Youth behavioral health provider Embark Behavioral Health will part ways with three C-suite members at the end of the month — one of whom is the last co-founder still with the company.

An internal memo written by Scott Filion, CEO of the Phoenix-based private equity-backed platform, obtained by Behavioral Health Business shows that Darren Wight (chief financial officer), Jeremy Behling (chief operating officer) and Landon Kirk (chief people officer) will depart their roles at the end of the month.

The move is part of a restructuring of the management hierarchy at Embark Behavioral Health. Filion described the move as creating a “flattened organization.” And more changes may be coming. In the memo, he says he intends to share more about the company’s “forward-looking strategy and confirm the 2025 priorities.”

“While transitions like these can be challenging, they also open the door to fresh opportunities,” the memo states. “This shift will enable us to allocate additional resources to our programs in ways that allow us to strengthen our focus on serving our clients and families. … We are energized by the path ahead and remain deeply committed to our mission and those clients and families we serve.”

A representative of the company has not yet answered a request for comment. This story may be updated.

The flattening of the C-suite echoes Embark Behavioral Health’s previous decision to thin out the company’s administrative corps. In November, BHB reported that Embark laid off about 60 people. It also closed several locations in Los Angeles and Oregon. At that time, the company previously said that the layoffs and closures were meant, in part, to “optimize resources.” Filion said at that time that the company was “[committed] to being responsible stewards of our resources and ensuring that we can continue to provide a high level of care to those who need it most.”

These two recent developments and the apparent focus of management on resource optimization demonstrate a company in transition with a focus on cash flow and profitability. This transition has been ongoing for years and reflects the evolution of youth behavioral health.

Historically, youth-focused behavioral health services for those with intensive needs, short of psychiatric hospitals, were operated by a much smaller number of companies. Thus, access to this type of care was often challenging and required travel out of a patient’s community. This, in part, gave rise to destination-driven services offering such as high-end residential facilities and wilderness programs in remote parts of the country. One of Embark Behavioral Health’s progenitor organizations, Calo Programs, operates a facility on the Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri.

However, an avalanche of bad press from horrific tales of abuse of patients and the reactions of payers — private health plans and government payers included — over the last several years have crushed the popularity and relevance of these types of programs. Embark Behavioral Health shuttered its wilderness program in 2023. This public vitriol has spilled over to youth-focused residential programs generally, with Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Oregon) leading a pointed public campaign to bring more scrutiny and regulation to the space.

The arrival of a new private equity backer accelerated this evolution.

Even leading into the acquisition of Embark Behavioral Health by Consonance Capital Partners at the end of 2022, the company that year had launched virtual services and opened a number of outpatient and short-term residential facilities across the country.

In mid-2023, Embark Behavioral Health announced that it had hired several new executives to help lead its transition to more outpatient offerings and value-based care deals with payers. These hires included Wight and Behling. And in the fall of that year, it announced it would open outpatient operations in Los Angeles. Those facilities have since closed.

In August 2024, Filion was named as the successor to Alex Stavros, Embark Behavioral Health’s CEO for 13 years.

Landon Kirk has been with Embark Behavioral Health since the beginning, with the company being founded in 2007. A licensed clinical social worker by training, he held several different executive roles within Embark and Calo Programs, including CEO, chief operations officer and chief clinical officer.

“Landon’s positive influence, humility, and remarkable ability to genuinely connect with so many of you have shaped our organization in profound and lasting ways,” Filion’s memo states. “His impact on Embark will be felt for years to come.”