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LifeStance Health Announces CEO Transition
LifeStance Health, a provider of in-person and virtual outpatient mental healthcare services, announced Thursday that its board of directors has appointed industry veteran Ken Burdick as the company's next CEO and chairman. Burdick succeeds the retiring Michael Lester, who has served as CEO and chairman since LifeStance was founded in 2017.
Burdick, who has 40 years of experience in the field, has held several executive and leadership titles, most recently serving as executive vice president of national markets and products at Centene. Previously, he was the president and CEO of WellCare from 2015 until Centene acquired the company in January 2020. Burdick also previously served as CEO of UnitedHealthcare and in multiple roles with Cigna.
“I have tremendous admiration for LifeStance as one of the nation's largest in-network, outpatient behavioral health companies,” Burdick said in a news release.” Through its dedicated team of clinicians, tech-enabled hybrid services, and patient-first approach, LifeStance is at the forefront of expanding access to care.
“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.”
Chief Operating Officer Danish Qureshi will also now take on the title of president, LifeStance Health announced.
Lester, meanwhile, will continue as a strategic advisor to the company. In a statement, the LifeStance board of directors credited Lester as being “instrumental in building LifeStance into the innovative, successful company that it is today.”
“LifeStance is a special company that is changing the lives of patients daily through high-quality, personalized, and compassionate care,” Lester said in the LifeStance news release. “It has been an honor to serve as founding CEO and build this company for the past 5 years, and I am deeply grateful to the entire team for their unwavering commitment to making high-quality mental healthcare accessible across the country.”
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