Sam Weinstein, MD, MBA, Chief Executive Officer

Sam Weinstein, MD, MBA, has been Chief Executive Officer at SpecialtyCare since 2017. He joined the company in 2015 as Chief Medical Officer and was promoted to President of Operations in 2016. Under his leadership, SpecialtyCare has leveraged its unique operative procedural database data to reduce the clinical variations in surgical care that can lead to costly postoperative complications. The company’s platform practices in 44 states in over 1,200 hospitals.

Prior to SpecialtyCare, Sam was a Pediatric Cardiac Surgeon in New York City and Surgical Director for Heart Care International, whose mission is teaching/performing congenital cardiac surgical techniques to local physicians in economically challenged countries. To date, he has taken over 30 mission trips to Guatemala, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, and Peru. He is a long-time proponent of evidence-based healthcare, and has served as an executive leadership coach for healthcare executives.

Sam practiced 16 years as a Pediatric Cardiothoracic surgeon prior to retiring from clinical medicine. He earned his medical degree and board certifications from the State University of New York, Columbia Presbyterian, and The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, and graduated with a BA in History from the University of Pennsylvania. He is the author of more than 100 publications and presentations.  Sam lives in Nashville, with his wife Amy, and they share four adult children.

Jeff Gray, CPA, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Administrative Officer

Jeff Gray, CPA, Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer, and Chief Administrative Officer, is responsible for the financial operations of the company as well as strategic and operational support. He has more than 25 years of progressive financial management experience in both private and publicly traded organizations. Most recently he served as vice president and chief financial officer for Oreck Corporation, where he was responsible for all financial operations, including cash management, risk management, and strategic financial planning. Jeff’s previous experience in financial and operational roles include work as executive vice president and chief financial officer for Advance Auto, a $3.5 billion publicly traded retail company, and chief financial officer for Keystone Automotive, the nation’s leading publicly traded distributor of aftermarket collision replacement parts.

Jeff is a certified public accountant with a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.

Susan Byrd, MHRD, Chief People Officer

Susan Byrd, MHRD, Senior Vice President of People, is responsible for human resource strategies and initiatives, the credentialing program, and SpecialtyCare University. She has extensive experience designing staffing models, assessing human capital capacity, and developing strategies for growth, change, and company culture. Most recently, Susan spent 11 years as the senior vice president of human resources at Change Healthcare (previously Emdeon). She also held the position of president and was on the board of directors for Hands Across Emdeon, a not-for-profit corporation, and led the company’s social responsibility and employee communication efforts. She holds certification as a Senior Human Resources Professional and co-authored “HR Leadership Strategies: Leading HR Executives on Aligning with Organizational Goals, Developing Employee Talent, and Addressing Changing Workforce Dynamics.”

Susan has a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Arkansas State University and earned a master’s degree in human resources development from Clemson University.

Matt Gray, President, Cardiac Services

Matt Gray, President of Cardiac Services, joined SpecialtyCare in 2020 and leads the Perfusion division. In addition to the company’s core perfusion services, this division delivers other specialized care such as extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and autotransfusion (ATS). Matt has over 28 years of progressive management experience across multiple healthcare sectors that include managed care, pharmacy benefit management and practice management (acute and post-acute). Prior to joining SpecialtyCare, Matt held senior leadership roles with TeamHealth and CVS Caremark.

Matt attended college in Alabama where he earned his bachelor’s degree in business management from the University of Montevallo.

Christy Kisner, MBA, President, Neuro Services

Christy Kisner, MBA, President of Neuro Services, this division delivers care in the DBS and Neurodiagnostic fields in addition to IONM. Christy joined SpecialtyCare in 2012 and has served in progressive leadership roles during her tenure. She has over 20 years of healthcare experience as both an accomplished clinician and a dynamic people and business leader. Christy has led efforts to enhance operative room efficiency, improvements of clinical quality, promotion and enhancement of associate engagement and drive success growth rates.

Christy has a Bachelor’s degree in Neuroscience and Behavioral Biology from Emory University in Atlanta, GA, and a Master’s in Business Administration from Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, GA.

John Peyton, President, Surgical Services

John Peyton, President of Surgical Services, is responsible for delivery and support of the company’s non-perfusion autotransfusion, surgical assist, minimally invasive surgical support, and sterile processing department services.

John has over a decade of experience in healthcare operations, sales, and marketing. He previously served as Chief Strategy Officer for Core Clinical Partners, which grew more than 1,500% during his tenure. He also spent eight years with Envision Healthcare and its affiliates, where he held leadership positions in operations and business development. Prior to his departure, he managed a business portfolio with over $250 million in annual revenue, including more than 40 specialty practices in emergency medicine, hospital medicine, anesthesiology, and radiology.

John received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Georgia.

John Arena, JD, LLM, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary

John Arena, JD, LLM, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, is an innovative and business-oriented legal executive with experience in public and private companies in the healthcare, automotive products, consumer products, and insurance industries. Currently, he provides oversees all legal strategy and matters, such as litigation management, contracts, corporate governance, and transactions. Previously, John served as senior vice president and general counsel for Direct General Corporation, a leading non-standard personal lines insurance company, and before that as chief legal officer of Oreck Corporation. Before joining Oreck, he was general counsel for Keystone Automotive, an $800 million NASDAQ traded distributor of aftermarket collision automotive replacement parts. Prior to Keystone, John served as deputy general counsel and corporate general counsel for Beverly Enterprises, Inc., a $3 billion NYSE healthcare company having divisions in the nursing home, hospice, and inpatient therapy sectors.

John began his career in private practice. He obtained his law degree from Tulane University and his Master of Laws in Taxation from Southern Methodist University. He is a member of the Tennessee and Texas bars.

Dan Farrell, MBA, Group Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing

Dan Farrell, MBA, Group Senior Vice President, Sales & Marketing, joined SpecialtyCare in late 2016. He has deep experience managing the development and execution of strategic roadmaps, financial models, and marketing strategies that drive business results across large and small organizations. Most recently, Dan served as chief operating officer at technology startup, Vennli, where he led efforts to sign over a 100 accounts during the company’s first year and assisted in securing the first three rounds of funding while overseeing the business development, finance, marketing, and human resource functions. Previously, Dan spent nine years as vice president of marketing at Press Ganey Associates. He helped double the company’s market share of all U.S. hospitals and establish Press Ganey as the clear leader in patient experience improvement. Dan began his career at Kraft Foods, after serving four years as a captain in the U.S. Army, and held progressively responsible positions in brand-related functions, including management of one of the largest portfolios in the company.

Dan earned an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management and received his BA in Business Administration from the University of Notre Dame, where he was a member of the U.S. Army ROTC and the varsity football team.

Chad Baldwin, Senior Vice President, Strategic Development

More info coming soon.