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.
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 Information Officer
Preet M. Takkar heads Western Dental’s Information Technology Department, including all information systems and technology needs of the company. In addition, he oversees the 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 since 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. More recently, Preet served as Vice President of Information Systems and Revenue Management for SmileCare, a provider of quality general and specialty care dentistry with 57 locations in California, Nevada, and Texas, before it was acquired by Coast Dental.
Preet earned a Bachelor of Science from California State University-Long Beach.
Executive Vice President & Chief Growth & Strategy Officer
Lisa Dawe oversees business strategy, business development, marketing, community engagement and strategic alliances, and the Western Dental Plan – the company’s Knox-Keene licensed DHMO insurance plan.
Previously, she was Regional President at IntegraMed Fertility, the largest equity backed fertility network in North America, where she oversaw operations, growth strategy, and expansion of fertility practices in the Western U.S.. Prior to IntegraMed, Lisa spent several years in general management leadership roles at DaVita, a Fortune 500 provider of kidney care, where she ran operations, built teams, improved clinical outcomes and grew the business through de novos, acquisitions and joint ventures. She also led operations for DaVita’s national research and development division, building an enterprise-level capability to discover and scale better tools and processes for the company’s 2,900 dialysis clinics and 77,000 teammates.
Lisa began her career in the non-profit and public sector, on a Presidential Campaign and Presidential Inaugural Committee. She later helped launch The Welfare to Work Partnership that scaled from five Fortune 500 companies to 20,000 businesses that hired more than 1 million people from welfare into work.
Lisa graduated from Stanford University, where she received an AB in Political Science, AM in Sociology – Organizations, and an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
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.
Executive Vice President & General Counsel
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 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).
CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER
Leslie Gibbs oversees advertising, branding, media planning, patient education, digital strategy and lead acquisition.
With over 25 years of marketing experience, Leslie brings extensive expertise in branding, consumer research and digital acquisition. Leslie began her career at Procter and Gamble in brand management and has held leadership marketing roles at LensCrafters, Bonne Bell Cosmetics, and Consumer Safety Technology where she was Chief Marketing Officer.
Leslie earned her Bachelor of Business Administration degree at Ohio University in their Honors Tutorial College and her M.B.A. from Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.
SENIOR VICE PRESIDENT, SPECIALTY
Dr. Zhi Meng has responsibility for Orthodontics and all dental specialties, including Oral Surgery, Periodontics, Endodontics and Pediatric dentistry
Dr. Meng joined WD in 1994 as an Associate Dentist, practicing dentistry for 12 years before her promotion to Clinical Director and later to Senior Vice President. In her current role, she leads development of the company’s specialty provider network, including professional development and recruitment, and has built an infrastructure that has generated significant increase in specialty revenue.
Dr. Meng has been instrumental in building Western Dental’s orthodontics practice. She oversaw orthodontic EBITA growth and day-to-day operations, including revenue growth, revenue cycle and payroll management, and supply control. Under her leadership, the company has grown its orthodontic practice into the leading orthodontic provider in the country.
Earlier in her career, Dr. Meng taught at UCLA Dental School, where she also conducted oral cancer research at the dental school 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
Senior Vice President, Operations
Patricia Mahony
Patricia Mahony is responsible for the day-to-day operations for all Western Dental and Brident clinics, managing a field operations team of 300+ offices across five states, call center operations and doctor recruiting.
Patty has more than 20 years in the healthcare industry. Prior to Western Dental, she served as Executive Vice President-Chief Operating Officer at SmileCare Family Dentistry, a dental practice management company with 57 offices in California, Nevada and Texas. At SmileCare, Patty defined and implemented a business strategy that grew overall revenues by $20 million and expanded specialty services to achieve a 38% revenue increase in Orthodontics, Oral Surgery, Periodontics and Pediatric Dentistry. Patty also spent over ten years with Apria Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading providers of home respiratory services and related medical equipment, where she served as Director of National Accounts, implementing standards of practice for the company’s pharmacy business and reducing bad debt expense to realize millions in net savings. More recently, Patty served as National Vice President-Revenue Management at U.S. HealthWorks.
Patty earned a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Rutgers University, an MBA from the University of California-Irvine, and multiple healthcare certifications from Harvard University.