KKR-backed Autism provider BlueSprig is set to undergo a significant leadership transition.
Earlier this month, BlueSprig’s CEO Jason Owen announced he was stepping down to pursue a new role as CEO and president at Envision Healthcare. Owen started with the company in February 2022.
“To the BlueSprig team, we’ve accomplished so much and I know you will continue to do great things,” Owen wrote on Linkedin. “Thank you for your teamwork and friendship over the years. To the Envision team, as you focus on providing high-quality, complex care to millions of patients, I’m committed to supporting you and the partners and communities Envision serves.”
In 2018, private equity giant KKR formed Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) provider Blue Sprig. The Houston, Texas-based company has since expanded. BlueSprig now has more than 170 locations, and offers early intervention ABA, adolescent ABA and speciality services.
In October BlueSprig announced the acquisition of autism provider Trumpet Behavioral Health. This deal added 40 locations to BlueSprig’s footprint.
Following Owen’s departure, the company is looking for a new leader to fill his role.
“We are actively searching for a new CEO and look forward to finding the right person to lead BlueSprig through its next phase of growth,” the company wrote in a statement to Behavioral Health Business. “In the meantime, the entire executive team remains confident in the future and committed to the company’s mission.”
Owens isn’t the only autism provider CEO to have recently stepped down. Kathleen Stengel, former CEO and founder of ABA provider NeuroAbilities, has recently announced her departure.
Leadership positions at providers can be difficult to fill due to the systemic shortage of experienced board-certified behavioral analysts (BCBAs). The profession is relatively new, meaning many qualified BCBAs only have a few years of experience under their belt, and many clinicians are reluctant to move into leadership roles. While not every leader in the ABA space started as a clinician, the practitioner to leader transition is a growth pathway that is popular across behavioral health.
