Leadership

Mike Polen has led Better Health Group since August 2021 with his extensive leadership experience in rapidly growing and scaling healthcare businesses and working across both health plan and provider segments.  

Mike previously served as Senior Vice President and Medicare CEO at Centene Corporation, where he was responsible for leading the Medicare Advantage business. Prior, Mike spent 15 years at WellCare Health Plans, last serving as Executive Vice President of Medicare and Enterprise Operations. He also held a number of leadership roles across corporate strategy, operations, information technology, finance, national networks, and sales and marketing.

Robert McMaster is responsible for leading national clinic and affiliate operations, where he oversees strategic initiatives, operational execution, and physician engagement to improve patient outcomes and support financial performance.

Robert previously served as a partner at Ayon Capital, a purpose-driven family office focused on investing and operating value-based care enablement companies. Before that, he worked in investment banking at Moelis & Company advising managed care and provider companies.

Mike Nisbet is responsible for overseeing all financial operations of the organization and executing on strategy to support growth and deliver value.

Mike is an experienced financial leader with extensive experience in both provider and payor economics. Mike joined Better Health Group in 2023 and was most recently SVP, Finance where he led FP&A, Medical Economics, Analytics, Payor Contracting and Market Performance for the organization.

Alan Patel is responsible for driving Better Health Group’s growth strategy, go-to-market execution, and strategic partnerships across patients, providers, and payer relationships. He leads initiatives focused on expanding access to high-quality primary care, strengthening value-based care models, and supporting sustainable growth across Better Health Group’s owned and affiliated clinic network.

Alan brings more than two decades of experience leading growth, revenue, and go-to-market strategy across healthcare, technology, and services organizations. Most recently, he has served as a Revenue and Growth Advisor to Ayon Capital’s portfolio companies, where he partnered with leadership teams to scale commercial operations, optimize customer acquisition, and align go-to-market strategies in complex, regulated markets.

Previously, Alan held senior leadership roles at Adobe, where he led large national sales organizations, expanded strategic enterprise relationships, and collaborated with executive stakeholders to drive digital transformation at scale. Earlier in his career, he held consulting and sales leadership roles at IBM, developing deep expertise in enterprise strategy, execution, and customer-centric growth.

Pawan Shah serves as Chief Performance Officer, overseeing operational departments and driving performance optimization. With over 20 years of payor and provider experience, he brings extensive leadership expertise across large and small organizations, enabling nimble and agile approaches to lead strategic initiatives and implement process improvements that enhance efficiency, align business objectives, and drive sustainable growth across health plan and provider segments.

Prior to his current role, Pawan held leadership positions at Ayon Capital, focusing on scaling operational frameworks and implementing data-driven strategies for healthcare enterprises. Before Ayon, he was a senior executive at Freedom Health and Optimum HealthCare, serving in both operational and compliance capacities, where he played a key role in scaling the organization to 140,000 Medicare Advantage lives and achieving Florida’s only 5-Star Health Plan status at the time, culminating in a successful acquisition by Anthem, Inc. Before Freedom, Pawan leveraged his industrial engineering background to lead operations and engineering initiatives across diverse organizations, driving agility and efficiency.

Dr. Kunal Patel serves as Chief AI Officer, leading the organization's strategic adoption and deployment of artificial intelligence to drive business process transformation and innovative technology solutions. He has a passion for systems and process engineering, bringing a unique blend of clinical and strategic perspectives to healthcare leadership, with a particular focus on AI-enabled innovation.

He began his career at Better Health Group as a practicing physician in 2015, serving in progressively senior clinical leadership roles, where he developed deep expertise in risk adjustment, quality, and utilization management. Dr. Patel co-founded Sxope, a leading enterprise value-based care technology platform that powers Better Health Group, and was a former Operating Partner at Ayon Capital before returning to BHG in 2025. He remains a passionate advocate for technology-driven, AI-powered healthcare innovation.

Susan Coatar serves as CEO Mike Polen's Chief of Staff and assists with strategic planning and management, as well as day-to-day operations. In addition, Susan oversees Better Health Group’s Health Services function, driving medical expense control initiatives.

Prior to Better Health Group, Susan served as Chief of Staff to the CEO at Centene Corporation, where she supported corporate strategy, CEO communications, and public relations. 

She also served in various compliance and marketing roles over her tenure at Centene. 

Megan DePecol is responsible for the day-to-day leadership and execution of the human resources function, accountable for HR programs, policies, and services while driving enterprise-wide talent strategies and leading the HR team in delivering high-impact, people-centered solutions.

Megan brings over 20 years of corporate HR and healthcare experience, with more than a decade spent successfully leading large-scale, complex talent initiatives.

Prior to Better Health Group, she served as the U.S. Talent Acquisition Leader for PwC Business Services, where she oversaw recruiting strategy and operations for the Internal Business Services and Products & Technology divisions. Megan also spent 15 years at WellCare Health Plans in a variety of HR leadership roles, leading the talent acquisition function.

Emily Gallman is responsible for leading national clinic operations for Better Health Group’s VIPcare clinics, where she oversees clinic operational execution , physician recruitment, and infrastructure development to enhance senior care.

Emily brings extensive experience in healthcare administration, marketing, and community development. Before joining Better Health Group, she served as the Director of Marketing and Business Development for Clearview Regional Medical Center in Monroe, GA, where she played an instrumental role in hospital expansion and service line development. 

As General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer, Michael Haber is responsible for leading the company's legal and corporate governance activities and overseeing the compliance and human resources functions.

Prior to joining Better Health Group, Michael served as Vice President, Corporate and Securities Counsel for WellCare Health Plans, where he was a pivotal contributor to WellCare’s growth and success and acted as a key advisor and counsel during the sale of WellCare to Centene Corporation in January 2020. 

Following the acquisition, he served as Deputy General Counsel for Centene, providing leadership, advice, and counsel with regard to corporate governance, securities laws compliance and reporting, mergers and acquisitions, and business development.

Dr. Sangeeta Hans is a Board-Certified Physician and executive leader dedicated to the evolution of value-based care. Her professional journey began with a degree in psychology followed by a career in the semiconductor industry—an experience that cemented clinical precision and systems-thinking into her approach to medicine.

Joining VIPcare when it consisted of only five clinics, Dr.Hans established herself as a premier primary care provider, consistently achieving a 5-star HEDIS rating. Her clinical success led to her appointment as Medical Director and later Chief Quality Officer, where she steered the organization through a critical period of rebuilding and structural readjustment.

Now serving as Chief Clinic Performance Officer, she remains focused on scaling high-performance clinical models that prioritize patient safety, health outcomes, and the sustainable growth of the value-based care landscape.

Chris Marconcini leads the national affiliate network, driving performance, growth, and execution of provider strategy initiatives. With deep expertise in healthcare operations and value-based care, he takes a strategic, data-driven approach to strengthening provider engagement and optimizing care delivery across diverse markets.

Previously, Chris served as Associate Vice President of Market Operations at Wellvana Health, where he oversaw market strategy, product expansion, and regional operations across multiple states. 

Prior to Wellvana, he held senior leadership roles at Innovista Health Solutions, an HCSC subsidiary, including Director of Market Operations and Director of Network Performance. In these roles, he managed large provider networks, improved financial and quality outcomes, and led market operations across Medicare, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Commercial contracts.

Roshni Patel is responsible for leading quality operations where she oversees the national Medicare Advantage line of business programs that directly impact MRA coding / documentation compliance and HEDIS scores.

Prior to joining Better Health Group, Roshni was a senior associate at KPMG, where she specialized in state and local tax and assisted clients in a variety of industries to identify and secure credits and incentives.