Kaia Health Hires Former Teladoc, Microsoft, and Allscripts Execs to Support Market Growth and Product Innovation

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Sep 01, 2021, 08:00 ET

NEW YORK, Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaia Health, the world's most popular digital musculoskeletal (MSK) care platform with 60 million lives covered worldwide, today announced the appointment of industry leaders to its senior team to support market growth and product innovation.

Drawing upon seasoned talent from the digital health and technology industries, Kaia Health has recently onboarded Gemma Wenstrom as Chief Operations Officer, CJ Mark as Chief Revenue Officer, Manu Diwakar as Chief Financial Officer, Sanid Khilnani as Vice President of Product, and Justin Yang, M.D., as Chief Medical Officer, US Commercial.

The hiring announcements follow Kaia Health's recent $75 million Series C round ($125 million raised to date) to expand clinical capabilities, heavily invest in computer vision technology, and transform the treatment pathways for MSK in the U.S. and Europe.

Kaia Health is the MSK technology market leader and the first to launch mobile computer vision technology, which provides automated, evidence-based, real-time exercise feedback by tracking exercise form through the user's smartphone camera. In a new clinical study published in the peer-reviewed Journal of Medical Internet Research, Kaia Health computer vision technology was demonstrated to be as accurate as a physical therapist in suggesting exercise corrections.

"Our U.S. and EU growth phase is hugely exciting, with more than 200 employees expected to be in place by the end of this year," said Konstantin Mehl, Kaia Health President, CEO and Founder. "Our recent $75 million investment round and ability to attract the industry's best talent will strengthen the business and enhance product development. This includes the development of our new Gateway and Premium Partners, a next-generation MSK care solution that integrates with the existing care landscape to benefit employers, providers, health plans, and their populations."

Gemma Wenstrom comes to Kaia Health from Veradigm, the innovation and health tech solution team at Allscripts. She will help Kaia Health further scale its operations and processes to accommodate rapid demand growth in the healthcare ecosystem. "The Kaia Health mission is to empower chronic-condition patients all over the globe with an accessible, multimodal approach to understanding, measuring, and alleviating their symptoms. I'm delighted to join a dynamic team and help expand the impact of this innovative company."

CJ Mark is a digital health veteran who has led go-to-market strategy and driven exponential growth for multiple industry-leading companies in the space. At Teladoc, CJ was instrumental in their growth from very early stage through IPO at scale. Throughout her healthcare career, and more recently as Chief Commercial Officer at Vida Health, CJ has been passionate about bringing transformational solutions to improve healthcare outcomes. At Kaia Health, CJ will again drive strategy that is focused on bringing truly transformational solutions to the marketplace while maximizing growth and the company's revenue goals. "I am excited to be part of a mission-driven organization filled with amazing people who have developed personalized clinical expertise and highly advanced computer vision technology to bring MSK care and other chronic care solutions to as many people as possible."

Manu Diwakar is a veteran of numerous growth-stage companies who began his career at Bain & Co. and Bain Capital. After graduating from Harvard Business School, he joined the finance team at Riot Games and helped to scale the company to over $1 billion in revenue. At Kaia Health, Manu will support the company's financial goals and focus on fostering a culture that makes Kaia Health an amazing place to work. He's excited about how technology can revolutionize the way MSK care is delivered to patients and make the world a healthier place.

Sanid Khilnani has more than 12 years of experience building world-class innovative products and features at Microsoft, where he worked on Skype and Outlook. He was recently Vice President of Product Management at social networking app Airtime. "As a chronic disease patient myself, using accessible, innovative technology to help improve health and wellness outcomes and to manage real physical pain is both empowering and inspiring. My in-depth product knowledge and leadership experience will be vital in creating and upscaling the Kaia Health product to best serve the needs of our users."

Specializing in chronic disease prevention, Justin Yang, M.D., is a Harvard-trained, dual-board-certified physician and assistant professor of medicine at Boston University. Dr Justin is also a faculty member of the Harvard occupational medicine residency program. He has more than 10 years of clinical and research experience in population health and MSK pain care. At Kaia Health, Justin will be responsible for building clinical care pathways and partnership strategies, articulating clinical outcomes data, and working on clinical trials. Justin has witnessed the challenges and complexities associated with access to MSK care. Therefore, he is excited about Kaia Health's mission to make effective therapy accessible to patients anywhere and at any time.

SOURCE Kaia Health