North American Dental Group Appoints Jonathan Walker as CEO

Jonathan Walker, currently Chief Financial Officer of North American Dental Group (NADG), has been named Chief Executive Officer. He succeeds Ken Cooper, an NADG co-founder who led the company since its inception in 2008 and successfully grew NADG from a single clinic to be one of the nation’s leading DSOs supporting 250 locations across 15 states. Jonathan will assume the CEO role immediately.

“It is with immense pride that I enthusiastically support Jonathan and I am grateful for his willingness to serve as only the second CEO to ever lead our company,” Cooper said. “I am very proud of the company that Andrew and I have built over the past 13 years in partnership with our group founders and doctor partners. Starting with a single kind gesture of helping a dentist friend in my Ohio hometown to today being one of the most recognized DSO brands in the country. We have fostered the NADG leadership team with an eye towards fulfilling our vision of being the industry leader in providing unparalleled service levels to our dentist partners. I am pleased to have hired Jonathan as my successor. Jonathan has a great deal of experience leading companies through transformational growth and is the right leader to further advance NADG’s goals.”

Co-founders Dr. Andrew Matta and Ken Cooper have built one of the largest DSOs in North America. Based in Pittsburgh, PA, NADG recently made The Inc. 5000 annual list of America’s fastest-growing privately held companies for 2021. This is the fifth time the DSO made the list. North American Dental Group has had 175% growth over the last three years.

With North American Dental Group and Jacob Holding’s agreement in 2019, NADG is now connected to Colosseum Dental Group (CDG) who is a leading dental care provider in Europe.

Jonathan has very big shoes to fill. In October of 2020, Ken was named one of the 25 Highest Rated CEOs During the COVID-19 Crisis Glassdoor, one of the world’s largest job and recruiting sites. Ken was the only dental industry leader – and one of only three healthcare CEOs – to be featured in the report. Ken will transition to an advisory role within the company focused on development and new affiliation opportunities.

“I am extremely grateful for this opportunity to lead one of the best-known and best-run DSOs in the country and to be supported by so many terrific doctor partners and team members,” Walker said. “Thanks to Ken’s leadership, I am stepping into the CEO role at a great time in the organization’s trajectory. With its unique culture, dentist partner led operating model, and strong reputation for high quality care, NADG is well positioned for continued success. This is an exciting time for our company, and I’m thrilled to lead NADG into a period of sustained growth.”

The succession has been thoughtfully planned and was developed in conjunction with NADG’s investment partner, Jacobs Holding AG. The move coincides with NADG’s launch of a multi-year strategic operations plan centered around scaling operational excellence, driving sustained growth and continuing its unmatched provider and patient centric culture.

“We want to express our sincere appreciation for Ken and his inspirational leadership and tenacity in growing what we believe to be the best dental support organization in the United States,” said Patrick De Maeseneire, CEO of Jacobs Holding AG and Chairman of NADG’s Board of Directors. “Ken is a visionary leader within group dentistry. NADG’s orientation towards empowering dentist partners makes this a DSO model like no other. We are excited for Jonathan as he assumes the CEO role. He brings a proven track record of driving scalable growth within healthcare services companies, and we look forward to supporting NADG’s continued success.”

In addition to serving as an advisor to Jonathan, Ken Cooper said that he will be a cultural ambassador for the company and will focus on outside causes, such as, supporting mental health awareness. Dr. Matta will continue serving in his current role as NADG’s Chief Medical Officer.

Prior to joining NADG, Jonathan served as CEO of Pittsburgh-based MedExpress, helping that company more than double in size in four years and become one of the nation’s premier urgent care operators with more than 300 walk-in centers and worksite clinics across 26 states. Earlier in his career, he worked as an investment professional within the retail and healthcare service sectors at American Securities, a leading U.S. based private equity investment firm.

About North American Dental Group
North American Dental Group (NADG), based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, was co-founded in 2008 by Ken Cooper and Dr. Andrew Matta. NADG was created to transform the dental experience for patients, clinicians, and support teams and today consists of a network of 250-plus supported dental practices across 15 states. The values of maintaining an emotionally intelligent approach, being thoughtful educators, and displaying a healthy bravado fuel its day-to-day patient care and operations. These founding values are alive and well as NADG celebrates its pioneer spirit by solidifying its partnership with Jacobs Holding AG.

Looking for a Job? Looking to Fill a Job? JoinDSO.com can help:Subscribe for free to the most-read and respected
resource for DSO analysis, news & events:Read what our subscribers & advertisers think of us: