Heartland Veterinary Partners Names Greg DeAtkine as CEO
Heartland Veterinary Partners (“Heartland” or “the Company”), a leading veterinary support organization in the Mid-American and Southern U.S. markets, announced today it has named Greg DeAtkine as the company’s CEO, effective immediately. He succeeds interim CEO Tim Martin, who will return to his role as Executive Chairman. Heartland is a portfolio company of Gryphon Investors, a leading private equity firm focused on profitably growing and competitively enhancing middle-market companies in partnership with experienced management.
Headquartered in Chicago, Heartland partners with nearly 350 veterinarians. The Company is focused on providing high-quality general veterinary services to companion animals and has an exceptional reputation within the industry due to its veterinarian-centric mission, vision and values.
“We welcome Greg to Heartland,” said Kevin Blank, Gryphon Operating Partner to Gryphon’s Healthcare Group. “His deep understanding of medical practices and his track record of building leading multi-site healthcare services businesses make him a great choice to head the Company. We know he will hit the ground running and provide steady guidance as we continue to pursue innovative growth strategies.”
Mr. DeAtkine is a longtime leader in the physician network arena, with more than 20 years of experience in physician management services. Before joining Heartland, he was President and CEO at Platinum Dermatology Partners, where he successfully oversaw significant growth and expansion of the company’s market presence in Texas and Arizona. Prior to that, he served as Chief Operating Officer at U.S. Anesthesia Partners, where he helped grow the company from a single practice of 400 people to a network of more than 2,000 providers and 1,000 operations staff. Earlier in his career, Mr. DeAtkine served as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Marketing for McKesson Specialty Health and was a Senior Vice President for regional operations at its predecessor, The US Oncology Network. He holds a B.S. in biology and chemistry and an M.B.A., both from the University of Houston.
Luke Schroeder, Gryphon Deal Partner and Co-Head of Gryphon’s Healthcare Group, continued, “Even before the onset of Covid-19, we were seeing solid growth in American pet ownership and pet care. As working from home has increased and travel has plummeted, those trends have continued. We believe more spending on high-quality preventative care and medical treatment for animals will continue to drive the veterinary care industry and we look forward to having Greg at the helm.”
Mr. DeAtkine commented, “I am thrilled to be working with the Heartland and Gryphon teams. I am impressed with the expansion the Company has achieved to date, all while adhering to its veterinarian-centric mission and values, and I look forward to driving additional growth at the Company.”