Team
Meet the
People Behind Novocardia™
We’re on a mission to transform cardiovascular disease care in this country — how it’s delivered and how patients experience it.
We’ve built a team of people with proven track records and the passion to make real change. And we have decades of experience as clinicians and leaders — at health plans, provider organizations, and in federal and state government.

Meet Our Team

Dan Blumenthal, MD, MBA
Co-Founder &
Chief Executive Officer
Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Dan Blumenthal brings a unique combination of business leadership skills and medical expertise to his role as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Blumenthal is a practicing board-certified non-invasive cardiologist and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. He received his MD and MBA degrees from Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School and trained in internal medicine and cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Blumenthal is a past recipient of the American Heart Association’s Laennec Young Clinician Award and an accomplished health services and cardiovascular disease outcomes researcher whose previous work has focused on innovations in payment model design, quality improvement in cardiology, and leadership development. He has published over 50 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Blumenthal previously was a member of the founding team at Devoted Health, where he held the roles of Associate Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director for the health plan.

Julius Torelli, MD, FACC
Co-Founder &
Chief Medical Officer
Chief Medical Officer
Dr. Julius Torelli ensures patients receive the highest quality care available through innovative clinical programs transforming the practice of cardiology. Certified in both internal medicine and cardiovascular disease, Dr. Torelli spent over 20 years practicing cardiology in the Piedmont area of North Carolina. He also founded the Integrative Cardiology Center in High Point, NC, and served as Chief of Cardiovascular Services at eviCore healthcare, a division of Cigna Inc. He completed his MD at the University of South Florida College of Medicine and his internal medicine residency and fellowship in cardiovascular disease at the Cleveland Clinic.

Geoff Wade
Chief Development Officer
Geoff is a senior business executive with over 20 years of experience working with physicians and health care companies to build successful partnerships, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, de novo development, and strategic affiliations. His previous roles include Chief Development Officer at Pinnacle Treatment Centers and Reliant Renal Care, as well as Vice President of Corporate Development at DaVita Healthcare Partners and Fresenius Medical Care. Earlier in his career, he played a key role in the development of two integrated delivery systems in the Boston market. Geoff is passionate about expanding access to care and helping physicians have a voice in transforming health care delivery. He received his undergraduate degree from Dartmouth College.

Michael Petit, MBA
Chief Financial Officer, Chief Operating Officer of Traditional Practice Management Services
Michael serves as the Chief Financial Officer of Novocardia and brings extensive experience in health care scaling financial operations for health care companies experiencing significant growth. Before joining Novocardia as CFO, he held several executive leadership positions, including serving as the CFO of ConvenientMD Urgent Care, APDerm, and Claris Vision and Vice President, Finance at Coventry Healthcare. Michael holds an MBA from Bentley University and an undergraduate degree in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts.

Jeff Dang, PhD, MPH, MBA
Chief Data Officer
Jeff leads Novocardia's strategy and execution for the company's data, analytics, and point-of-care solutions. He previously served as Vice President of Analytics at New Century Health, Senior Director of Statistics at FAIR Health, and Senior Statistician at the UCLA Center for Neurobehavioral Genetics. Jeff received his undergraduate degree from the University of California, Irvine, an MPH from Columbia University, and a PhD and MBA from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Katherine Evans, DNP, FNP-C, GNP-BC, ACHPN, FAANP
Chief Nursing Officer &
Senior Vice President, Clinical Services
Senior Vice President, Clinical Services
Dr. Katherine Evans oversees operations of Novocardia’s clinical programs, including implementing new initiatives, training and managing clinical personnel, and developing case management programs. Dr. Evans is a nurse practitioner with board certifications in geriatrics and hospice & palliative care, as well as experience in inpatient and outpatient cardiology. Prior to Novocardia, she served as national president of the Gerontological Advanced Practice Nurses Association (GAPNA); Chief Nursing Officer for UnitedHealthcare Retiree Solutions; and Director of the Doctor of Nursing Practice program at Georgia State University. A Fellow of the American Association of Nurse Practitioners, she received her MS in Nursing from Emory University and her DNP from Vanderbilt University.

Brooks Pollard, MBA, MDiv
Senior Vice President, Value-Based Care
Brooks leads Novocardia’s operations and drives payer contracting and partnerships. He has a wealth of experience in the areas of value-based care, MSO management, and population health. He established value-based care programs at Cigna in the Commercial, Medicare Advantage, ACA, and Medicaid spaces. He’s also held roles with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Premier Healthcare Alliance, and Emory University. Brooks received his undergraduate degree in Biology from Morehouse College, a Master of Divinity from Emory University, and an MBA from Wake Forest University.

Ben Diestel
Vice President, Corporate Development
Ben is Vice President of Corporate Development and a founding team member of Novocardia. He is responsible for leading corporate development initiatives, including M&A, de novo growth, and market expansion opportunities. Prior to Novocardia, Ben led business development activities at CareCentrix and was a Consultant at the Advisory Board Company. Ben holds received his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland, where he ran varsity track and field, and holds an MBA from Columbia Business School.

Kathryn Hughes
Acting Chief Marketing Officer
Kathryn leads strategic marketing, communications, branding, referral development, and demand generation as Chief Marketing Officer. Kathryn is widely recognized for her expertise in health care marketing and driving patient volume, formerly serving as the Chief Marketing Officer of Prospira PainCare, Halifax Health, Virginia Hospital Center, and as Vice President of Marketing for HealthSouth and TLC Laser Eye Centers. She received her undergraduate degree in Communication from the University of Alabama.

Warren Jacobson, MHA
Vice President, Revenue Cycle
Warren is responsible for implementing new programs that ensure the best possible interaction of patients, providers and insurers for the financial aspect of Novocardia. Warren has a wealth of experience as a strategy and operations leader in all aspects of provider, health plans, and life sciences health care solutions. His prior experience includes Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Ready Responders; Vice President of Revenue Cycle at Greenbrook TMS; Senior Director, Patient Financial Services, at Inova Health System; Manager, Healthcare Division at Accenture Consulting; and Senior Consultant, Strategy and Operations, at Deloitte Consulting. He holds a Master of Healthcare Administration from Tulane University and an undergraduate degree in Economics from Emory University.

Roger Roper, MBA
Vice President, Practice Operations
Roger leads clinic operations for Novocardia practices to drive improvements in their quality, patient experience, value, performance, and market share, in addition to building our MSO practice operations. Roger is a highly experienced C-level executive with a breadth of experience in health care, beginning his career in clinical roles before progressing to more operational positions. He previously served as Executive Director of Cone Health Medical Group, where he led nine divisions within the integrated health care network; as Chief Administrative Officer for LeBauer HealthCare, a multidisciplinary physician group part of Cone Health; and as Chief Operating Officer at Pinehurst Medical Clinic. He received his MBA from East Carolina University, his MS in Nursing Administration and undergraduate degree in Nursing from Queens University of Charlotte; and an undergraduate degree in Exercise Science from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Opi Akuffo, MBA
Vice President, Finance
Opi is a key member of the Novocardia leadership team who helps drive internal operations, maximize performance, and achieve our company’s financial goals. As an accomplished finance leader with over 12 years of experience, his previous roles include Vice President of Finance for R1 RCM; Senior Director (Group CFO for Midwest Region) at Surgical Care Affiliates, a division of UnitedHealth Group; and a Senior Consultant at Ernst & Young (EY). He holds an MBA in General Management from Cornell University and an undergraduate degree in Electronic Engineering from DeVry University.

Brian Richards
Vice President, IT & Business Systems
Brian is a highly experienced IT leader who brings proficiency in design, development, and administration of technology infrastructure and applications to his role as Vice President, IT & Business Systems at Novocardia. He has held a number of leadership positions in IT across multiple industries, including health care. He most recently served as Director of IT Operations at Seniorlink, where he was responsible for providing strategic guidance on all corporate infrastructure, cloud, security, and service desk services. He earned an MBA from Whittemore School of Business & Economics (now the Peter T. Paul College of Business and Economics) at the University of New Hampshire and an undergraduate degree in Computer Science from Dickinson College.

Ana Rodriguez, CPC
Vice President of Contracting and Value Based Partnerships
Ana is Vice President of Contracting and Value Based Partnerships at Novocardia, where she is responsible for leading contract strategies and negotiations with Commercial payers and risk provider groups. Highly focused on fee-for-value contracting, provider performance improvement, and management services operations, Ana has more than 30 years of experience in the health care industry – including payer reimbursement models, government shared saving programs, IPAs, and Medicare Risk Adjustments. Prior to Novocardia, she served in several leadership roles with a multi-specialty group and accountable care organization. Ana received her undergraduate degree in business from Florida International University and is a licensed professional medical coder.
Board of Directors

Dan Blumenthal, MD
Co-Founder &
Chief Executive Officer
Novocardia
Chief Executive Officer
Novocardia
Dr. Dan Blumenthal brings a unique combination of business leadership skills and medical expertise to his role as Chief Executive Officer. Dr. Blumenthal is a practicing board-certified non-invasive cardiologist and an instructor at Harvard Medical School. He received his MD and MBA degrees from Harvard Medical School and Harvard Business School and trained in internal medicine and cardiology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Blumenthal is a past recipient of the American Heart Association’s Laennec Young Clinician Award and an accomplished health services and cardiovascular disease outcomes researcher whose previous work has focused on innovations in payment model design, quality improvement in cardiology, and leadership development. He has published over 50 manuscripts in peer-reviewed journals. Dr. Blumenthal previously was a member of the founding team at Devoted Health, where he held the roles of Associate Chief Medical Officer and Medical Director for the health plan.

Julian Harris, MD
Partner
Deerfield
Deerfield

Steve Anastos
Principal
Deerfield
Deerfield

Dinesh Pubbi, MD, FACC, FHRS
Director Of Electrophysiology
First Coast Heart & Vascular Center
First Coast Heart & Vascular Center
Contact Us
200 5th Ave., Suite 400
Waltham MA 02451-8704
Waltham MA 02451-8704
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