Industry Veteran, Beckman, Looks to Bring Positive Changes and Growth to Dental Support Organization

Rich Beckman, CEO, Benevis

Benevis LLC, a dental support organization (DSO) that provides non-clinical support functions to dental offices nationwide, just announced that Rich Beckman has been appointed Chief Executive Officer.

Rich Beckman, who received his BA from the University of Dayton and his MBA from Michigan State University, is a proven industry executive with a 20-year track record of success in the DSO sector.

In 1998, Beckman became the CEO of Great Expressions Dental Centers (GEDC), with the charge of growing GEDC into a national DSO. Under his guidance and leadership, GEDC grew from supporting 21 dental centers in Michigan into a nationally-branded DSO providing critical support functions to over 300 offices across ten states. Before Beckman left GEDC in 2018, he had grown revenue to approximately $400 million and EBITDA to approximately $50 million.

When Beckman was at the helm of GEDC, he was involved in over 50 affiliate transactions of both single site dental practices and multi-location dental group practices for a total of over 250 practice locations. He also participated in three private equity transactions generating over $1.2 billion in value to participants.

Beckman is a founding member of the Association of Dental Support Organizations (ADSO). Both GEDC and Benevis are currently member DSOs of ADSO.

“Benevis is an industry-leading DSO platform, and I am excited to serve as its CEO. I was attracted to Benevis scaled presence across 17 states, network of high-quality practices, best-in-class compliance program, and dedicated 2,300 employees. I am eager to get started and capitalize on the numerous growth opportunities ahead.” -Richard Beckman, CEO, Benevis

The DSO was originally named NCDR, LLC when it was founded in 2002 to provide non-clinical support services to dentist offices in Georgia. Their founding dentists envisioned a company that could ease the day-to-day administrative burdens of operating a dental office. Over the years they grew and expanded their service offering.

In 2004, they created their Boomerang dental practice management system for large groups. Over the years they have developed strong relationships with many service vendors, built a robust patient call center, marketing, HR, and accounting support services designed specifically for the needs of dental offices.

Friedman, Fleischer & Lowe (FFL) invested in the dental group in 2004 to provide growth capital and liquidity to founders.

In 2006, FFL made a separate investment in a newly-formed Benevis franchisee, DPMS, Inc. Benevis merged with DPMS in 2010, further expanding their non-clinical support abilities.

In 2014, they officially changed their name to Benevis.

In 2018, Littlejohn & Co. and Tailwind Capital led a recapitalization of Benevis.

They currently support over 150 practices across 17 states and Washington D.C. and are headquartered in Atlanta, GA. Their supported practices range from single dental offices that have been serving their community for decades, to large multi-location practices serving thousands of patients. Offices affiliated with Benevis offer a wide range of dental services including hygiene and general dentistry, as well as expanded services including oral surgery and orthodontics.

Benevis, and their brand Kool Smiles, have made the news recently and Beckman’s hiring has come on the heels of these high-profile, negative headlines. Perhaps the group is looking for Beckman to turn things around for them? It will be interesting to see what Beckman’s vision is, who he hires to assist him, what systems and processes he onboards, and how he carries out his vision.

Littlejohn & Co. is a Greenwich, Connecticut-based investment firm focused on private equity and debt investments primarily in middle market companies. With over $7 billion under management, the firm seeks to build sustainable success for its portfolio companies through a disciplined approach to engineering change.

Steven Kalter, a principal at Littlejohn & Co., said, “Rich brings an impressive track record of financial and operational success and we are confident that he is the right person to lead the Company. Over the last year, Benevis has completed three acquisitions and expanded its support for family and commercial-focused dental practices. We look forward to supporting Rich and the Benevis team as they execute on the company’s organic and acquisition-driven growth plan, all while continuing to provide industry-leading compliance and support services across its network.”

Tailwind Capital is a middle market private equity firm focused on growth-oriented investments in targeted sectors within healthcare, business services, and industrial services. Since inception, Tailwind has managed $3.6 billion of committed equity capital and has invested in 39 portfolio companies and over 90 add-on acquisitions.

Geoff Raker, a partner at Tailwind Capital said, “We are thrilled to have an executive of Rich’s caliber join the company. He is a proven and passionate leader, and we look forward to the immediate impact he will have as Benevis continues to expand its existing capabilities and breadth of services, including orthodontics and oral surgery.”


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