Sg2 Experts

As part of Sg2’s Intelligence team, Rhae leads the delivery of content and thought leadership for women’s health and pediatrics, including children’s hospital enterprise strategy. She works closely with members to provide comprehensive research and analytics-driven strategic insights, leveraging her special interest and clinical experience in maternal-fetal medicine and pediatrics to inform decision making.

In her current role, Rhae leads Sg2’s specialized children’s hospital membership offering, as well as the development of the annual women’s health and pediatric Impact of Change® forecast and subsequent publications. She contributes to consulting engagements as a subject matter expert and regularly presents national trends and market-specific data to members.

Previously, Rhae served as a clinical research coordinator in the Maternal and Child Health Research Center at the University of Pennsylvania, where she contributed to several research studies and trials addressing high-risk pregnancy and preterm birth prevention. Prior to her time at Penn, Rhae worked in pediatric endocrinology clinical research at Nemours Children’s Clinic at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, researching type 1 diabetes and chromosomal genetic disorders.

Rhae earned her master’s degree in public health at the University of Pennsylvania and her bachelor of science degree in psychology, with a minor in business administration, from Drexel University.

Building on his longtime cardiovascular service line leadership at Sg2, Chad now leads the Service Line Practice within Sg2’s Intelligence group. He helps advance the thought leadership across Sg2’s service line teams to ensure members have the strategic insights to navigate the current landscape and the future projections to set them up for long-term growth and sustainability. In addition, he supports the Vizient Networks, Sg2 Life Sciences and Industry Business, and Sg2/Vizient Consulting teams in leveraging cost, quality and market data to provide a comprehensive view that enables enhanced service line and clinical decision making. Prior to taking on his Service Line Practice leadership role, Chad led Sg2’s cardiovascular service line offerings and products. As a seasoned expert, Chad continues to guide organizations in making strategic decisions across the care continuum for cardiovascular health.

Prior to joining Sg2, Chad spent 14 years in the medical device industry with Medtronic. He spent 8 years in Medtronic’s cardiac rhythm disease management research department identifying novel uses for approved pacemakers and implantable cardioverter defibrillators, as well as making significant advancements in the area of 3D imaging. He also worked in the neuromodulation division for 6 years, managing large clinical trials that generated pivotal clinical data necessary for FDA approval of implantable devices. His work generated 14 patents, 3 publications and multiple internal company awards of excellence. In 2013, he was listed as one of Minnesota’s top 500 inventors by the Twin Cities Business Journal.

Chad earned an MBA from DePaul University in Illinois and a BA in biology from Middlebury College in Vermont. He understands the value of cardiovascular health from being a professional cross-country skier for nearly a decade after college. He has represented the US at World Cup competitions and was a US national champion.

As a Senior Director on the Sg2 Intelligence team, Anthony supports the System of CARE practice. He focuses his research on surgical services, service distribution and ambulatory strategy. Anthony helps define Sg2’s perspective on how health systems can more effectively integrate, shift and coordinate care delivery across the System of CARE.

Prior to joining Sg2, Anthony worked as a statistician for a logistics and supply chain management firm, where he created models to predict sales and provide accurate demand forecasts. His efforts pushed the organization toward evidence-based and data-oriented decision making.

Anthony earned his master of public policy from the College of William & Mary, where he researched the effects of health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansion on local health clinics and their patient bases. His findings helped the local clinic directors understand a range of future utilization scenarios and provided a strategic foundation upon which they could develop plans to accommodate the looming health care reform. Anthony received a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

As an associate principal on Sg2’s Consulting team, Ryan manages strategic engagements with a variety of clients across health care including academic medical centers, national health systems, regional health systems and community hospitals.

Ryan has almost 20 years of health care provider and industry experience with deep expertise in strategy and business development, service line leadership and growth, physician alignment and recruitment, and hospital operations and finance

Prior to joining Sg2, Ryan served as the regional vice president of oncology for Sarah Cannon and HCA Healthcare in the MidAmerica Division covering three states: Kansas, Missouri and Louisiana. At Sarah Cannon, he was responsible for developing the vision, strategy and tactical plans for multiple service lines including oncology, pulmonary, thoracic and others. Under his leadership, HCA opened its first bone marrow transplant program in Missouri, achieved several centers of excellence, opened new cancer centers including over $50M in capital investments, and was the first in HCA to develop telehealth and second opinion programs specially for cancer patients. This enabled year over year increases in market share and financial margin. Prior to Sarah Cannon, Ryan worked at Research Medical Center in Kansas City, Missouri, and AdventHealth leading teams in functional hospital operational departments and strategic business development. He also held leadership roles at University of Kansas Health System and the US Oncology Network.

Ryan earned an MBA from the University of Kansas and a BS in athletic training from the University of Northern Iowa. He is a member of the American College of Healthcare Executives and serves on the boards of several cancer focused not-for-profits.

Organizations seeking unparalleled expertise in health care strategy, operations and design need look no further than Dr Hernandez. A clinically active physician and Principal in Sg2’s Consulting practice, Dr Hernandez has supported over 100 hospitals and health systems around the globe to reimagine their models of care, operations, patient experience and built environment. He has guided clients ranging from six-bed rural hospitals to multihospital integrated health networks to state-sponsored behavioral health care systems. 

Dr Hernandez is a firm believer that proper decision making requires knowledge and context, both of which come from looking around, asking questions and challenging orthodoxies. This is one of the reasons why he is all-in on the use of quantitative, qualitative and ethnographic data to create context. 

An award-winning physician and design strategist, Dr Hernandez brings a unique combination of clinical experience and formal education found in no other physician anywhere. He lives his passion for health care every day, always finding new and creative ways to leverage his skills to the benefit of his clients. Dr Hernandez has been recognized both for his own patient-centric care as well as his impact on health care design as a physician and design strategist. His passion and experience help clients achieve results they never thought possible.  

After earning his BA at Temple University, Dr Hernandez received an MD from the University of Pittsburgh and completed his residency in emergency medicine at Temple University Hospital. He has also received an MS in strategic management and design from The New School Parsons and an MBA from the University of California at Irvine. 

 

As a consulting principal on Sg2’s Life Sciences and Industry team, Ron leads strategic engagements with the pharmaceutical industry (pharma), medical device companies and distributors to provide market insights and direction on their strategically important growth areas. He brings over 2 decades of international experience working in strategic leadership roles driving competitive market success across product and service lines. His career spans the discovery, product development and marketed products business segments in biotechnology, pharma and medical device, which has allowed him to have a broad and deep perspective on the complexity involved in achieving product-market fit, penetration and share. Ron is passionate about bringing together his scientific rigor and business acumen to solve strategic challenges for Sg2 clients.

Ron moved away from the bench early in his career to profit and loss ownership roles for products and services companies like Millipore and Thermo Fisher targeting the drug discovery market. He is as familiar with smaller start-up companies as he is with very large multinationals. As the program development leader for a late-stage start-up, Ron was instrumental in the development of a next-generation drug eluting coronary stent and the subsequent acquisition of the company by Medtronic. Additionally, he served as the chief operating officer of the only internationally based research center for the Smithsonian Institution. Upon returning to the US, Ron joined a strategic and innovation consulting firm focused on helping Fortune 100 companies in the life sciences industry realize major new growth. Finally, prior to joining Sg2, Ron was the VP of BioPharma Commercial Strategy for PPD, carrying forward strategic growth initiatives across the enterprise.

Ron confirmed his passion for the life sciences while pursuing his BS in biology at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he also supported research on the molecular etiology of HIV and leukemias in the Division of Hematology and Oncology. He subsequently earned his PhD from Northwestern University in molecular and cellular biology studying the molecular basis of metabolism as it relates to disease progression. Early in Ron’s career, he co-invented an innovative gene therapy technology that today is bringing hope in the clinic to individuals suffering from conditions such as neuroblastoma.

As part of the Life Sciences and Industry team, Mark leads the sales and delivery of MarketPulse, one of Sg2’s newest product offerings. MarketPulse provides medical device and pharmaceutical drug purchase data from over 3,500 health care facilities in the US, including hospitals, ambulatory surgery centers and physician offices.

Mark has spent his entire career in health care. Most recently, he was part of Ediom, a health care information technology start-up. He led the company’s development and commercialization of market intelligence products serving the medical device and pharmaceutical industries.

Prior to Ediom, Mark was a vice president with Beecken Petty O’Keefe & Company, where he invested in a range of middle market health care companies, including pharmacy services, medical products and other businesses. Mark started his career in the investment banking group of Piper Jaffray & Co, where he focused on companies in the medical device industry.

Mark received an MBA from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in economics and philosophy from the University of Saint Thomas.

As a member of Sg2’s Intelligence team, Donnelle contributes to the development of thought leadership in orthopedics and translates trends, developments and market forces that shape the future of orthopedics into strategic business recommendations and resources for Sg2’s members.

Donnelle has served in a variety of strategic planning and business development roles for community and regional health care systems. As a former health care management consultant, Donnelle leverages her experience with physician alignment and engagement initiatives with her work in M&A and strategic planning to deliver comprehensive resources for our members. She is a former leader in physician acquisitions with experience in medical group management and integration. Prior to joining Sg2, Donnelle worked as a health care system strategy leader, focused on acute care and ambulatory planning in newly developed regional health care systems.

Donnelle earned a bachelor of arts in environmental studies, German and psychology from Washington & Jefferson College and a master’s in health administration from The Pennsylvania State University. After finishing her MHA, Donnelle completed an administrative fellowship at Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System.

In 2022, Donnelle was recognized as an Emerging Leader by Women in Healthcare.

As a leader on Sg2’s Intelligence team, Cory develops oncology intelligence and strategic insights to help members navigate the current landscape and future projections for oncology services. He provides expert insight on cancer service trends, national forecasts, service line optimization and strategic planning for health care organizations across the country. He also works closely with members via calls, webinars, retreat facilitation and consulting engagements to inform and advise future strategic direction on cancer care service line topics, including program expansion, service distribution, technology adoption and care redesign opportunities.

Cory has over 2 decades of health care leadership experience, working with executives in service line business and clinical strategy planning within acute, ambulatory and academic settings. He has conducted service line analyses across various market programs to provide actionable opportunities for growth that address gaps and enhance services across the care continuum. Furthermore, Cory worked with operational and clinical administrators to find and examine solutions related to physician alignment, engagement and workforce integration.

Prior to joining Sg2, Cory served in service line executive roles for Sutter Health Bay Medical Foundation, Catholic Health Initiatives and Intermountain Healthcare. He established and led several national, regional and state governance and service line leadership workgroups. Under his leadership, these groups focused on guiding key regional and system-wide program, operational and clinical improvement initiatives. He has been successful in cultivating system-wide service line directions by conveying clear purpose and instituting collaborative frameworks to create greater awareness of how care is delivered and to foster a high-quality culture and accountability.

Cory earned an MBA from Westminster College in Salt Lake City and a BS in business from Weber State University in Utah.

As the lead on the Sg2 Life Sciences and Industry team, Karl leverages nearly 20 years of life sciences experience to develop strategies and solutions for biopharma, medical device, distributors, health IT and finance services. On a day-to-day basis, he helps position Sg2 as a strategic advisor in partnerships between leading health systems and life sciences firms. He brings extensive experience from his prior role as Sg2 consulting principal, wherein he worked with leading US and global health care providers affiliated with several of Sg2’s 1,700 client health systems. Karl also spent 5 years working out of Sg2’s international office in London, England, where he supported clients in the National Health Service, South East Asia, Hong Kong, Australia and the Middle East.

Karl earned a PhD from the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom, where he developed models using stem cell technologies to study HIV drug targets. He received a BSc in biochemistry and pharmacology from King’s College London.

Karl is married with 2 sons and a daughter and lives in Chicago, IL. He enjoys teaching his children Swedish, being an amateur photographer and expressing his scientific curiosity through cooking.

Karyl is a health care strategy expert and leader who helps Sg2 members succeed in strategic prioritization, program development and projecting health care demand. She has deep content knowledge in strategic planning, service line strategy for women’s health and pediatrics, health equity, and social determinants of health. Future focused and adept at leveraging data insights and collaboration, Karyl supports health systems and children’s hospitals finding new pathways to achieve their goals in an uncertain and rapidly evolving landscape.

Through her direction of Sg2’s practice and collaboration with industry experts, Karyl develops thought leadership for members and shares that knowledge through publications, webinars and facilitated discussions. Most recently, she has codeveloped a strategic framework for health systems looking to address social determinants of health. This framework helps members define their organizational ambitions and develop actionable road maps to advance health equity in their community. In addition to her role leading the community health practice, Karyl coleads the development of Sg2’s Impact of Change® forecasting engine, which projects 10-year patient demand across inpatient and outpatient services. Recent forecasting work includes the COVID-19–modified forecast and Hyperlocalization enhancement.

In 2021, Karyl was accepted into the Disparities Leadership Program, offered through the Disparities Solutions Center at Massachusetts General Hospital, for her work on a health equity solution for Vizient and its members.

Prior to joining Sg2, she worked with an early-stage biotech start-up to develop go-to-market strategies for a microbial air sampler designed to detect airborne pathogens in a hospital setting.

Karyl earned a PhD in microbiology and an AB in physics from the University of Chicago and is president of the University of Chicago Medical and Biological Sciences Alumni Association.

As a member of Sg2’s Intelligence team, Janelle works with leadership teams to identify the impact of industry trends on strategic planning and workforce strategy. She plays a key role in the development of thought leadership in this space, leading research for executive briefings and presenting findings at various Sg2 and Vizient conferences. She serves on the faculty of Sg2’s strategic planning course and delivers customized workshops and presentations for members.

In her role, Janelle also manages Sg2’s Custom Intelligence services, partnering with other experts to answer on-demand client strategy questions that span clinical service lines and the health system enterprise. Her responsibilities also include overseeing the development of Sg2’s annual FAQ Compendium, among Sg2’s most popular publications.

Janelle’s career at Sg2 began as an expert on the oncology team, supporting development and delivery of cancer offerings for both executives and service line leaders.

Prior to joining Sg2, Janelle worked as a middle school English teacher and a recruiter for a network of public charter schools in Brooklyn, NY. She holds a BS from Northwestern University and an MBA from the Duke University Fuqua School of Business.