This spring’s firm retreat brought changes in our leadership as we thanked Brian Haapala for his four years of service as Managing Director. Brian served as Managing Director since January 2010, and led Stroudwater through both great challenges and great successes with integrity, wisdom, and strategic thinking that helped to solidify the strength of our firm in today’s rapidly evolving healthcare landscape.
Brian will be succeeded in the Managing Director position by Stroudwater Director Robert Kirsch, who will continue to best position Stroudwater as the preeminent healthcare advisory firm in the country. Based in our Atlanta office, Rob has over 10 years of experience in healthcare, beginning as a medical student at the School of Medicine at the University of Rochester. Drawn to consulting as a means to effect change in a troubled and unsustainable industry, Rob joined the firm in 2005. His professional focus is centered on empowering clients through periods of change. A leader in the Affiliations and Partnerships practice, he is skilled in assessing strategic options, affiliations, corporate finance, and capital planning opportunities.
Rob’s new role will be supported by our new Management Council, comprised of Directors John Downes, Eric Shell, and Jeff Sommer. John is an accomplished leader in the healthcare facilities planning arena and had previously served executive roles at a national architectural firm before his time at Stroudwater. Eric is a leading rural healthcare expert who has over 25 years of experience in healthcare financial management and consulting, and has been with Stroudwater since 1997. Jeff heads our Affiliations practice, and for over 20 years has advised numerous clients on strategic options, affiliations, and capital-planning engagements.
Directed by our new management team, Stroudwater strives to help its clients address both challenges and opportunities while upholding our firm values of Abundance, Interdependence, Impact, and Respect.