Leadership
BJ Schaknowski is a seasoned software industry executive, with over 20 years of experience in leadership roles across a wide variety of operating functions. Before joining symplr, BJ served as the Chief Sales & Marketing Officer at Vertafore, the world's leading provider of insurance technology. Prior to that, BJ spent four years at LexisNexis Software Solutions in progressively ascending roles, culminating as its SVP Marketing, Sales & Services. He held numerous senior and global leadership roles earlier in his career at CA Technologies, Intuit, and Sage Software.
BJ brings his dedication to creating balanced value and outcomes for employees, customers, and shareholders to the symplr community. He earned a BA in Communications from the State University of New York at Geneseo and his MBA at the University of Georgia – Terry College of Business. BJ served in the United States Marine Corps infantry as an enlisted reservist for 8 years. He lives in Denver with his wife, Heather, and two children.
BJ Schaknowski
Chief Executive Officer
As Chief Financial Officer, Jordan Copland brings three decades of finance and operations experience to symplr. Most recently he served as EVP Finance and Operations - CFO at Quorum Software, provider of an industry-leading portfolio of finance, operations and accounting software for the energy industry. At Quorum he helped lead the company through several mergers and acquisitions as well as the successful sale of the business in 2018.
Copland brings to symplr CFO and business development experience in software, technology, and consumer products across a host of private equity-owned, venture-backed and public companies. He has run multinational business operations in Europe and has successfully completed a number of international M&A transactions. Copland holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and International Relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a Masters of Business Administration in Finance and Accounting from the Wharton School.
Jordan Copland
Chief Financial Officer
David Arnold brings 23 years of legal experience to the symplr team. As the head of symplr’s legal department, Mr. Arnold works with symplr’s executive team and its team of contracts professionals to provide strategic legal advice and to help symplr scale its contracting practices. Prior to joining symplr, Mr. Arnold was the Chief Legal Officer at Omnitracs, LLC, where he managed the Omnitracs legal and contracts teams after the sale of the business by Qualcomm Incorporated to Vista Equity Partners.
Before Omnitracs, Mr. Arnold held leadership roles within the legal department of Qualcomm Enterprise Services, a division of Qualcomm Incorporated. Mr. Arnold holds a B.S.B.A in General Business from the University of Denver and a J.D. from the University of San Diego School of Law. He is a member of the California Bar Association, the San Diego County Bar Association, the Association of Corporate Counsel, and the Transportation Lawyers Association.
David Arnold
Chief Legal Officer & General Counsel
Heath Foist brings 25 years of experience to symplr. Most recently, Mr. Foist served as Chief People Officer at Field Service Holdings and, prior to that, was Chief People Officer at Omnitracs.
Earlier in his career, Mr. Foist served in HR leadership roles at Bank of America, SAP and Sabre, as well as a HR Strategy and Management consulting leader at PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Foist earned a BBA from The McCombs Business School at the University of Texas Austin.
Heath Foist
Chief Human Resources Officer
As Chief Product Officer, Brian Fugere leads all product management and user experience (UX) design efforts in the company. During the past two years, he also served as the Chief Marketing Officer (CMO) and led the engineering organization. Bringing almost 30 years of go-to-market experience in software companies of all sizes, Fugere was most recently the CMO of Virence Health, a carve out from GE Healthcare. Prior roles include President of The Estimating Edge, Chief Operating Officer and CMO of RemitDATA, and leadership positions at Belo Interactive, Stryker, and America Online.
Fugere has deep experience in executive leadership, marketing, product, sales, and operations across public, private equity, and venture-backed companies. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from Cornell University, an MBA from George Mason University, and has completed a leadership and business program at Harvard Business School.
Brian Fugere
Chief Product Officer
Jeffrey Peterson is responsible for developing and executing the company’s technology strategy as well as for managing software development and cloud system operations. He brings 27 years of innovation and engineering operations experience to symplr.
Prior to joining symplr, Jeffrey was a Sr Director of Engineering at GE Healthcare and, before that, led all engineering efforts for API Healthcare. He holds a BBA in Information Systems from The University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee - Lubar School of Business.
Jeffrey Peterson
Chief Technology Officer
As President, Nicole Rogas is responsible for driving symplr’s revenue growth strategy and overall customer experience providing oversight and vision for the Sales, Client Success, Support and Services teams.
A recognized healthcare IT and revenue cycle management leader, Nicole is focused on fostering a high-energy, high-performing culture putting the employee and the client at the center. Prior to symplr, Nicole spent 19 years at Experian Health, formerly Passport Health, where she successfully held numerous leadership positions, most recently as its Chief Commercial Officer. In this role, she oversaw the National Sales Team, among other cross-functional teams that focused on customer health and driving growth throughout all healthcare channels.
Nicole also is a recipient of the 2019 Women in Sales Awards - North America and has been an advocate for women and working parents through her career. Nicole earned her Bachelor’s degree in Communications and Marketing from Marquette University and her Master’s in Business Administration from Benedictine University. She lives in Elmhurst, Illinois with her two children. For more on Nicole, please visit her LinkedIn profile.
Nicole Rogas
President
As Chief Marketing Officer, Kristin Russel drives the development and execution of symplr’s comprehensive marketing strategy, overseeing all branding, digital and product marketing, sales enablement, public relations, community outreach programs, channel partnerships, and business development.
Recently named one of Becker’s top 100 women in healthcare, Russel is a tenured leader and a visionary in the healthcare technology industry. Before joining symplr, she led marketing at Quest Analytics and Carrot Inc. and drove revenue and new growth initiatives through strategic partnerships and marketing at Humana, Cerner, and Omnicell. She is also a successful entrepreneur, having founded fin-tech company Anachron, which was ultimately sold to ING Bank. Russel has a bachelor’s degree from McMaster University in Canada, an MBA from École Supérieure de Commerce in France, and a Master of Public Administration degree from Carleton University in Canada.
Kristin Russel
Chief Marketing Officer
As Chief Customer Officer, Bill Christy champions customer health and value as well as leading our services, success, and support organizations. A seasoned healthcare operations leader, Bill nurtures symplr’s key account relationships and provides a single vision across all customer contacts. Bill began his career as a biomed technician in the U.S. Air Force. After a successful career serving his country, Bill moved on to GE Healthcare where he spent nearly 19 years holding vital leadership roles, such as Customer Operations Manager and Enterprise Services Director. Bill received a BS in Business Administration degree from University of Maryland Global Campus and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Maryland University College. He lives in Rochester, New York with his wife Cathy and four children.
William Christy
Chief Customer Officer
As Chief Information Officer, Dion Gee leads symplr’s information technology, infrastructure, and security efforts across our corporate platforms. A highly skilled leader in emerging technologies and integrations, Dion has spent his 20-year career focused on achieving the top priorities of his internal and external customers with IT solutions. Before joining symplr, Dion served as the Director of IT Infrastructure and Technical Services, and the HIPPA Privacy Officer for Alere’s toxicology division. His expertise in acquisition change management has proven invaluable as symplr continues to grow its portfolio. Dion earned his Bachelor’s degree in Computer and Information Sciences from the University of Missouri-Columbia, and he is also an INROADS alum.
Dion Gee
Chief Information Officer
As Chief Sales Officer, David Vigil oversees symplr’s sales bookings outcomes and operational components. With more than 25 years experience in managing sales and client relationships, David is a motivational leader who focuses on driving results through education and staying ahead of industry needs. A healthcare software expert, David spent 21 years with the Cerner Corporation, holding many sales and technology leadership roles, including Technology Engagement Leader, and Vice President & Alignment Executive. During his tenure with Cerner, he also spent time abroad serving as the Global Technology Director for Australia, Singapore, and Malaysia, and later for EMEA, based out of Paris.
David is passionate about driving revenue growth and deepening client relationships. He earned his Bachelor’s degree from the University Oklahoma – Price College of Business On a personal note, he lives in the Detroit area with his wife Heather, and their two children, Boston and Piper.
David Vigil
Chief Sales Officer
As Chief Nursing Officer of symplr, Karlene is responsible for integrating the science of patient care, staffing, and clinical informatics into symplr’s solutions. Prior to joining symplr in 2011, she was the Corporate Chief Nursing and Patient Care Officer at three of the largest US healthcare systems. Previously she held positions in clinical practice, healthcare consulting, project management and academic appointments in Business Administration and Nursing.
Karlene holds a PhD from the University of Illinois, Chicago, an MA and BSN from the University of Iowa and has completed executive leadership programs at the Wharton School for Nurse Executives. Karlene has published over 400 articles in the areas of data-driven staffing, workforce management, leadership, and patient safety. She serves on the DAISY Foundation Board and was elected as a Fellow to the American Academy of Nursing (FAAN), and has received numerous awards and honors.
Karlene Kerfoot
Chief Nursing Officer
Mike Vipond leads symplr’s Workforce Solutions Product portfolio, including strategy, product development, and go-to-market. A versatile and collaborative healthcare technology leader, Mike enables symplr’s teams to build and deliver innovations that solve our customers’ biggest workforce management challenges.
Before joining symplr, Mike served as the Director of Analytics and Performance Improvement at Cerner, leading teams that delivered advisory services to customers, including multiple top 10 health systems in the U.S. He brings over 15 years of experience from Cerner and GE having served in leadership roles spanning consulting, business development, strategy, M&A and finance. Mike holds a BA in Economics from Georgetown University, and a Master of Business Administration degree from the Kellogg School of Management. Mike lives in the Detroit area with his wife and two kids.
Mike Vipond
Managing Director of Workforce Solutions
Julie Walker serves as the Managing Director of Governance, Risk and Compliance Solutions for symplr.
She has full P&L responsibility, which includes developing and implementing a comprehensive symplr GRC business plan, leading the time to ensure clear alignment with stakeholders, and driving organizational success. She also oversees the effective integration of new acquisitions, further solidifying and strengthening symplr’s market position to deliver meaningful value for our customers.
Previously, Walker successfully led the company’s strategy and corporate development efforts and transformed symplr’s Workforce Management and Access Management business segments. Prior to symplr, Walker served in a senior role at ProviderTrust, and was Vice President of Sales at the National Healthcareer Association, a division of Ascend Learning – both SaaS healthcare technology companies. She received a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from Valparaiso University and a Master of Business Administration degree from Lipscomb University.
Julie Walker
Managing Director of Governance, Risk Management & Compliance Solutions
Martin Woomer is accountable for the Provider Data Management Product portfolio. He oversees the daily business activities of the product suite, including goals, budgets, policies, and the development and execution of strategic plans. Martin launched his career in the U.S. Navy as a Nuclear Submarine Officer serving aboard the USS Alabama and USS Seawolf, as well as multiple staff assignments.
Prior to symplr, Martin was the Chief of Staff for the Optum Center for Digital Health and Innovation at Optum Health. He also previously served at Cerner as its Head of Product Management and with the Ford Motor Company as the Data Monetization Product Marketing Manager. Martin is a graduate of the United States Naval Academy with a Bachelor of Science degree in economics with a general engineering core curriculum. He also holds a Master of Business Administration degree with a concentration in strategy and finance from the University of Michigan, and a Masters in Engineering Management from Old Dominion University. Martin lives in southeast Michigan with his wife Holly their two children, and their yellow Lab Yoda.
Martin Woomer
Managing Director of Provider Data Management Solutions