Butterfly seeks a new CEO and more digital health hires

Brightside Health, Podimetrics and Hims & Hers also announce new additions to their teams.
By Jessica Hagen
01:21 pm
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Photo: Darla Williams/Getty Images

 

Butterfly Network, maker of a handheld, smartphone-connected ultrasound system, announced that president and CEO Dr. Todd Fruchterman is stepping down. He also will leave his position on the board of directors. 

Jonathan Rothberg, founder and chairman of the board, will step in as interim CEO, and Fruchterman will assist Butterfly's leadership with the transition until the end of the year. 

"On behalf of the board I want to thank Todd for his vision, passion and dedication to Butterfly during his tenure," Rothberg said in a statement. "Todd has built a highly capable leadership team, who will function in the interim to ensure continuity while we conduct a search for a new chief executive who will continue the company’s growth."

In November, Butterfly posted its Q3 earnings with revenue of $19.6 million, a 34.2% increase from $14.6 million in Q3 2021. Still, the company posted a net loss of $54.7 million compared with a $13.6 million loss in Q3 2021. 


Mental health-focused telehealth platform Brightside Health appointed Jeff Margolis as an independent board member and Dr. David Shulkin as an advisor. Margolis and Shulkin's positions became effective on October 1. 

Margolis is the former CEO and chairman of the consumer health engagement tool Welltok

Shulkin served as the ninth secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs in the Trump Administration and the Under Secretary of Health for the VA in the Obama Administration.

"We're pleased to welcome Jeff Margolis to our board of directors and Secretary David Shulkin as an advisor to Brightside Health at a time when there is a profound need for telehealth solutions that treat people with more severe mental health conditions," Brad Kittredge, cofounder and CEO of Brightside Health, said in a statement.

"As Brightside Health continues executing on its next phase of growth, we're confident that Jeff and David will help us partner with healthcare stakeholders to reach those who need timely, high-quality care the most."

Brightside Health, which offers medication treatment and virtual therapy for anxiety and depression, received $50 million in Series B financing in March. In the prior year it garnered $24 million in Series A funding.


Diabetes care company Podimetrics announced the expansion of its executive team and the addition of a new board member. Sid Rao joins as its chief information officer. Dr. Gary Rothenberg will serve as director of medical affairs, and Sukanya Soderland will join its board of directors.

Rao will lead the company's strategic IT efforts, while Rothenberg will utilize his more than 20 years of experience as a practicing podiatrist and associate professor of internal medicine and director of fellowship training at the University of Michigan.

Soderland is the senior vice president and chief strategy officer for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and cofounded the Oliver Wyman Health Innovation Center. 

"Adding Sid and Gary to our executive team, and Sukanya to our board, will only further set us up for success in our mission to bring preventive care into the homes of patients living with advanced diabetes," Dr. Jon Bloom, CEO and cofounder of Podimetrics said in a statement. 

The Massachusetts-based company scored $45 million in Series C funding in March.


Direct-to-consumer virtual health company Hims & Hers announced the hire of Scott Knoer as its first chief pharmacy and innovation officer.

Knoer is the former executive vice president and CEO of the American Pharmacists Association. Before that, he spent almost ten years as chief pharmacy officer at the Cleveland Clinic.

"I am humbled by this opportunity to help define the future of modern healthcare and wellness," Knoer said in a statement. "I've spent my career at the cutting edge of pharmacy innovation, and I am incredibly excited to put that skillset to work. The level of innovation and personalization being done across Hims & Hers pharmacy operations is truly disruptive and unlike anything I have seen before."

Hims & Hers has partnerships with several companies throughout the U.S., including Delaware-based healthcare system ChristianaCare, hybrid care provider Carbon Health, New Orleans-based not-for-profit Oschner Health, New York-based Mount Sinai Health System, and Privia in Washington, D.C., Maryland, Texas, Georgia and Virginia. 

In November, it reported third-quarter revenue of $144.8 million, up 95% from $74.2 million in the same period in 2021. The virtual care company logged a third-quarter net loss of $18.8 million, compared with a loss of $15.9 million in the year-earlier period. 

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