A board-certified fellowship-trained Orthopedic spine surgeon, Dr. Spector has enjoyed a 17-year tenure with OrthoCarolina, holding multiple leadership positions including Chief Quality Officer, member of the Executive Committee, chairman of the Quality/Value Committee and co-fellowship director at the OrthoCarolina Spine Center.

In 2020, Dr. Spector earned his MBA from Duke University Fuqua School of Business and was previously selected to participate in the American Orthopedic Association Leadership Program, conducted in collaboration with the University of Chicago Booth School of Business. Dr. Spector currently serves as a Board Member of the Lumbar Spine Research Society and previously held the position of President of the North Carolina Spine Society.

He will serve as CEO of OrthoCarolina starting in 2024. Dr. Spector will continue to practice while active as the OrthoCarolina CEO.

David Boucher has worked in healthcare for 45 years; he currently serves as Chief Partnerships Officer at Bumrungrad International Hospital in Bangkok, Thailand.

David served for the two years prior to January 2023 as Chief of Service Excellence and Medical Value Travel (MVT) at the corporate level with Dubai-based Aster DM Healthcare. From June 2018 until June 2020, David served as Chief Business Transformation Officer at Bumrungrad. Between 2000 and 2017, he served in several capacities as an executive of the insurance company BlueCross Blue Shield of South Carolina. From 2012-2017, David served as President of UCI Medical Affiliates in Columbia, SC – managing 80 retail medical care centers- treating over 740,000 patients in 2017. From 2006 through 2016, Mr. Boucher concurrently served as President of Companion Global Healthcare, Inc. – the world’s only medical tourism facilitator owned by a major health insurer. Prior to 2000, David served as CEO at several hospitals in the United States.

Mr. Boucher earned his BS degree from Slippery Rock University (Pennsylvania) and a Master of Public Health from the University of South Carolina; he has been named a distinguished alumnus by both institutions.

David has been quoted in over 250 newspapers and journals, including The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, The Economist, and U.S. News & World Reports. He has been interviewed on NBC Nightly News and Fox Business News. He has delivered lectures on disruptive innovation in healthcare at Harvard Business School, Yale School of Management, and Harvard Medical School.

Abie is Senior Vice President & Global Head of Biometrics at Premier Research, a leading clinical research organization in the biotechnology space. In addition to his expertise in innovative aspects of clinical trial design and drug development strategies, he is responsible for driving business direction and operations of the biometrics organization globally to optimize drug development programs.

With over 30 years of experience, Abie has worked in different capacities around the globe – in the pharmaceutical industry, academia and with international organizations. In over 24 years in pharma, he has held several senior technical and senior leadership positions. Before that, he held an academic position at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, prior to which he worked at the World Health Organization in Geneva, Switzerland.

As a strategic technical leader, he has led, overseen and consulted on multiple global drug development programs across a range of diseases and participated in several FDA advisory meetings. He has served on data monitoring boards and was an at-large advisor to the executive committee of the Biopharmaceutical Section of the American Statistical Association. Driven by his interest in leadership development, Abie founded the Section’s Leadership-in-Practice Committee. In addition, while in Australia, he was Chair of the Australian Pharmaceutical Biostatistics Group (APBG), which he founded. He is passionate about leadership development and continues to serve as a dedicated mentor within the ASA Biopharmaceutical Section.

Abie earned his doctorate and masters degrees from the University of Southampton, UK, and impelled by his interests in the business of healthcare innovation, he holds a mini-MBA in BioPharma Innovation through Rutgers Business School.

Abie maintains focused interest in the healthcare space and is committed to initiatives that help bring global access to treatment for patients who need them.

David is a serial entrepreneur, writer, adviser, and early-stage fund manager with over thirty years of experience in creating and building software technology companies.

After failing at retirement twice, David became the Triangle’s most active angel investor spending his time as a volunteer coach and mentor to startup founders and managing a free accelerator he sponsors with the Town of Cary. To combat the lack of early-stage capital in NC, David created and runs Cofounders Capital, a $12M seed fund, the success of which led to a second $31M fund.

As an entrepreneur, David was the founder or co-founder of seven companies, including PeopleClick (purchased for $100 million) and Report2Web, which sold for $12M in less than eleven months from inception. He has demonstrated a record for consistency across multiple industries with six successful exits in a row… and one he refuses to talk about.

David served as the Executive VP and Thought Leader for Compuware, a Fortune 1000 Corporation, after it acquired ProviderLink, a healthcare IT exchange he founded.

As a writer, David is the author of a popular book on entrepreneurship called The StartUp Hats. He has published many articles and forward-thinking white papers on technical innovation, entrepreneurship, and economic development. Among other firsts, David is credited with founding and launching the first software-as-a-service venture in NC.

As a lifelong learner, David is constantly researching new technologies and challenging traditional ways of thinking. In addition to several years of full-time computer science and business-related postgraduate studies at NCSU, Mr. Gardner holds degrees in Philosophy and Music with a postgraduate concentration in theology and dead languages. What drives David today is his passion for helping smart, coachable, first-time entrepreneurs build their businesses, watching them succeed, and witnessing their life-changing transformations.

President of Balestrand Strategic Advisors. Maureen Sullivan provides senior advisory and facilitation services to Boards, CEOs, and C-Suite executives. With over 30 years of experience, most recently as Chief Strategy and Innovation Officer for the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association (BCBSA), Maureen has worked with senior leadership in all 50 states and Puerto Rico across different sectors, including healthcare, business, and government.

At Balestrand Strategic Advisors, Maureen has worked with several early-stage companies to accelerate growth and strengthen strategic positioning. The companies share the fundamental drive to improve the quality and affordability of healthcare. Maureen is also helping Civica on the market access strategy for the first insulin products with transparent pricing.

In her position at BCBSA, Maureen developed the strategic partnerships group that spearheaded the development of new market solutions, including CivicaScript, GeoBlue, and Blue Health Intelligence. She fostered partnerships with major consumer companies entering healthcare and other innovators striving to improve healthcare. During her tenure, Maureen also oversaw a broad range of functions, including strategy, communications, brand marketing, group purchasing ($1.5B in spend), educational programs, and international.

Maureen has served on many Boards and Advisory Committees, including the CivicaRx Board (Finance Committee) and the GeoBlue Board (Chair of CEO Search Committee; Chair of Strategy Committee). Maureen graduated with a Master’s in Public Policy from the Harvard Kennedy School and a BA with honors from Albertus Magnus College.

Steve is an accomplished healthcare insurance business leader with 26 years of leading distribution, marketing, and operations for the largest health insurance company in North Carolina. Today, Steve serves as an advisor at USI providing strategic health insurance solutions for the commercial and higher education sectors.

Before USI, Steve served as the Vice President and an officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina (BCBSNC), managing a $1.4 billion of $8.8 Billion health solutions portfolio serving over 3.9 million members.

Steve received his Bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of William and Mary.

Patrick Getzen has 30 years of experience in the Health Insurance Industry. Most recent focus when at Blue Cross NC included areas that included data quality, stewardship and governance, as well as analytics enablement. His technology-focused teams ensured that actions were efficient and information-driven to run businesses, collaborate with healthcare providers, and serve customers.

Previously Patrick served as Vice President and Chief Actuary for Blue Cross NC. His responsibilities included pricing for individual customers and employers, valuation, underwriting, product development, and financial planning.

Patrick is also a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries.

Patrick currently serves as an advisor to Citius Tech, PASCO Advisors, Wisdo, IntoValue Group, Heads Together Health, and Vision Consultants. Prior to that, Patrick served as a Board Member for Appalachian State University’s Walker College of Business Advisory Council, Blue Health Intelligence, GNS Healthcare, IBM Watson Health Payer Advisory Board, and the Congressional Budget Office’s Panel of Health Advisors.

Patrick is an advocate for improving lives through better health, education, personal development, and leadership.

Kay Dickason joined Aphora Health in January 2023 because she believes every individual should have access to affordable, high-quality care.​

Kay is a skilled leader with 30+ years of experience in the healthcare industry. Her career has included a range of roles, including hands-on patient care as a Registered Nurse, C-level Operations and Technology Leadership, and Healthcare Consulting.​

Before starting a healthcare consulting firm in 2022, Kay served as the Chief Operating Officer for a leading Data Management and Data Analytics company. Prior to that, Kay was the Associate Chief Information Officer for the Cleveland Clinic, one of the world’s top healthcare organizations.​

Kay holds an MBA with honors from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business and a Bachelor of Science in Health Science from the State University of New York at Brockport.

Ken was the former Chief Medical Officer for the Marsh McLennan Agency Southwest. He previously served on the Board of Directors of Baylor St. Luke’s Medical Center in Houston, where he chaired the Governance Committee and was a member of the Audit and Quality Committees. He is currently on the board of the University of the Incarnate Word in San Antonio and a member of the Academic Affairs Committee. Throughout the past two decades, he has served on nine other not-for-profit boards and six different advisory boards, gaining experience on many committees, including executive, governance, nominations, HR, and quality.  

He founded Alken Health Resources as an administrative resource to provide medical direction and health consulting services to Fortune-size companies. He has developed and managed dozens of national and international health management programs for clients, delivering substantial savings and efficiencies. He has advised a global conglomerate, major energy and insurance companies, top U.S. municipalities, hospitals, NASA, and the nation’s largest railroad in their efforts to develop innovative health solutions to improve quality and control costs.   

Ken earned a master’s in management from Northwestern University. He holds a medical doctorate and master’s in public health from the University of Texas Health Science Center, Houston. He has a bachelor’s degree in pharmacy from Texas Southern University. He completed a fellowship in primary care policy with the U.S. Department of H&HS. He completed residencies in occupational and family medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center and aviation medicine instruction at the U.S. Army School of Aerospace Medicine. He is licensed to practice medicine in Texas and holds a Texas insurance license. He attained certification as a Senior Professional in Human Resources by the HR Certification Institute (SHRM).   

Ken and his wife, Kathy, reside in Houston, Texas.  Please join me in welcoming Dr. Ken Wells to Aphora Health.

Dr. Zidar received his undergraduate degree from the University of Notre Dame before completing medical school at Loyola University Stritch School of Medicine. He completed internal medicine training at the University of Michigan and a cardiology fellowship at Duke University Medical Center. ​

He remained on the Duke faculty for 18 years and rose to the rank of full professor before joining UNC and Rex Healthcare in 2010. He is the immediate past Governor, and former Treasurer of the North Carolina Chapter of the ACC. He has served as program director of the 2011-21 bi-annual North Carolina Chapter ACC meetings. He was a member of the writing committee for the 2011 Unstable Angina Guidelines for the ACC/AHA. He is currently the UNC Health Systems Physician-in-Chief for Heart & Vascular, the Corporate Chief of Cardiology for UNC/Rex Healthcare, and a clinical professor of medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.​

Dr. Zidar was part of the Structural Heart team at Rex Healthcare from 2012-2016. He also has extensive expertise in complex coronary interventions, renal artery stenosis, innovative endovascular technologies, carotid revascularization, peripheral arterial disease, management of refractory hypertension with renal denervation, and management of critical limb ischemia.​

Paviol Dermatology part of Piedmont Healthcare/ Medical Director August 2020 – PRESENT, Charlotte, NC Founded Dermatology Clinic with 2 PAs, Aesthetician, Cosmetic Nurse which has won Best Dermatology practice in Charlotte 4 times. Board Certified Dermatologist since 2014

Candela Medical/ Key Opinion Leader Jan 2023 – PRESENT Key Opinion leader for industry leading international medical aesthetic laser and device company. Presented, led cosmetic workshops, and lectured at conferences in New York, Washington DC, Montreal, Taiwan, Charlotte, Miami, among others

Heine Optotechnik / Key Opinion Leader Aug 2023 – PRESENT, Key opinion leader for international dermatoscope company

SKNV / Key Opinion Leader Aug 2023 – PRESENT, Key opinion leader for personalized compounding pharmacy offering in office prescriptions with high quality ingredients made in USA

North Carolina Medical Society / Program Director of Future Clinicians Leadership College Aug 2023 – PRESENT, Developed program content and implementation strategies, facilitated workshops, and mentored future clinicians.

Scott Paviol Consulting PLLC / Certified Executive Coach July 2019 – PRESENT, Graduate of Accomplishment Coaching, an ICF certified Executive Ontological Coaching company

Brian Krenzel is a fellowship-trained adult reconstruction surgeon specializing in primary and complex revision hip and knee replacement surgery. He also has an interest in partial knee replacement surgery and is certified to implant the Oxford ® Mobile Bearing Unicompartmental Knee Replacement. Dr. Krenzel also performs the minimally invasive Anterior Supine Intermuscular (ASI) hip replacement.

Dr. Krenzel received his undergraduate degree from Duke University where he lettered in football. He was recognized all four years of his collegiate career on the ACC Academic Honor Roll.

He earned his medical degree from The University of Louisville School of Medicine and completed his orthopedic residency at Duke University. Dr. Krenzel finished his extensive education with specialty training in hip and knee replacement surgery with the renowned Joint Replacement Surgeons of Indiana.

Dr. Krenzel is board certified by the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons and the Chief Quality and Development Officer.