has overall responsibility for operational support in the field and corporate office for general dentistry, orthodontics and all dental specialties, including pediatric dentistry.
Dr. Meng joined Western Dental in 1994 as an Associate Dentist. She was a practicing dentist for 12 years before taking a leadership role in operations as a Clinical Director. She later led the development of the organization’s extensive orthodontic program – now the largest in the United States – and then, as Senior Vice President, Specialty Services, developed and operationally supported the extensive network that serves the specialty needs of patients in 325 Western Dental, Brident and Vital Smiles offices in California, Texas, Arizona, Alabama and Nevada.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Meng taught at UCLA Dental School, where she also conducted oral cancer research, and at UCLA Medical School as an Oral Pathology Specialist. Dr. Meng has been a licensed dentist in the state of California since 1994.
Vice President, Business Development
Jennifer Mallon leads Business Development, supporting Western Dental’s growth strategy via dental practice and DSO acquisitions. She works closely with owners and their representatives at every step to complete transactions efficiently and welcome the patients and staff of new practices into the Western Dental family seamlessly.
Jennifer has over 20 years of leadership experience in various M&A, Strategy, and Business Development roles. She previously served as a Senior Director of M&A for Surgical Care Affiliates, where she completed multiple successful transactions. Earlier in her career, Jennifer worked in Strategy and M&A for NewMarket Corporation and, at DuPont, held positions in operational management and strategic analysis.
Jennifer earned an MBA from Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business, a Master’s degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical Engineering from Illinois Institute of Technology.
For physician owners or representative of physician owners who are considering selling the practice(s), please contact Business Development at: BusinessDevelopment@westerndental.com
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