Eight Industry Leaders Join Navigant’s Healthcare Practice

Navigant announced today that eight senior consulting professionals have joined the Firm’s Healthcare practice. The new consulting professionals are Rick LaForge, Brian Best, William Brouwer, Eileen Gillespie, William J.L. ("Bill”) Kennedy, Jon Lawton, Bill Susanj and Karen Wagner.

"We’re delighted to welcome these new professionals to Navigant, and we are excited about the expanded services and solutions these individuals will offer our clients,” stated Dave Zito, Managing Director and leader of Navigant's Healthcare practice. He continued, "Their skills align well with our spectrum of services, including expertise in revenue cycle management, life sciences, healthcare M&A and operational performance, among others. They will be an integral part of our growing practice, which currently includes more than 500 professionals focused on providing solutions to create high-performing healthcare organizations.”

LaForge, Managing Director, joins Navigant with more than 25 years of healthcare experience balanced between hospital finance, operations and consulting. He specializes in revenue cycle improvement, process improvement, and practice leadership. LaForge is a Managing Director with the practice and is based in Atlanta. Prior to joining Navigant, LaForge spent 15 years at international consultancy firms including FTI, First Consulting Group, and Arthur Andersen.

Best, Director, has 20 years of proven success developing and leading pharmaceutical, biotechnology, and medical device companies. His experience includes all facets of commercial planning, having led medical affairs, business development, marketing, sales, and market access functions. Best is a Director in the Life Science segment of the practice based in San Francisco. Prior to joining Navigant, Best was Senior Vice President of Marketing & Medical Affairs at Tethys Bioscience.

Brouwer, Director, has more than 30 years of executive and operational medical group experience in multi and single-specialty clinics, managed care organizations, integrated delivery systems, and management services organizations. Brouwer’s experience allows him to serve as a catalyst for improving relationships, working environments, and operational performance within physician group practices and, when applicable, affiliated hospitals and health plans. Brouwer is a Director in the practice and is based in Chicago. Prior to joining Navigant, Brouwer was Vice President of Advocate Medical Group and President of BroMenn Physicians Management Corporation.

Gillespie, Director, brings more than 25 years of healthcare executive and consulting experience in community and academic medical centers across the country. She specializes in operations performance improvement, case management and assisting organizations in adjusting to a changing healthcare environment. Gillespie is a Director in the practice and is base in Chicago. Prior to joining Navigant, Gillespie served as Vice President at CNE Advocate South Suburban Hospital.

Kennedy, Director, brings expertise in healthcare valuations, mergers and acquisitions as well as financial advisory services. Kennedy has assisted physician organizations with the financial aspect of their practices. He has been involved in closing and performing due diligence in more than 60 mergers and acquisitions in healthcare services and has evaluated more than 300 transactions. Kennedy is a Director in the Healthcare practice and is based in Atlanta. Prior to joining Navigant, Kennedy spent 16 years with a leading healthcare services company, mostly recently as Senior Vice President Business Development.

Lawton, Director, has 20 years of experience in the medical field, ranging from practice management and operations to systems administration with medical startups, existing organizations, roll ups, Medical Services Organizations (MSOs), Independent Practice Associations (IPAs), not-for-profits, and other business models. He has audited large multi-specialty medical organizations, and has been involved in numerous implementations of the leading Electronic Practice Management (EPM) and Electronic Medical Records (EMR) suites of products. Lawton is a Director in the Healthcare practice and based in the Firm’s Dallas office. Prior to joining Navigant Lawton was a Senior Integration Specialist for Dell Services.

Susanj, Director, plays an integral role in continuing to establish the Life Sciences practice as a unique service offering in the biopharmaceutical and medical device industry, providing strategic, operational, risk management, regulatory and financial advisory solutions to public and private companies as well as government agencies. Susanj is a Director in the Life Science segment of the practice is based in the firm’s Princeton, NJ office. Prior to joining Navigant Susanj was a Vice President at The Nielsen Company.

Wagner, Director, brings over 30 years of comprehensive senior management and consulting experience working with physician practices, insurance companies and hospitals. She is experienced in a an array of clinical settings, including primary care and multi-specialty physician practices, hospital-based facilities, medical and surgical subspecialty practices and rehabilitation settings. Prior to joining Navigant, Wagner served as Deputy Executive Director at Manhattan’s Physician Group.

Navigant's Healthcare Practice includes over 500 industry professionals who work with health systems, physician groups, payers and life sciences companies to design, develop and implement solutions that create high-performing physician organizations and healthcare systems. Clients turn to Navigant to achieve profitable growth, operate more efficiently, deploy capital effectively and manage risk proactively. Our healthcare consulting team consists of professionals with extensive experience in the field, including hospital, health plan, physician group and healthcare finance program executives, physician executives, pharmacists and many other clinical professionals.

For more information about Navigant's Healthcare Practice, please visit www.navigant.com/healthcare.

About Navigant

Navigant (NYSE: NCI) is a specialized, global expert services firm dedicated to assisting clients in creating and protecting value in the face of critical business risks and opportunities. Through senior level engagement with clients, Navigant professionals combine technical expertise in Disputes and Investigations, Economics, Financial Advisory and Management Consulting, with business pragmatism in the highly regulated Construction, Energy, Financial Services and Healthcare industries to support clients in addressing their most critical business needs. More information about Navigant can be found at www.navigant.com.