Here are the CEOs of five of the biggest DSOs in the U.S.:
Patrick Bauer. President and CEO of Heartland Dental. Mr. Bauer has been president of Heartland since 2009, and before becoming CEO in 2015, he served as COO since 1997. Mr. Bauer has more than 25 years of experience in dental and healthcare operations management. Heartland has more than 1,600 supported offices across 38 states.
Steve Bilt. CEO of Smile Brands. Mr. Bilt co-founded Smile Brands and OneSmile in 2016 and combined the two businesses to create what Smile Brands is today. He is also a founding member, former president and executive board member of the Association of Dental Support Organizations. Smile Brands has nearly 700 affiliated dental offices across 30 states.
Bob Fontana. Founder and CEO of Aspen Dental. Mr. Fontana founded the Aspen Group, the parent company of Aspen Dental, in 1998. He serves as TAG's chair and CEO as well as Aspen Dental's CEO. Aspen Dental has more than 1,000 locations in 43 states.
Gene Kirtser. CEO of Affordable Care. Mr. Kirtser joined Affordable Care in 2017 and has more than 25 years of business experience in the healthcare sector. Before joining Affordable Care, he served as president and CEO of healthcare supply chain company Roi. Affordable Care supports more than 400 locations across 42 states.
Stephen Thorne. Founder and CEO of Pacific Dental Services. Mr. Thorne founded PDS in 1994. In addition to his leadership at PDS, he also serves as president of the Dental Group Practice Association and sits on the executive committee of the CEO Leadership Alliance of Orange County. PDS has more than 850 supported practices in 25 states.