Our Team | Linkwell

Gregg Michaelson - Chief Executive Officer

Gregg brings more than 20 years of senior level strategic leadership in sales, marketing, e-commerce, and business development to Linkwell, along with a longtime passion for serving consumers in the health and wellness space. Before joining Linkwell, Gregg was President of Integrated Marketing and Sales and CMO of Rodale Inc., publisher of many of the world’s most trusted content brands, where he led all sales and marketing activities for the company. Gregg led the development and execution of Rodale’s global digital business strategy, helping to construct the world’s largest network for consumers interested in healthy lifestyle content, and his vision for driving brand growth across multiple content platforms resulted in a more than 100% increase in Rodale’s total digital audience within two years of implementation, as well as significant revenue growth. Prior to being named President and CMO, he led Rodale’s direct marketing division, re-imagining the company’s consumer engagement strategy in order to develop what is now the largest transactional database of engaged consumers in the health and wellness industry. Gregg earned an MBA from the Stern School of Business at New York University, and a BA from the University of Michigan.

Sam Ziba - Chief Financial Officer

Sam has over 25 years of experience in a wide variety of roles within the disciplines of finance, accounting, and operations. Sam has been working with venture-backed companies for over 12 years either as a CFO or a management consultant. Other accomplishments include: Raising several million dollars in venture funds and private debt for a number of technology firms and going through several merger and acquisitions. Sam earned his BS in Finance from Northeastern University and is a CPA.

Marijo Montgomery - SVP Brand Sales

Marijo is a seasoned sales executive and business strategist with over 19 years experience with startup, emerging and established companies in generating revenue. Her career began in traditional marketing and advertising in print and radio. In 2000, Marijo joined the digital advertising world with AccuWeather as an inaugural member of the AccuWeather.com digital sales team. In the 9 years prior to joining Linkwell Health, Marijo worked for RealAge, Inc. from its early days as a digital startup through the acquisition of RealAge by Hearst Corporation. As an individual contributor, Marijo consistently exceeded goals and delivered 70% of the total company revenues. Most recently, Marijo was the Vice President of Sales that led a strong team to deliver significant revenue through optimization and diversification of products and clients. As an industry leader in the pharmaceutical, over the counter and consumer packaged goods industries, Marijo has a deep understanding of marketing and advertising to effectively bridge the gap between products and consumers in the healthcare industry. Marijo is a graduate of Lycoming College, where she earned a BA degree in Communications and Political Science.

Ben Gardner - Founder / President

Ben founded Linkwell in 2007, with the mission of developing simple, meaningful ways to engage and empower consumers to promote healthier lifestyles. Ben’s 20 plus years of experience spans both the health care and marketing services sectors, working primarily in start up and early stage businesses. Ben was Vice President of Sales for 10 years at Imagitas, a marketing services company reaching the new mover market through a unique and exclusive relationship with the United States Postal Service. Ben also led new business initiatives, including ParentSource (a successful couponing and sampling partnership with McDonalds Corp), and DriverSource, a direct marketing program in partnership with State DMVs. Imagitas’ success attracted Pitney Bowes, who purchased the company in 2005 for $265 Million. Ben’s earlier career was focused in healthcare, working for companies including Stryker Medical (medical devices) and HPR, an early, Boston-based, developer of clinical software purchased by McKesson in 1995. Ben is a graduate from Bentley University with a BA in Marketing.

Sean Nolan - SVP of Product Development and Operations

Sean Nolan has been developing content and products for consumers across multiple platforms for more than 20 years. As SVP of Product Development and Operations for Linkwell Health, Nolan is responsible for the development and ongoing support and management of Linkwell’s suite of consumer health products and services that empower people to make healthier decisions. Prior to joining Linkwell, Nolan worked for 6 years at Rodale, the consumer health magazine and book publisher. Nolan served in a variety of roles at Rodale, in all cases focused on building, rebuilding, and launching products. Most recently, as VP and General Manager of Rodale Digital, Nolan oversaw a network that more than doubled its digital audience, revenue, and e-mail acquisition in just 2+ years. Prior to Rodale, his experience includes two digital startups as well as running his own product development agency. Nolan is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

Kami Hess - VP of Wellness Partnership Support

Kami joined Linkwell with more than 25 years experience in the custom publishing industry with the last 15 years spent in healthcare communications and marketing. Her expertise is in managing complex communication projects and strategies for health plans, hospitals, retail/pharmaceutical organizations and large employer groups. Kami led successful communications programs for large clients, including CIGNA Healthcare, United Healthcare, Aetna, Costco, Rite-Aid, and several health plans in the Blue Cross Blue Shield network. She has a strong focus on program goals and objectives, outcomes, and exceptional client service. Kami most recently led the custom print solutions operation at StayWell Custom Communications, an organization dedicated to helping health care organizations use health information, online and in print, to engage and motivate consumers. Kami holds a BA in English from Michigan State University.

Gregg Michaelson - Chief Executive Officer

Alex Finkelstein - General Partner, Spark Capital

Alex Finkelstein is a General Partner at Spark Capital and joined the firm at its inception. He has led Spark’s investments in 5min Media (acquired by AOL), 8D World, Altius Education, Linkwell, peerTransfer and OnSwipe. Prior to joining Spark Capital, Alex was the creator and producer of a number of television shows and Internet properties that he sold to major networks, including FOX, E!, Discovery, ITV1 (U.K.) and Yahoo. His shows all had major product integration components and were sold in partnership with Fortune 500 brands. Alex has also held senior positions for several venture capital firms, including Seed Capital Partners, GrandBanks Capital, and Cambridge Associates. Alex earned his BA in political science at Middlebury College.

Chris Hessler - Chairman

Chris has spent 25 years as a serial entrepreneur. He co-founded and built two successful companies prior to investing in Linkwell: On Target Media (a healthcare marketing services company which was Inc. #23 in 1992) and Imagitas (which cracked the new mover market via an innovative partnership with the U.S. Postal Service, and was acquired by Pitney Bowes in 2005 for $265MM). Chris began his career at Procter & Gamble in the Healthcare Division. He earned a BA from Dartmouth with Honors. His philanthropic activities include Board positions with Jumpstart and the Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center. Chris lives in Jackson Hole, Wyoming and is a cancer survivor.

Ben Gardner - Founder / President

Albert L. Wiegman, II - Partner, HLM Venture Partners

Albert L. Wiegman, II is a partner of HLM Venture Partners. Prior to joining HLM in 1996, he was an analyst with FleetBoston’s corporate banking group. Al is currently a director of Fieldglass, Interlace Medical, Spinal Kinetics, Soteria and Transcend Medical, and serves as a board observer of Satiety. Al was previously a director of Paidos Health Management and American WholeHealth. Al received a BA from Hobart College and an MBA from Babson College.

Jamie Egasti - Chief Executive Officer, Catalina Marketing

Jamie Egasti is the CEO of Catalina Marketing Corporation. He brings 30 years of leadership experience from Procter and Gamble where he was CEO of the Folgers Coffee Company. Jamie lead P&G’s split off of the $1.7B coffee business and the transition to J M Smucker. Through his career, Jamie held increasing levels of responsibility in sales, marketing then general management in Food & Beverage, Fabric & Home Care and Corporate before being named President Global Coffee & Snacks, a $3.2B business. Jamie serves on the Board of Directors of Wilton Brands, Mr. Youth, and Thinkvine, and is on the Advisory Board of Resource Interactive. Jamie is a graduate of Harvard University.

David Katz - M.D., M.P.H., F.A.C.P.M., F.A.C.P, Medical Director, Yale University Prevention Research Center

Dr. Katz is an internationally renowned authority on nutrition, weight management, and the prevention of chronic disease, and an internationally recognized leader in integrative medicine and patient-centered care. He is a board certified specialist in both Internal Medicine, and Preventive Medicine/Public Health, and Associate Professor (adjunct) in Public Health Practice at the Yale University School of Medicine. Katz was the Director and founder (1998) of Yale University’s Prevention Research Center and is currently the Director and founder of the Integrative Medicine Center at Griffin Hospital (2000) in Derby. He is the principal inventor of the Overall Nutritional Quality Index utilized in the NuVal™ nutrition guidance program.

Kenneth Thorpe - Ph.D., Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease

Kenneth Thorpe is the Executive Director of the Partnership to Fight Chronic Disease, a national and state-based coalition of hundreds of patient, provider, community, business and labor groups, and health policy experts, committed to raising awareness of the number one cause of death, disability, and rising health care costs in the U.S.: chronic disease. Dr. Thorpe is also the Chair of the Department of Health Policy & Management, in the Rollins School of Public Health of Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. He also co-directs the Emory Center on Health Outcomes and Quality. Previously, Dr. Thorpe was the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Health Policy in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from 1993 to 1995. He is a frequent advisor to national policymakers on healthcare reform, specifically on the development and evaluation of alternative approaches for providing health insurance to the uninsured.

Ken Linde - Healthcare Executive

Ken Linde brings a variety of healthcare leadership experiences to Linkwell – ranging from academic analyst, to government regulator, to health plan and wellness company CEO. Ken’s career spans CEO of Destiny Health (wellness), CEO of Principal Health Care (one of the largest managed care companies), COO of Coventry Healthcare, vice president at Travelers Managed Care, regulator with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Senior Health Policy Analyst with Boston University, and a Director with the New Jersey State Department of Public Health. Ken has been involved with management, development, and overall operation, investment, and analysis of health maintenance organizations (HMOs), Preferred Provider Organizations (PPOs), Medical Savings Accounts (MSAs), Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs), Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) and other forms of alternative health delivery systems/managed care. Ken has an MPH from the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Public Health.

Al Lewis - President of the Disease Management Purchasing Consortium

Al Lewis is the President of the Disease Management Purchasing Consortium (DMPC), widely credited with the invention of disease management. He was also founder and first president of the Disease Management Association of America. He is co-author of the field’s only book in print, The Next Generation of Disease Management. He is consistently ranked #1 in the field by Managed Healthcare Executive. The Health Industries Research Co’s 9th Annual Report on the Disease Management and Wellness Industries states that DMPC is “considered the national leader in analyzing care management outcomes”. There are approximately 200 employers, health plans and individuals that have received DMPC’s certification for Savings Measurement Validity and/or Critical Outcomes Report Analysis.

Richard Thaler - Ph.D., Director of Decision Research at the University of Chicago's Graduate School of Business

Widely regarded as the father of behavioral economics, Richard Thaler is the author of the New York Times best seller Nudge: Improving Decisions about Health, Wealth, and Happiness. Thaler is the Ralph and Dorothy Keller Distinguished Service Professor of Behavioral Science and Economics and the director of the Center for Decision Research at the University of Chicago’s Graduate School of Business. He is also co-director of the National Bureau of Economic Research project on behavioral economics. Thaler’s work has earned him a number of research grants, including ones from the U.S. Department of the Navy, the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and the National Science Foundation. Prior to joining The University of Chicago faculty in 1995, he worked as a research economist for the Center of Naval Analyses in Arlington and taught courses at Cornell University, The University of British Columbia, the Sloan School of Management at MIT, and the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences.

Jeff Oxendine - Associate Dean for Public Health Practice, UC Berkeley

Jeff Oxendine is the Associate Dean for Public Health Practice at the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. He is a faculty member in Health Policy and Management and is Founder and Director of the Center for Health Leadership. Jeff has been an executive, educator, and consultant in healthcare for 28 years. Prior to joining UC Berkeley, Jeff held senior administrative positions in leading hospitals and medical groups including Partners Healthcare System, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Bay Imaging Consultants Medical Group, and Alta Bates Medical Center. In addition to his role at Berkeley Jeff serves as Co-Director of the California Health Workforce Alliance and the California Health Professions Consortium. He is also the Founder and President of Health Career Connection, a national non-profit.

Gene Miller - Healthcare Executive

Gene Miller is an experienced healthcare executive with 30 years experience bringing innovative ideas and solutions to health plans in the United States. Gene’s health care services experience has included leading organizations in care management, disease management, medical management software, infusion therapy and outpatient surgery, as well as offsite clinical care. Gene’s experiences spanned early stage development to running a publicly traded company. In these roles, Gene established trusted relationships with C-Level executives in the top health plans in the country.

Paul Nezi - Healthcare Executive

An experienced executive with over 40 years of line and staff experience in managed healthcare, technology, and service industries. Paul brings extensive background in marketing, sales, strategic planning, operations analysis, and general management to Linkwell. Paul’s career has included senior executive positions in marketing and sales at Anthem BlueCross BlueShield of Virginia (Wellpoint), ChoiceCare (acquired by Humana in 1997), and LexisNexis. Earlier in his career he held marketing, sales, strategy, and operations analysis positions at XEROX and IBM. Paul is an investor and active director or advisor in several healthcare-related, early stage companies. Paul has a BA from Bucknell and an MBA from Wharton.

Alan Roth - CEO, Marsh Inc.

Alan Roth is the Chief Executive Officer of Marsh Inc., a strategic design agency that uniquely specializes in visual brand storytelling for consumer products, restaurant and retail brands. Alan brings over three decades of global business management and organizational leadership experience from Procter & Gamble, where he held a variety of executive positions in North America, Japan and Western Europe. Alan also led two start-up companies, serving as CEO of Microdyn Corporation, a privately held global water purification company and as Chief Operating Officer of dunnhumbyUSA. Alan received his BS in Marketing from Ashland University in Ohio. He is a member of the Business Advisory Council – Dauch College of Business and Economics at Ashland University, as well as a Member of the Ashland University Board of Trustees.

Nancy Zigerelli - Marketing/Market Research Executive

Nancy Zigerelli is a marketing and market research executive with over 30 years of experience, including 20 years with the Procter & Gamble Company and independent consulting at both large and start-up companies. As Research Manager at P&G, Nancy pioneered numerous research advances and led the global rollout of these initiatives. She also served on the Board of Trustees of the Management Science Institute, the Advertising Research Foundation, the Tomorrow Fund and the Conductive Learning Center, and consulted with the National Association of Manufacturers.