Karl Kipke
Chief Executive Officer, Manager and Co-Founder
Karl Kipke has over 30 years of experience in investment banking, asset management and venture capital. He has played key-operating roles in numerous companies in an array of industries where he was involved in all facets of company development from start-ups to mature businesses. Karl Kipke has been instrumental in establishing, funding, scaling and selling successful businesses by leveraging his financial expertise and keen strategic vision. The first 11-years of his career was spent working with Wall Street luminaries at Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns. From 1994 – 1999, he managed a large family-office where he distinguished himself as an active investor in public securities. His extensive operating experience and successes span several industries, including financial services, pet food, healthcare and consumer electronics.
Christian Herrington
President
Christian Herrington has more than 30-years of sales, sales management and executive management experience with leading pharmacy wholesale distributors. He rose to prominence at Bindley Western running their Retail Sales Force and national accounts, then managed the transition and assimilation into Cardinal Health’s organization after its acquisition of the company. Chris Herrington then joined HD Smith as a senior executive and aided in its growth and success over the last 16 years, before its recent acquisition by AmerisourceBergen. Christian Herrington is a key opinion leader in the pharmacy space and possesses a unique understanding of the financial challenges and operating opportunities faced by independent pharmacy owners. He earned his BS in Pathobiology from the University of Connecticut.
Gregg Honigblum
Manager and Co-Founder
Gregg Honigblum, co-founder and Chief Revenue Officer. Gregg Honigblum has over 30 years of experience as a financier for emerging growth companies specializing in the healthcare sector. From 2001-2013, he was the CEO and co-founder of Creation Capital LLC and Creation Capital Advisors, an investment banking firm and Broker Dealer with offices in New York City and Austin, TX. Gregg Honigblum provided strategic advisory services and raised over $500 million in private equity for numerous businesses in the healthcare space. He has been instrumental in providing early stage capital for Myriad Genetics, Inc(symbol MYGN), and Acacia Biosciences which merged with Rosetta Inpharmatics, Inc. and is now a wholly owned subsidiary of Merck. From 2014 to 2016, he was a Managing Director at Westlake Securities in Austin, TX leading their healthcare banking practice. Mr. Honigblum holds a BA in Economics from the University of Texas at Austin.
Scott Prideaux
Chief Financial Officer
Scott Prideaux is a Certified Public Accountant that has spent 38 years in Public Accounting and Private Industry serving in a variety of financial accounting roles. This includes the last nineteen years as the Controller and then Chief Financial Officer of an Austin, Texas based family office and commercial real estate enterprise. Scott Prideaux’s extensive operational experience will be instrumental in his responsibilities for the daily accounting and operational reporting functions, investor relations, and customer service for HealthGrowth Capital. Scott Prideaux spent the early part of his career in the Fort Worth and Singapore offices of Price Waterhouse, after receiving a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Stephen F. Austin University with a major in accounting and a minor in management.
Ralph A Longo
CCE, CICP, Director of Risk and Analysis
The entirety of Ralph Longo’s 40-year career has involved credit and financial analysis. He offers extensive practical experience with prominent companies such as Sony Electronics, Sharp and, most recently, pharmaceutical industry leaders H. D. Smith and Amerisource Bergen. Through his association with the National Association of Credit Management (NACM), Ralph Longo earned his CCE (Certified Credit Executive) designation as well as his CICP (Certified International Credit Professional) accreditation. Ralph Longo has an MBA in Finance from Iona College, New Rochelle, NY and also graduated from the NACM Graduate Program in Credit and Financial Management conducted at Dartmouth College.
Randy Clauson
Director of National Sales
Randy Clauson has more than 30 years of Credit Management experience in a variety of industries, having spent the last 13 years with Pharmaceutical Wholesale Distribution companies including Cardinal Health, H.D. Smith, and Amerisource Bergen. He managed the transition and assimilation of the F. Dohmen and Dik Drug acquisitions by Cardinal Health, then was hired to turn around the New York Metro Credit Department for H.D. Smith, before it was acquired by Amerisource Bergen. He understands the financial challenges faced by the Independent Retail Pharmacy owner, having worked with hundreds of customers to improve their operating efficiencies and increase profits. Randy Clauson holds a BS Degree in Finance from Mankato State University and achieved the Certified Credit Executive designation from the National Association of Credit Management (NACM) in 2014.
David MacVane
Directory of Outside Sales
David MacVane has more than 30 years of sales and sales management experience, with 20 of those years spent at leading pharmaceutical wholesale distributors. He began his pharmacy career with Bindley Western as a territory manager in the New England marketplace. Dave MacVane transitioned to Cardinal Health’s acquired Bindley Western, and was promoted to major retail accounts in the New England region. Dave MacVane joined H.D. Smith in 2005 as a territory manager and spent 14 years with the company, most recently in the role of Director of Sales. Dave MacVane earned a BS in Business from the University of Maine.
Sean McVeigh
West Coast Territory Manager
Sean McVeigh has more than 35 years of sales and sales management experience in the pharmacy wholesale distribution sector. He began his career in California with a local distributor, Barnes Wholesale, in the early 1980’s. He was instrumental in the success of the SmartSource generic program and other related pharmacy programs. As the Territory Sales Manager at HD Smith, his focus was directed at guiding independent pharmacies in the greater Los Angeles area. In 2017, he it took the role of VP of Sales and Marketing with GenesisRx, positioning them as a premier buying group. His knowledge of independent pharmacy and their challenges has positioned him as a valuable consultant. Sean McVeigh studied Geology and Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Carolina Hernandez
Southeast Territory Sales Manager
Carolina Hernandez brings 25 years of experience in the Healthcare industry, initially practicing Optometry and as the Optical Manager at the Ophthalmology practice where she practiced for 12 years in Alameda, CA. In 2009 Carolina Hernandez started her sales career at Arno Optical where she rose to be the top Senior Sales Representative after 3 months of her start. Using her strong sales techniques and customer relationships Carolina Hernandez helped Arno Optical become the 2nd largest optical distributor in the United States and Latin America. Carolina Hernandez transitioned into Pharmacy Sales for H. D. Smith as an Inside Sales Specialist, where she quickly rose to be a top Inside Sales Specialist and in 2017 was promoted to the position of Strategic Accounts Executive where she won Strategic Account Executive of the Year in 2018. She holds a BS in Physiological Optics and Doctor of Optometry from the University of California, Berkeley.
Mary Jo Obbema
Director of Compliance
Mary Jo Obbema has more than 15 years of experience in the real estate and legal fields. From 2005 – 2010 she worked in commercial and industrial real estate where she perfected her skills in marketing and reviewing and drafting contracts. She spent the last 8 years, before moving to Texas from Southern California, in the California Workers’ Compensation industry where she honed her skills in legal writing and research, settlement negotiations and trial preparation. After running her own business for 5 years working with doctors, pharmacies and other small business healthcare entities to settle and negotiate their medical liens, she then switched sides to work with insurance companies to settle medical liens and defend against fraudulent claims. Mary Jo Obbema has a BA from the University of Southern California in Political Science and a Juris Doctor from Whittier Law School.
George Fencl
Marketing Consultant
George Fencl brings significant experience in the healthcare space, whether preparing early-phase brands for successful launch, carving out emerging therapeutic classes, strengthening market position of follower products, or re-establishing competitive strength and leadership of well-established offerings and companies. As a strategic account planner for Young and Rubicam, in New York, he has lead major marketing initiatives for Bristol-Myers, Microsoft, LasikPlus, United Healthcare, Abbott/AbbVie, Dell, AARP, J&J and many others. At leading SF-based healthcare agency, Giant Creative, George Fencl established digital strategies and deployed successful promotions for some of the highest selling pharmaceutical products in the most recent decade, both blockbusters and new category killers. George Fencl holds a BA from Harvard University.
Tasha Knight
Financial Analytics
Harriet Beskin
Director - Specialty Pharmacy
Harriet Beskin grew up in an “independent pharmacy” in the suburbs of Los Angeles and has more than 30 years of experience in sales and management in wholesale distribution and GPO sector. She began her career in the late 80’s with a local distributor, Barnes Wholesale; which was acquired by H.D.Smith. As a Territory Manager to both retail and alternate care pharmacies, she managed over 150 accounts with monthly sales over $30million; providing wholesale distribution and business solutions. At her years at H.D. Smith, Harriet was the recipient of the President’s Award of Excellence 6 times. A position in 2017, as a National Accounts Manager brought Harriet to the GPO sector. Harriet Beskin earned a BA in Sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles.
Mendel Friedman
Pharmacy Strategic Consultant
Mendel Friedman has consulting and sales experience in multiple industries including healthcare, fin-tech, e-commerce and financial services. He previously ran an ISO for a branch of Preferred Medical Claim Solutions, a large transaction-based healthcare network, servicing pharmacy owners looking for answers to the reimbursement struggles facing the industry. His mission is to help independent pharmacies overcome the pain points hindering their businesses by guiding their teams through proven methods and programs to minimize expenses and maximize profitability in the constantly evolving pharmacy space. Among his areas of expertise are revenue cycle management, med-synchronization, DIR fee reduction and star-rating improvement. He holds a BSBA from the University of Pittsburgh in Marketing and Business Information Systems.
