Mindstrong Health Expands Executive Team to Advance Technology for New Virtual Mental Health Care Model

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Dec. 09, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Mindstrong Health, a healthcare innovation company dedicated to transforming mental health through innovations in digital measurement and virtual care models, today announced the addition of ten senior executives to its leadership team including CEO Daniel Graf, who joined the company in October 2019. Mindstrong has welcomed:

• Daniel Graf, Chief Executive Officer: An entrepreneurial technology leader with over 25 years of experience, and most recently as Uber’s Head of Product. Daniel will help Mindstrong build and scale its capabilities to transform how mental health is delivered. 
• Not yet public, Chief Product Officer: A former colleague of the incoming executive team, the new CPO has experience leading large product organizations at some of the most innovative tech companies.
• Brandon Trew, Chief Operating Officer: A seasoned product leader with a demonstrated history of solving complex logistical problems through technology and platform solutions. Brandon will help lead the operational component of Mindstrong’s virtual healthcare delivery system.
• Erik Abair, Chief Technology Officer: A track record for being at the forefront of cutting edge technology, Erik has built a career on a proven record of building paradigm shifting products like Google Maps for iOS and DeepMind at Google Health. Erik will lead Mindstrong’s technology and engineering organization.

The company has also appointed: Kane Sweeney as VP of Data Science, Dena Olyaie as VP of Marketing, Shamit Patel as Director of Product, Platform, Taryn Dukellis as Senior Manager of Product Analytics, and Genna Smyth as Group Product Manager, as well as a Data Science Manager, that’s soon to be announced. This team brings to Mindstrong decades of experience across data science, engineering, marketing, and product from leading technology organizations such as Google, Facebook, and Uber. 

“All too often, mental health is stigmatized or simply not talked about. Yet almost every one of us has encountered mental health challenges in one capacity or another,” said CEO Daniel Graf. “We are dedicated to transforming the way people access mental health, and the talented individuals joining our leadership team today each have a personal connection to our mission. Together, we believe we can make this groundbreaking technology, coupled with our top-tier clinical team, the foundation for a new standard of mental health care.”

The new team joins Mindstrong inspired by the opportunity to unlock an entirely new virtual care model for people living with a serious mental illness. They will play a key role in developing, refining, and scaling Mindstrong’s life-changing technology platform. The tech platform will help power a virtual mental healthcare practice that serves the needs of patients with a serious mental illness, while partnering with private and public insurance payers alike. Building technology that allows for flexible, efficient and seamless care is a challenge in an often disparate health system—a challenge that the new team is motivated to solve. 

“There are a lot of companies trying to solve meaningful challenges in the healthcare space,” said CTO Erik Abair. “Mindstrong stood out to me because of their focus on starting with the person. Building with a laser focus on people is just so meaningful. Layer on top of that the potential for a paradigm shifting solution using cutting edge scientific research and technology—channeling the latest developments in AI and ML to change the way mental health care is measured, delivered and received—let’s just say I’m excited to be here.”

“Roughly one-third of adults with a serious mental illness have not received mental health services in the past year. And those who have received help often report poor experiences with the healthcare system. At the same time, insurance companies are eager to improve outcomes and lower care costs,” said Dena Olyaie VP of Marketing. “When I was at Oscar Health, I saw firsthand that there is incredible power and potential in virtual care right now, especially as technology advances to meet patient needs. Joining Mindstrong takes it one step further and goes many layers deeper.” 

“Mindstrong is at an inflection point in its mission to build a mental health system for society,” said Hemant Taneja, Managing Director of General Catalyst. “It’s inspiring to see such incredible talent collating around its mission. There is a genuine feeling of excitement amongst its team members to build an incredibly large and purposeful company.”

Founded in 2013, Mindstrong Health has pioneered a new model of comprehensive, around-the-clock virtual care for patients with a serious mental illness. The patient-facing smartphone app allows patients to monitor their own mental health through AI-powered digital biomarker technology that can track changes in mood and cognition. More importantly, the technology can also trigger alerts to a patient’s therapist when these markers indicate their mental health may be at risk outside of a therapy session. Therapists use in-app messaging to deliver cognitive-based therapy with patients, and help coordinate what is often times a complex care plan for an individual living with a serious mental illness. Patients can also receive video-based medication management with a psychiatrist through the app. 

About Mindstrong Health
Mindstrong Health is a healthcare innovation company built on the cutting edge research of Paul Dagum, Mindstrong’s Founder, Vice Chairman, and Chief Scientific Officer. Mindstrong is dedicated to transforming mental health through innovations in digital measurement, data science, and virtual care models. Mindstrong’s solution and health services help deliver preemptive care and improve outcomes. The company is based in Mountain View, California, and is opening an office in San Francisco. They are backed by ARCH Venture Partners, Optum Ventures, General Catalyst, Foresite Capital, Bezos Expeditions, Decheng Capital, Berggruen Holdings, and One Mind Brain Health Impact Fund. To learn more about Mindstrong Health, visit www.mindstronghealth.com.

Contact
Dena Olyaie
[email protected]