Fast-Growing Petriage Names New CEO, Creates Two New Leadership Positions

Petriage named Joseph Coury, a veterinary industry and business development leader, as CEO of the fast-growing B2B pet health technology company. Coury, whose appointment is immediate, succeeds Allon Freiman, a Co-Founder of 4-year-old Petriage, who becomes chief strategy officer and continues as a member of the leadership team.

The appointment comes as Petriage accelerates an ambitious expansion program for its fully integrated telehealth tools and resources that help vets and pet parents provide the best care for their pets. Coury, 37, was previously CEO of OMNI Practice Group, a Kenmore, Wash., provider of veterinary, dental and medical-related business, real estate and consulting services. Earlier, he was senior vice president of the Veterinary Division at California Bank of Commerce and during his career, he provided start-up and financial and other banking services to more than 1,000 veterinarian clinics across the country.

In a related leadership team announcement, Wendy Hennig, Petriage’s vice president of Sales and Marketing, was elevated to Chief Growth Officer. Hennig, 44, with almost 20 years of veterinary industry sales experience, has been with Petriage since May 2018 and previously was at Patterson Veterinary Supply Co., where she held several posts.

“Petriage’s board and I are delighted to have Joe join our company as CEO,” said Freiman, who has known Coury for several years. “Petriage’s rapid growth, spurred by our ability to tap into the surge in interest in veterinary telehealth as the result of the coronavirus pandemic, is getting us closer to accessing external sources of funding. Joe’s experience as a proven team leader with deep knowledge of veterinary practice operations and economics and his superb animal health industry credentials and connections make him the right person to take the reins at this exciting time to lead Petriage through its next phase of growth.”

Freiman, 32, emphasized he is not stepping away from Petriage. “Like most startup co-founders, I am committed to participating in our company’s long-term success and look forward to continuing to contribute to Petriage. We have a wealth of potential opportunities in, for example, other AI-driven applications, expanding internationally and incorporating data from wearables, where Petriage’s adaptable technology positions us for success.”

Dan Kingston, Petriage board member, co-founder and member of Frontbridge Capital and formerly Head of Portfolio Management for Vulcan Capital, said of Coury’s appointment, “We are delighted to have attracted a proven team leader with deep veterinary industry knowledge.” as Petriage’s new CEO.”

Kingston added, “Joe’s arrival rounds out an all-star team of industry veterans, including the hiring last year of Gary Watson as the Chief Technology Officer. Together, the team will build upon Petriage’s leading position in veterinary telehealth and scale its service offerings globally.”

Petriage Differentiated by Its Unique Software Platform

Coury said what drew him to Petriage is the potential of its unique software platform – which remotely treats vets’ patients and integrates pets’ medical data effortlessly into vet practice management systems – to transform vet clinics’ profitability, productivity, efficiency, return on investment and quality of life for vets and their staffs.

Petriage’s suite of services includes pet teletriage, teleconsult, telemedicine and telemonitoring, enabling vets to expand their business as a “brick-and-click” practice. This lets them capture a significant portion of cases occurring after-hours that they wouldn’t have been aware of and likely would result in emergency room visits. It also keeps medical records up to date by unloading all information automatically to the vet’s practice management software.

“I’ve seen the difference the Petriage platform makes in helping vets manage their time and help achieve work/life balance, and no other vet telehealth solution can rival the complete circle of care it delivers,” Coury maintained. Exemplifying the superior results, he said, is the 21-year-old veterinary practice of Dr. Shlomo Freiman, DVM, another of Petriage’s co-founders.

Coury noted that even before establishing Petriage, Dr. Freiman used its telehealth approach to engage his clients in the care of their pets after-hours, including its proprietary teletriage app that lets pet owners assess the urgency of a dog or cat’s health symptoms and deliver trusted recommendations to the vet. Coury said the telehealth platform has helped Dr. Shlomo generate more than three times the gross revenues of the typical solo practitioner and placed him among the top one-tenth of one percent of most productive veterinarians.