Toronto-based healthtech and artificial intelligence (AI) firm Healwell AI is making a slew of changes at the top, appointing James Lee to CEO, transitioning the previous leader Alexander Dobranowski to the role of company president, and adding two new executives.
The leadership changes follow Vancouver-based digital healthcare company Well Health exercising its call rights to gain a majority controlling interest in Healwell, its longtime partner, in tandem with the acquisition of New Zealand healthcare data management company Orion Health. Both Well Health and Healwell are listed on the Toronto Stock Exchange.
“We are aligning the company to capture what we now believe are even greater opportunities than originally anticipated.”
Dobranowski, who, according to LinkedIn, has led the company as CEO since 2020 when it was still named MCI Onehealth, will continue to be a member of Healwell’s board and lead its capital markets activities as company president, according to Healwell. Dobranowski will focus on Healwell’s AI and data science solutions with its enterprise life science customers, and work closely with Lee in his new role.
Lee brings prior experience as the CEO of investment and advisory group Jarden New Zealand, where Healwell said he played a key role in expanding the firm’s investment banking footprint.
Following a stint as Orion’s strategy director, he joined Healwell as chief strategy officer earlier this year to prepare the company’s integration strategy.
Lee will step into the CEO role on July 1 to lead the transformation of Healwell into “an integrated and connected business focused on redefining preventative healthcare” through data science and AI, the company said in a statement.
“In the short time since closing the Orion Health acquisition, we have already begun pursuing high impact opportunities as a unified platform and with the strengthening of our executive team, we are aligning the company to capture what we now believe are even greater opportunities than originally anticipated,” Lee said in a statement.
Healwell is also padding out its executive suite with the addition of Orion CEO Brad Porter becoming chief commercial officer and Sacha Gera as chief operating officer (COO). Porter will be responsible for Healwell’s commercial strategy, revenue growth, and go-to-market alignment across its portfolio of companies, while simultaneously maintaining his leadership position over Orion.
Meanwhile, Gera brings executive experience from companies such as investigation intelligence software company JSI, software giant Calian, and communications platform Kandy. Gera is taking the place of Adam Hutton and Paulo Gomes, Healwell’s previous co-COOs, who are “leaving the organization to pursue other opportunities,” according to Dobranowski.
Healwell chairman and Well Health CEO Hamed Shahbazi said that Healwell is entering a phase of growth after a period of “intense” mergers and acquisitions, adding that Healwell’s board expanded the executive suite “to ensure the company can execute on its objective of integrating its units and delivering a more holistic customer offering” to meet demand.
Feature image courtesy of Healwell AI.