MDVIP

MDVIP Executive Profiles


Steve Geller, Chairman
Mr. Geller has served as co-founder and Chairman of MDVIP, Inc. since its inception in 2000. As Chairman, Mr. Geller has shared the leading role in strategically directing the growth and expansion of the Company with Dr. Edward Goldman. They have brought MDVIP, Inc. to its current status as the national leader in its industry. Mr. Geller is a visionary who continues to spearhead the company’s corporate and consumer branding as well as MDVIP’s positioning strategy. He is recognized as a pioneer, and is a crucial component in identifying healthcare solutions for both patients and physicians. He has significant experience in business development, marketing and sales. During his thirty-five year career in the toy industry, he traveled extensively throughout Asia sourcing products and developing and managing significant consumer product campaigns. Mr. Geller began his career in 1961, as a salesman for the original Remco Toy Company. Four years later, he joined Cragstan Industries, which later merged with Arco Toys and was eventually sold to Mattel, Inc. in 1986. Mr. Geller served as president of Arco Toys until 1991, and worked as a special consultant to Mattel’s CEO, Jill Barrad, and as a member of Mattel’s executive committee until 1993. Mr. Geller also founded and currently serves as the Chairman of the Board of Playalongtoys, Inc. Prior to launching Playalongtoys, Inc., Mr. Geller also served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Empire of Carolina Industries, Inc., an American Stock Exchange company.


Edward E. Goldman, M.D., Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Goldman is a co-founder of MDVIP and serves as Chief Executive Officer. In his more than 30 years in medicine, Dr. Goldman is widely recognized for his forward-looking perspectives and research on the state of healthcare. He has been at the forefront of all the major movements in healthcare including HMO’s, practice management and preventive healthcare. Prior to MDVIP, Dr. Goldman served as the Chief Executive Officer of Cybear, Incorporated, a NASDAQ information technology company using Internet-based applications to improve the efficiency of communications and administrative tasks for healthcare providers. Dr. Goldman also served as founding partner and Chief Medical Officer for PhyMatrix, a NYSE physician practice management company (PPM). Dr. Goldman developed Florida’s first HMO provider capitation contract and was significantly involved in the formation of the first successful Physician Hospital Organization (PHO) in Florida. From January 1994 to January 1996, he served as President of PhyChoice, a physician practice management subsidiary of PhyMatrix. PhyChoice managed single specialty and multi-specialty group practices, as well as IPA’s engaging in full and shared risk-contracting arrangements. Before he joined PhyMatrix, Dr. Goldman served as the founder and Chairman of Pal-Med Health Services, a multi-division management services organization that included 235 physician shareholders, and developed and implemented the first provider global risk capitation agreement in Florida. Dr. Goldman is a board certified family practice physician with more than 33 years of healthcare experience. He spent 25 years in solo and group practice in South Florida. Dr. Goldman served in the United States Public Health Service and was a research fellow at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, Georgia. He is a graduate of the University of Miami School of Medicine.


Darin Engelhardt, President
Darin S. Engelhardt is the President of MDVIP, Inc. Mr. Engelhardt served as Chief Financial Officer and General Counsel between 2001 and 2006. He has been involved in all aspects of MDVIP's growth, and was responsible for establishing the national legal platform for the company's operations, and for all corporate financing efforts. Mr. Engelhardt is also the company's liaison with federal and state legislative and regulatory bodies. Prior to joining MDVIP, Mr. Engelhardt specialized in complex commercial litigation, representing clients such as AT&T Corp., Lucent Technologies, Inc., Mobil Corporation, Benetton, S.p.A. and Travelers Insurance, in both state and federal court proceedings. Mr. Engelhardt is a magna cum laude graduate of Boston University, where he received degrees in both finance and mass communication. He graduated with honors from the Boston University School of Law in 1991 as an Edward Hennessey Scholar. Mr. Engelhardt is also the recipient of an American Jurisprudence Award in Trial Advocacy.


Matthew Hashem, Chief Financial Officer
Mr. Hashem serves as the Chief Financial Officer of MDVIP. Mr. Hashem has held various senior financial management positions in the biotechnology, software, and high-technology hardware fields. Prior to joining MDVIP, Mr. Hashem served as the Director of Finance of the biotechnology firm U.S. Genomics, Inc., where he reported to the CEO and was instrumental in raising over $50 million of private equity from venture capital firms. Mr. Hashem also spent 6 years at KPMG LLP where he served as an Audit Manager. Mr. Hashem is a cum laude graduate from the business school at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst with a degree in accounting. Mr. Hashem has been a Certified Public Accountant since 1997.


Andrew S. Ripps, Executive Vice President, Physician Development
Mr. Ripps serves as Executive Vice President of Physician Development of MDVIP. Mr. Ripps was the first employee brought in by Mr. Steve Geller, Chairman and Dr. Edward Goldman, President & CEO on the endeavor to improve primary care in this country and as such developed all internal systems that define not only the operations of the company but also the category of personalized healthcare. The systems that Mr. Ripps initially conceived remain in place to date. He leads the company's efforts to acquire new physicians and he is responsible for continuing to explore innovative strategies as well as physician practice workflow. Prior to MDVIP, he served as Executive Vice President of marketing and product management for Cybear, Incorporated. Before joining Cybear, Mr. Ripps held various positions in the sales, marketing and business development departments for GlaxoWellcome. In 1995, Mr. Ripps was selected to be one of the initial founders of HealthPoint (later renamed HealthMatics), the Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software company owned by GlaxoWellcome, where he served as HealthPoint’s Director of Market Development. Mr. Ripps has authored several articles on patient privacy and confidentiality and has testified on this topic before the National Council of Vital Health Statistics in Washington, D.C. Mr. Ripps is a trained pharmacist and graduated from the Albany College of Pharmacy in Albany, New York in 1986.


Steven M. Cohen, Executive Vice President & Treasurer
Mr. Cohen serves as Executive Vice President and Treasurer of MDVIP. His expertise in the inner workings of the insurance industry makes him an invaluable asset in assisting the physicians in their transition to the preventive healthcare model. Prior to joining MDVIP, Mr. Cohen served in various executive positions with several healthcare organizations during his 41-year career where he was instrumental in development and implementation of business strategies to ensure operational growth and success. He served as President and CEO of HIP Healthplan of Florida, one of the largest HMOs in the State of Florida. Mr. Cohen's other management experience includes serving as Chief Operating Officer at HIP Healthplan of New York, Director of Finance and Administration at Cigna Healthplan of Northern New Jersey and New York, and Director of the New York Regional Health Care Consulting Practice for Coopers & Lybrand. Prior to this, Mr. Cohen served in a number of financial and administrative positions in large hospitals in the New York metropolitan area. Mr. Cohen is a CPA licensed by the state of New York and he holds a Master's Degree in Health Care Administration. Mr. Cohen has been very active in the healthcare, business and charitable communities. He has served as Chair of the Florida Association of Health Plans, Chair of the State appointed Consumer Assistance Plan, Chair of the National Make-A-Wish Foundation, and President of the Metro New York Chapter of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.


Kevin Offel, Vice President, Operations
Mr. Offel serves as Vice President of Operations at MDVIP. He is involved in all aspects of MDVIP's operation and is responsible for ensuring stability and optimization of all functions. Prior to MDVIP, Mr. Offel led the operational team at a national specialty benefit management company, delivering services to more than 20 million healthcare subscribers nationwide. He has also served in several global management roles at the General Electric Company, where he received Six Sigma Black Belt certification for process improvement achievements in Global Supply Chain Management. Mr. Offel started his operational career as an Aviation Officer and Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the United States Army. He received his undergraduate degree in Systems Engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point, where he received the Superintendent's Award for academic, military and physical fitness excellence. Mr. Offel also holds an MBA from Emory University in Atlanta, GA.


Debbie Engelhardt, Vice President of Marketing and Communications
Debbie Engelhardt is Vice President of Marketing and Communications at MDVIP. She has served as Director of Marketing and Communications between 2001 and 2007. Ms. Engelhardt is responsible for marketing programs and ensuring the MDVIP brand and image, as well as physician and patient interactions that are consistent with products and partnerships. She is also responsible for directing the corporate communications activities to drive awareness and shape the reputation of the brand. Ms. Engelhardt has over 18 years of experience in marketing strategy and program execution. Prior to joining MDVIP in 2001, she held positions at Chiat/Day Advertising where her clients included American Express, New York Life Insurance, Frangelico and Seldane. She previously played a leadership role in fundraising for the Leukemia Society of America. Ms. Engelhardt directed the public relations activities for the Health Foundation of South Florida and also oversaw account services for her clients, Ryder Trucking and AT&T, at Precision Response Corporation (PRC), one of the largest call centers in the Northeast.


Roy R. Harris, Jr., General Counsel
Roy R. Harris, Jr., is the General Counsel of MDVIP, Inc. An integral part of the MDVIP management team since 2003, Mr. Harris provides legal counsel on all matters involving physician and patient services, financing, legislative and regulatory issues and human resources. Prior to joining MDVIP, Mr. Harris was an associate in the Fort Lauderdale office of Broad and Cassel as a member of the firm’s Health Law Practice Group. He has significant experience with Medicare and Medicaid reimbursement and fraud and abuse issues, privacy of health care information (HIPAA), federal and state administrative proceedings, provider operations issues, transactions between health care providers, compliance programs and related matters for health care providers. Much of his work focused on helping clients structure their businesses to compete in the volatile healthcare marketplace. Additionally, Mr. Harris has lectured students, attorneys and health care providers on numerous occasions regarding various health law topics. He received his undergraduate degree in Political Science from the University of Florida. Mr. Harris is a magna cum laude graduate of the Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, which he attended as a Goodwin Academic Scholar.


Bernard Kaminetsky, M.D., F.A.C.P., Medical Director
Bernard Kaminetsky, M.D., F.A.C.P., serves as MDVIP’s Medical Director, assisting affiliated physicians in implementing the preventive care and wellness components of the MDVIP model. Dr. Kaminetsky is a co-founding physician and national representative for MDVIP. He has spoken about the prevention model to many media outlets, including The New York Times and CNN. Prior to joining the MDVIP executive team, Dr. Kaminetsky was a founding partner in a primary care practice based in Boca Raton. He was the second physician to open an MDVIP practice, and he is the first physician to participate in the MDVIP retirement program. He left clinical practice to help physicians around the country change the delivery of primary care for the better. He is a passionate advocate for MDVIP on the federal level, having testified before the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress. Dr. Kaminetsky is a graduate of Albert Einstein College of Medicine and a former assistant professor at New York University School of Medicine. He is also a member of the prestigious Alpha Omega Alpha honor medical society. He served as Chief Resident during his internal medicine residency at Bellevue-New York University. Dr. Kaminetsky is board certified in internal medicine and nephrology.

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