Presenters

Rob Allen is president and CEO of Intermountain Health, a leading nonprofit health system headquartered in Utah with locations in seven states and operations across the western U.S. Prior to beginning his role as president and CEO in November 2022, Rob served as chief operating officer for five years. He was named as one of the top 25 COOs in healthcare by Modern Healthcare. Rob has served in executive leadership at Intermountain for 27 years.

Under his leadership, Rob has helped propel Intermountain to national recognition as a leading model for innovating health and wellness solutions, increasing value, and improving affordability and accessibility to all. He led the system efforts to develop and launch innovative outreach, telehealth, and clinical shared service models. He led Intermountain’s nationally recognized operational work and continuous improvement culture to align providers, caregivers, and services across much of the interior west.

Rob has also held CEO roles at hospitals and health systems in Wyoming, New Jersey, and Massachusetts. A fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Rob has served on many foundation, chamber, and service boards. One of Rob’s ongoing passions is mentoring healthcare executives—nurturing leadership excellence for the future.

Rob earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Utah State University and a Bachelor of Science Degree in operations management from Brigham Young University. His love of healthcare began during his childhood as he was raised on a farm in Star Valley, Wyoming, where his mother served as a nurse and later as administrator at Star Valley Hospital. He and his wife, Becky, have three children and five grandchildren.

Intermountain Health is a nonprofit system of 33 hospitals, 385 clinics, 60,000 employees, medical groups with some 4,200 employed physicians and advanced care providers, a health plans division called SelectHealth with more than one million members, and other health services. With its mission of Helping people live the healthiest lives possible, Intermountain is committed to improving community health and is widely recognized as a leader in transforming healthcare by using evidence-based best practices to consistently deliver high-quality outcomes at sustainable costs.

As Division President at ChenMed, John oversees clinical operations for nearly 50 clinics in 5 states. Previously, he was VP of Operations, managing central operations for over 130 clinics in 15 states.

Before ChenMed, John was VP of Strategy at UnitedHealthcare's $47B Medicaid unit, Chief of Staff to the Community & State CEO, and VP of Delivery System Transformation. He also held roles in network management and strategic planning for Medicaid and Medicare. John started his career as a practice administrator and consultant for physician practices.

He holds a Master’s in Healthcare Administration from the University of Minnesota and a Bachelor’s in Finance from Brigham Young University.

Andres (Andy) Almeida currently serves as the President and Chief Executive Officer at DMBA. Andy’s stewardship includes (1) leading, developing, and empowering the senior executive team, (2) setting and executing the overall company vision, mission, and strategy globally (in 65 countries), (3) overseeing all company operations and products globally, (4) managing key clients and vendors at a senior executive level, (5) partnering with the Chairman of the DMBA Board of Directors to maximize the contribution of board members in quarterly board meetings and in other settings, and (6) serving as a subject matter expert for the health and retirement industries in various private and public sector settings. Andy’s prior roles at DMBA included, Director of International Benefits, Vice President of Product Development, and Chief Operating Officer.
Prior to joining DMBA Andy was a Senior Consultant at Mercer, where he was a Global Relationship Manager and Orchestrated the delivery of global healthcare consulting services across all lines of the business for large multinational organizations. Andy’s responsibilities at Mercer also included (1) providing thought leadership in developing new models to optimize the analysis, visualization, and deployment of healthcare data and (2) developing tools to streamline the analysis of healthcare provider payment models and optimize national network arrangements for large multinational organizations.
Andy has a Bachelors of Science in Economics from Brigham Young University and a Masters of Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance from the University of Utah. Andy was born in Montevideo, Uruguay and raised in Buenos Aires, Argentina and Santiago, Chile.

Curtis Anderson is the Founder and CEO of Nursa, a nationwide platform that exists to put a nurse at the bedside of every patient in need. From a young age, he used software to improve the world around him. In 2017, he purchased a staffing agency, and quickly saw there was a better way to help nurses, facilities, and patients. Nursa was born in a basement and bootstrapped with personal cash. Nursa has grown to help enable Nurses across the country. Curtis is passionate about making the process of care delivery more efficient for everyone. He also serves on the Board of the Utah Chapter of HIMSS.

Alex Carruth is the managing director of the new healthcare practice at the Arbinger Institute, a global cultural transformation and leadership development organization. He oversees all partnerships with health systems and other healthcare provider practices in North America to create cultures of engagement and accountability.

Prior to his work at the Arbinger Institute, Alex held growth leadership positions for multiple organizations, including Alto Pharmacy and Trumpet Behavioral Health. He also held operational leadership positions at DaVita, Community Health Systems, and Houston Methodist.

Alex holds a Master of Science in Healthcare Administration from Trinity University and a Bachelor of Science in Economics from Brigham Young University. He lives in Denver, Colorado, with his wife, Stacie, and four kids. They spend their weekends on the soccer pitch, mountain biking, or skiing.

Aimee Edwards is the Executive Director of BioHive leading the organization's mission to brand, build and bring together the life science and healthcare innovation ecosystem. She has a broad range of leadership experience building community, branding and policy. Prior to joining BioHive, she served as the External Affairs Director at Western Governors University. In this role, she launched the university’s first community affairs department which was vital in securing national partnerships, expanding social impact and advancing education and workforce development programs. She previously held multiple positions of increasing responsibility at the Utah Governor’s Office and Utah Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity including leading strategic outreach, communications and marketing, and legislative strategy.

As the President of JLL’s Healthcare business, Alison Flynn Gaffney is responsible for leading and evolving our products and services to meet the needs of health systems while developing and delivering scalable real estate solutions to improve the patient and care team experience. Alison leads a team of professionals nationwide whose focus is to improve client outcomes through real estate and facilities management. 

As a leader in the healthcare industry, Alison came to JLL from the University of Utah Health in Salt Lake City. As COO, Alison was focused on growth, culture, strategic planning, and initiatives to support and enhance patient & stakeholder experience, quality, and financial strength across the system. Prior to her role as COO, she held the position of Executive Director University Hospital, Service Lines, and System Planning with a focus on operations, space, and strategic planning. Prior to the University of Utah Health, Alison held various operations positions with other well-known healthcare organizations.

Alison is a seasoned leader and strategist who drives innovation, excellence, and growth. She is board-certified in healthcare management, and highly skilled in system integration, strategy and execution, supply chain, and corporate reputation management. A tenacious financial executive, she is known for measurably impacting P & L’s of hundreds of millions of dollars while maintaining, if not improving, overall productivity and satisfaction.

Alison regularly speaks at healthcare conferences, has moderated panel discussions for organizations such as the American College of Healthcare Executives, and has served as an Adjunct Professor and Guest Lecturer at numerous colleges and universities including the Department of Management, David Eccles School of Business, University of Utah, Department of Health Care Programs, Iona University Hagan School of Business and the Sloan Program in Healthcare Administration, Cornell University.

Alison holds a Master of Science degree and Bachelor of Science degree in Health Services Administration from
Iona University and is a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives.

Kim Henrichsen is the Senior Vice President of Population Health and Clinical Operations for Centene Corporation, a Fortune 25 company and a leading healthcare company that has been proudly serving communities across the U.S. for 40 years. Through our work in Medicare, Medicaid and the Health Insurance Marketplace, as well as our numerous specialty services, we bring high-quality healthcare to millions of members, and help transform the health of our communities, one person at a time. Headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, Centene successfully provides high quality, whole health solutions for its diverse membership by recognizing the significance of the many different cultures its members represent and by forming partnerships in communities that bridge social, ethnic and economic gaps. The Company takes a local approach – with local brands and local teams – to provide fully integrated, high-quality and cost-effective services to government-sponsored and commercial healthcare programs, focusing on under-insured and uninsured individuals. Centene offers affordable and high-quality products to nearly 1 in 15 individuals across the nation, including Medicaid and Medicare members (including Medicare Prescription Drug Plans) as well as individuals and families served by the Health Insurance Marketplace, the TRICARE program and individuals in correctional facilities. Centene focuses on long-term growth and the development of its people, systems and capabilities so that it can better serve its members, providers, local communities and government partners.
Kim joined Centene in 2018 to lead its care management, utilization management and medical management programs following a successful tenure with Intermountain Healthcare in Salt Lake City where she served as the SVP Clinical Operations and Chief Nursing Executive. Kim’s clinical background is in adult cardiac and critical care, and she continues to be driven by the opportunity to positively influence health.
Kim completed bachelor’s and master’s degrees in nursing from the University of Utah. She is a graduate of Intermountain Healthcare’s Advanced Training Program, Wharton’s Nursing Executive Fellowship Program and Harvard Business School’s Managing Healthcare Delivery.

David Minnich is a seasoned product strategy leader with McKesson’s pharmaceutical distribution and services business. As the Senior Director of Strategic Pricing, he leads a team that focuses on aligning distribution contracting and pricing strategies of over $200B in drug spend, with dynamic market trends and policy shifts. Leveraging deep industry knowledge, robust data resources, and advanced analytics, his team advises other business leaders and spearheads critical contract renewals, ensuring McKesson’s distribution model remains both competitive and sustainable.

In his nearly 12 years with the company, David also held several leadership roles in McKesson’s private label generic Rx business. He directed efforts to improve demand forecasting and scale business development, resulting in rapid expansion into new products (15%+ 8-yr CAGR), new manufacturing partnerships, and additional customer channels. His global journey—from San Francisco (CA) to Jacksonville (FL), London (UK), and now Dallas (TX)—has enriched his perspective, all with immense support from his wife and two children.

David’s analytical acumen, honed during his tenure as a financial data and analytics consultant, empowers him to tackle complex healthcare challenges head-on. His passion lies in solving intricate problems, and he actively mentors others to do the same.

David holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Brigham Young University and was a Certified Management Accountant with the Institute of Management Accountants.

Allison Spangler began her career in long term care as a Certified Nursing Assistant while in high school. She fell in love with the elderly population and enjoyed her four years in direct care at a local Utah nursing home. She quickly realized skilled nursing was the route she wanted to take and began pursuing education to return to the field as an Administrator. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in International Management and a Masters of Business Administration in Healthcare Management.

Allison went on to be an Administrator of a Skilled Nursing Facility in Utah where she was able to follow her passion of long term care and work towards quality care for the residents she served.  In 2015, Allison made the move to the Utah Health Care Association (UHCA) overseeing membership and education. After 6 years, Allison was hired to be the President and CEO of UHCA where she finds pride  in making a global impact on nursing homes and long term care providers in the state. In addition, over the last 3 years, she has been successful in securing historical Medicaid rate increases. 

Allison lives in Bountiful with her husband, 2 daughters and French Bulldog. 

Lisa Vitkus is the Operations Officer for Service Lines at Primary Children’s Hospital.  She is responsible for strategic leadership, program development, financial stewardship, and operational outcomes of all pediatric service lines at Primary Children’s Hospital.  She has more than 30 years of experience in healthcare administration including leadership roles at Cleveland Clinic, Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital in New York, and Stanford Medical Center.    Lisa has a BA in Psychology from Northwestern University, an MPH in Health Policy and Management from Columbia University and an MBA from Case Western Reserve University Weatherhead School of Management.  She is board certified in healthcare administration as a Fellow of the American College of Healthcare Executives and currently serves as the ACHE Regent for the state of Utah. 

As Dario Health Chief Strategy Officer, Chris is leading the effort to bring Dario Health's digital health platform to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Recently, he served as a Board Member of the Digital Therapeutics Alliance (DTA), and he has also served as a board member of QualcommLife. He has been a digital health advisor to AT&T, Verizon, Vodifone, Telefonica, Qualcomm, Intel, as well as leading healthcare providers like Mayo Clinic, Cleveland Clinic, Kaiser Permanente, and large employers like Microsoft, Google and Amazon, and medtech and pharmaceutical companies like Medtronic, Boston Scientific, BD Medical, Eli Lilly, Novartis, Biogen, Sanofi, Merck, Amgen, AstraZeneca, and others. 

In addition, he was a professor at the University of Utah and served as Executive Director of the Sorenson Center for Discovery & Innovation, a digital therapeutic game incubator. He is the co-author of two books on innovation, creativity, and leadership: Tension - The Energy of Innovation; and Solving for Why - Change Your Identity, Change Your Future. He is the named inventor on 12 issued patents, has been a founding leader in 10 startups, and has held leadership positions at JP Morgan and PwC. He holds a doctorate from George Washington University in Human and Organizational Learning, and an M.B.A. from UCLA Anderson School; and a BS in Accounting and a BA in Asian Studies from Brigham Young University. 

Chris’ passion is bringing technology to healthcare and patients in a way to deliver experiences that rival the best of Apple, Amazon, Alphabet, and Facebook; to engage consumers/patients in experiences and behaviors that empower them to take control of their health and improve their clinical outcomes, quality of life, wellbeing, while increasing access to care at lower costs.