Meet the Team
Meet the Team
Since we’re in the relationship and credibility business, our team is paramount to our success, the success of our clients, and the success of our customers. We’re proud to think that Ikigai is associated with some of the finest, most knowledgeable, most credible group of healthcare executives in the nation.
Michael Brouthers is a proven healthcare leader with experience at some of the world’s largest healthcare payers, providers, and IT firms (United, Humana, CIGNA, DaVita, and DXC Technology) as well as in some of its most creative entrepreneurial niches (hospitalist medicine, e-healthcare directives, quality and pricing transparency).
At the core of Michael’s experience is his grounding with Payers. From his roots in provider contracting and customer service at CIGNA to his leadership of Humana’s North Florida health plan, to his Regional Vice President position with UHG’s Specialty Care Services division (now Optum), Michael has lived in and understands the Payer world and the world of delivering cost effective, high quality care.
Michael has always enjoyed working closely with clinicians. At DaVita, for example, he worked with clinical leadership to create and implement a new clinical strategy and a more effective clinical program delivery model (called the DaVita Clinical Quality Pyramid) in order to achieve the firm’s goal to become the clear, clinically differentiated leader in the dialysis industry.
At DXC Technology, Michael worked with Market Leaders, Account General Managers, and Salespeople in the US Payer, Provider, and Life Sciences segments to grow their revenues, create new partnerships and products, and evaluate potential acquisitions.
He has also been the CEO or a senior executive in several cutting-edge entrepreneurial healthcare niches.
He created and was the CEO of Embark Health, Inc., the nation’s most comprehensive end-of-life planning firm (electronic advance directives and database).
He was the CEO of Cogent Healthcare, Inc., (now a part of Sound Physicians) one of the nation’s first hospitalist organizations.
At Healthcare Bluebook (quality and pricing transparency) Michael was responsible for establishing and maintaining outstanding long-term strategic and operational relationships with the firm’s largest employer, payer, and provider clients.
As a young engineer shortly out of college, Michael was the Founder and CEO of one of the world’s first video game cartridge companies, Funware, Inc.
Michael has an MBA and a BS in Management Systems Engineering, both from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.
Associates
Kristie Domzalski is an accomplished Finance & Operations Specialist within the Venture Capital industry and holds a Master’s in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.
Her expertise lies in fortifying firm infrastructure and optimizing operational processes, with a broad skill set encompassing portfolio management, investor relations, regulatory compliance, and more.
Throughout her career, Kristie has consistently delivered impactful results, crafting robust operational frameworks that enable venture capital firms to dedicate their resources to maximizing returns for Limited Partners. Her strategic approach and meticulous attention to detail have earned her recognition as a trusted advisor within the industry.
When she’s not busy with work, you’ll often find Kristie kicking back with her family and her furry friend, Lola, soaking up the good vibes.
Advisors
Mike Shumer is a longtime Investor, Board Chair and Director, with extensive Entrepreneurial and CEO experience. He has expertise in the development, scaling, and management of complex service models through exit.
Mike has deep relationships with and understanding of the stakeholders in the healthcare marketplace including payors as channel partners (BUCA & regionals), government partners (e.g. VA) and regulators, TPAs, providers, self-funded groups, and most importantly, patients. Mike also has active Director roles with companies from early-stage/scaling to +$1B.
He has also been involved with multiple innovative business models, through exit.
Chairman – Crucialist was a tech-enabled population health medical practice and post-acute care platform that was one of the first value-based Hospital-at-Home medical practices with multiple payor contracts.
Chairman – Credential Genie software company with a successful exit.
Chairman/CEO – Crucial Care was the first value-based multi-site emergency medicine practice that meaningfully lowered downstream hospital utilization and created actuarially validated savings. Successful exit to a BUCA payor.
Principal – Medical Life Holdings is a portfolio of healthcare-related companies that has returned industry-leading returns for its investors since 2007.
Mike has an MBA in technology Management from The University of Phoenix, and he attended the University of Florida, where he received his Doctorate in Veterinary Medicine. Mike enjoys most outdoor pursuits, and he has great passion for his friends/family and myriad philanthropic pursuits.
Michael Brown is the Founder and CEO of Cornerstone. Michael has served not-for-profit and for-profit healthcare clients of all sizes for almost 28 years while employed at bulge bracket Wall Street firms, and now through his own venture. During his career, Michael served as strategic advisor and banker to some of the largest and most complex transactions, including M&A, JV relationships, venture, and financings. He served the US as a Marshall Fellow in 2008 and is still active with the trans-Atlantic program today. He has sat on numerous Not- For-Profit Boards. Michael earned a BS from Taylor University (Business Systems and Accounting) and earned his MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business (Economics and Finance).
Jeffrey Hogan is the President of Upside Health Advisors a national consultancy providing advisory services to payers, providers, health systems, employers and health-tech point solutions. Jeff also serves as an advisor to private equity, family offices, and to health startups looking to position themselves into the health care marketplace. Jeff is focused on health care payment reform, health policy, care transformation, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, value-based health care, health care quality and precision medicine. Prior to his role at Upside, Jeff served as the Northeast Regional Manager for Rogers Benefit Group, a national benefits marketing and consulting firm. He retired from Rogers Benefit Group in 2021 after 30 years with the company. Jeff regularly appears on national forums focused on moving to value-based health care and is actively working to promote health care related transparency measures in the market.
Ian Gordon is a 30-year healthcare industry veteran known for driving innovation across payers, providers, and services providers. He has a proven track record of facilitating collaboration across companies and integrating new capabilities to deliver broader end-to-end solutions.
Over Ian’s 30-year career, he has held a variety of C-suite roles focused primarily on operations, technology and strategy inside payers, third-party administrators, home health and hospice providers, and a variety of suppliers to both payers and providers. Some highlights of his career include leading an effort to start up a shared services utility for multiple Blues plans, participating in starting a company in the claims payment integrity space, and designing and implementing a first-of-its-kind technology solution that drove a material increase in revenue and reduction in operating expenses for a major player in the Home Health market.
Ian is currently the Health Plan COO for Kaiser Permanente Washington and an investor in and advisor to a number of early stage companies in the health care ecosystem.
Ian holds an MS degree in Management Information Systems from the University of Virginia, an M.B.A. from Rider University, and a B.S. in Accounting from Montclair State University. Ian earned his Certified Public Accountant designation in New Jersey and spent time practicing and delivering consulting services at Coopers and Lybrand, NYC.
Ian currently resides in Colorado with his wife Michele, near his grandsons little Ian and Zeke. He is an avid cyclist and recently completed a bucket list item of riding his bicycle from the coast of Oregon to the beaches of North Carolina.
Cliff Frank has been involved in managed care programs for 30+ years working for payers, hospitals, IPAs, PHOs and Clinically Integrated Networks (CIN). Throughout his career his focus has been on reducing waste and enhancing quality for the benefit of patient care. Creating clinical and financial alignment among providers and payers has been a central theme to his professional work across a variety of settings and organizations. Cliff provides leadership to CIN’s operating shared savings relationships with payers and Medicare, and routinely consults to organizations on their managed care contracts, strategy, preparation for provider risk transfer, and innovative provider-payer partnerships.
Cliff has been CEO of several provider-sponsored risk-bearing entities including FirstCare Health Plans of Texas, Vermont Managed Care, and Shore Quality Partners. He has also served as hospital VP of managed care, a medical group executive, and other provider-based organizations.
Cliff’s consulting and interim executive clients have included:
Connecticut Children’s Medical Center
University of Miami Medical Center
Coordinated Behavioral Care IPA
Jersey Integrated Network ACO
Chicago Health Colleagues ACO
Health Alliance Plan
Compass Medical Group
Carepoint Health
Shore Medical Center
Borland-Groover Clinic
Palos Medical Center
Avera Health Plan
Parkland Health Plan
Fletcher-Allen University of Vermont
FirstCare Health Plans
Porter Hospital
Thomas Healthcare
Integris Health of Oklahoma
Kindred
Montana Health Coop
McIver Urological Clinic
Exigence of Buffalo, NY
Vermont Health Coop
Rush System for Health
Mon Valley Hospital
Princeton Medical Center
Overlake Medical Center
Steward Health
Marathon Health
Scott and White Clinic
Sarasota Memorial Hospital
Methodist Medical Group
Ohio State University Hospital and Medical Group
Cliff co-authored a book – “Physician empowerment through Capitation” Aspen, 2000 and has published numerous articles on capitation mechanics, operations, and risk assessment.
Cliff is a frequent speaker at conferences on population health including HIMSS, National Association of Managed Care Physicians, and the National Association of ACOs.
Partners
Garland Creative is a design studio led by owners Rob and Jenny Garland. Their innovative design strategy leverages the culture, values and history of their partner organizations to produce unique, successful, and client-centered solutions.
They have rich experience in creating new corporate identity through numerous mediums, encompassing both print and digital forms. Their expertise includes designing graphics for trade shows, large enterprise events, as well as creating environmental graphics and wall displays for corporate offices. Their role as a creative partner in numerous large scale rebranding efforts has also expanded into project management, and providing oversight and quality assurance of the roll-outs.
Garland Creative has collaborated closely with Ikigai Growth Partners leadership on various healthcare design initiatives. In addition, they have partnered with major healthcare enterprises like DaVita, Optum, HealthTrust, HCA and HealthStream for their design and rebranding needs.
rob@garlandcreative.com / 615-423-9685
Julie Barnes is the Founder and CEO of Maverick Health Policy, a consulting firm located in the Washington, DC area. Maverick provides strategic advice to organizations that need guidance about federal health information policy. As a former policy analyst, health care litigator, and Capitol Hill staffer, Ms. Barnes informs business strategy and investment decisions about digital health and payment policy. She and her team offer expert analysis about interoperability, price transparency, data privacy, artificial intelligence, value-based care and related issues to traditional health care entities, technology companies and venture capital firms.
Prior to founding Maverick Health Policy, Ms. Barnes served as Vice President of Federal Strategy at Cambia Health Solutions, a Senior Advisor for Leavitt Partners, Director of Health Policy at two think tanks — the Bipartisan Policy Center and New America Foundation — and was an attorney at Crowell & Moring. While she was an attorney, Ms. Barnes was the long-time chairperson of the American Health Lawyers Association Health Reform Educational Task Force and Editor-in-Chief of a legal textbook on managed care.