LifeStance Health Group Inc. (Nasdaq: LFST) is shaking up its leadership team by naming a new CEO while elevating a company veteran.
Effective Sept. 7, former WellCare and UnitedHealthcare CEO Ken Burdick took over the CEO role at LifeStance Health from retiring founding CEO Michael Lester. At the same time, Chief Operating Officer Danish Qureshi will also take on the concurrent role of president.
The Scottsdale, Arizona-based hybrid mental health provider disclosed in a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filing that Lester will provide consulting services to Lifestance Health via Alert5 Consulting LLC, his consulting firm, through Sept. 7, 2023.
In the leadership-shakeup announcement, LifeStance Health’s board pointed to Burdick’s “deep understanding of today’s health care landscape and a history of driving profitable growth.” It also expressed appreciation for Lester’s work.
“LifeStance is at the forefront of expanding access to care,” Burdick said in the announcement. “It’s a privilege to be joining the company at a time when our services are more needed than ever, and I look forward to working with the team in pursuit of our vision of a truly healthy society where mental and physical healthcare are unified to make lives better.”
Ken Burdick’s background
Burdick comes to LifeStance with decades of experience at the highest levels of executive leadership in the health insurance space.
His previous role was executive vice president of markets and products of St. Louis-based Centene Corp. (NYSE: CNC). He held the role from January 2020 until February 2021.
He has also held CEO roles at the following organizations: Tampa, Florida-based WellCare Health Plans Inc., from 2015 until January 2020, when WellCare acquired Centene Corp.; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, from February 2012 to July 2012; and UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance arm of Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE: UNH), from 2006 to 2008.
His other notable roles include being president and chief operating officer of WellCare for less than a year before taking the CEO role. Burdick was also CEO of Coventry Health Care Inc.’s Medicaid and behavioral health business, from August 2010 to February 2012
He started working for UnitedHealth Group in October 1995 and held several roles until 2009, ending as the CEO of UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare division.
Burdick also currently serves on the boards of directors of Centene and First Horizon National Corp.
A recent trend
This is the second time that a major behavioral health operator has picked up a CEO from one of the nation’s health insurance titans.
In April, Franklin, Tennessee-based Acadia Healthcare Company Inc. (Nasdaq: ACHC) appointed Christopher Hunter to the CEO role. Hunter previously was president of the group, military and specialty segment for Louisville, Kentucky-based Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM).
The appointment of Burdick additionally represents a continuation of minor shifts in LifeStance Health’s leadership.
In May, the company named Qureshi COO — taking over the role from Gwen Booth, who took the role of executive director of LifeStance Health Foundation. Qureshi is a co-founder of LifeStance Health and was previously chief growth officer.
Qureshi and the rest of the executive team remain “laser-focused on guiding our business through the next phase of growth,” they noted in the announcement.
The founding team of LifeStance Health partnered with the private equity firms Summit Partners and Silversmith Capital Partners in 2015, launching a meteoric rise to one of, if not the, largest outpatient mental health providers in the nation.
Starting in 2017, the company blitzed through acquisitions, creating a barrier for other operators seeking similar consolidation plays, Lester said at the Goldman Sachs 43rd Annual Global Healthcare Conference in June.
In the same conference appearance, Lester doubled down on the LifeStance Health hybrid approach to care while limiting its de novo office openings and improving clinician retention.
In the company’s 2Q 2022 earnings call, Lester detailed other efforts to push the company toward profitability. They include rolling out a new online booking and intake experience platform and a pivot to organic growth.
LifeStance Health has acquired 83 companies since its inception. It employed 5,226 psychiatrists, advanced practice nurses, psychologists and therapists, while operating about 600 centers, as of June 30, according to the company.
In 2021, the company brought in $667.5 million in annual revenues and posted a $307 million loss.
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