Rachel Pacheco Joins Vivante Health Board of Directors

Experienced Digital Healthcare Advisor & Management Expert to Assist Digestive Disease Startup

CHICAGO, June 30, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --  Vivante Health, the leading digital solution for digestive health and disease, today announced the addition of business management authority and Wharton School of Business faculty member Rachel Pacheco to the company's board of directors. Pacheco will work with the company's leadership team and other board members to help scale the business amid a growing need by employers and health plans for solutions that both reduce medical claims and help employees improve their digestive health.

Pacheco teaches global strategy and organizational behavior at the Wharton School, is the author of Bringing Up the Boss: Practical Lessons for New Managers, and serves on the board of advisors of multiple startups in the digital health and wellness space including Maven Clinic and Wellthy. 

Her background also includes serving on the executive teams of several healthcare and big data startups, as chief people officer at a healthcare consultancy, and as a founding faculty member of the Entrepreneurship in Education Program at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches entrepreneurial courses focusing on the practical side of working in a small organization. She holds a PhD and MBA from The Wharton School and a BS from Georgetown University. 

"We are currently in strong growth mode with a 400% growth in our client base since 2021, multiple Fortune 500 clients, and partnerships with best-in-class employer healthcare solutions," said Bill Snyder, Vivante Health CEO. "Rachel's experience in helping young companies build a culture that can both drive and support expansion will be instrumental in helping us sustain that momentum and continue delivering world-class care to clients and their employees."   

Pacheco joins a board of prominent benefit specialists and investors that includes Sally Welborn, former senior vice president of global benefits for Walmart Stores, Inc., and a consultant on healthcare and employee benefits; Shawn Ellis, managing director at NFP Ventures and managing partner at Distributed Ventures; and Robert Garber, a partner at 7wireVentures. Both NFP Ventures and 7wireVentures are investors in Vivante Health, which closed a $16 million Series A funding round led by 7wireVentures in March. 

"Digital health is transforming healthcare, and Vivante Health is in the forefront of the movement in the digestive disease space," Pacheco said. "Joining their board gives me the opportunity to improve the lives of some of the more than 70 million Americans suffering from digestive health issues by helping build a business foundation that can carry the company into their next phase of growth."

Vivante Health's GIThrive is the first comprehensive digital health platform designed specifically to address digestive health issues. The platform combines gut bacteria analysis and trigger food identification with app-based personalized action plans, food diaries, educational materials, and 24/7 personal support from registered dietitians and health coaches backed by a multidisciplinary team of gastroenterologists, microbiome scientists and other clinical professionals. The program is designed to educate, coach and monitor users to reduce dependence on medications, reduce flare ups, and ultimately improve quality of life – all without lab visits or in-person appointments. 

One nonprofit organization participating in the GIThrive program reduced annual medical spend for participants by 15% thanks to fewer emergency room visits and inpatient admissions. In addition, 70% of participants reported a positive impact on their health.  

About Vivante Health
Vivante Health is an innovative digital healthcare company reinventing the way chronic conditions are managed, gut first. The company's all-in-one gut health program, GIThrive, empowers people to improve digestive health through easy-to-use technology, advanced science and on-demand human support, while also lowering their cost of care. For more information, visit the company website or email i[email protected].

SOURCE Vivante Health