Hi, I’m Dan. I have twenty-five years of experience solving complex business problems, building world class organizations and innovating marketplaces, with over $1-billion in revenue achieved from product concepts that I have developed and brought to market. I am passionate about mentoring young leaders, building high-performing teams, developing comprehensive corporate systems, serving customers and telling the story of our shared vision. I have an unbridled passion for life, throwing my energy into people, things and concepts that I believe in. I apply myself to learning and seek to raise the bar in every manner possible...
Visionary Business Leader | Photographer | Artist | INTJ Polymath Guy on a Mission
My StoryI nearly died in February 2020 after an anesthesiology mishap during a routine hernia surgery. A breathing tube was pushed into the wrong place, collapsing my left lung. When the tube was pulled, water, stomach acid and bile filled both of my lungs. I developed Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome and chemical pneumonia. I was put in an induced coma and on a ventilator. After several days, I had not improved and the opacification of my lungs was severe. My wife Deborah was instructed to gather the family to say their goodbyes and I was given a low likelihood of survival. While intubated, the collar on the ventilator broke several times, skin was ripped from my face and scalp, my vocal chords and tongue were damaged and I developed C-Diff. After nearly a month in the hospital, my journey took me home, battered and bruised. I developed kidney stones from the rich protein supplement that was fed to me intravenously. I could not walk, had lost a great deal of strength and was given a prognosis of a long recovery time as my entire body was sore beyond belief, as if I had been stampeded by a herd of bison. Not known for my patience, I couldn’t accept a long-term diagnosis so I hired a physical therapist and began the hard climb back, I grew a very large therapeutic garden, donating harvests to organizations that feed those in need throughout Colorado and began to donate my time to various charities and causes that helped Colorado communities.
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My recovery exceeded all expectations, I am truly a fortunate and blessed person. I recently started an Advisory position with Smirta Innovations as the Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer and am beginning to think through the next chapter of my professional journey. On this side of everything, I say that it is too easy to forget that life sometimes hangs by a thread and the smallest or largest accident or human error of judgment can be cataclysmic. My personal and professional journey feel far from over and my net takeaway from this entire experience is that life is short and volatile and I believe we are all put on this earth to do big things and that those things are in each and every one of us. Now... to paint that canvas.
Dan Buell
“The Guy that Lived”
Dan Buell
“The Guy that Lived”
My Journey
Smirta Innovations
Advisor to the Chief Executive Officer August 2020 - Present Holmdel, New Jersey Optimizing oncology business operations so clinicians can focus on what matters most, the care they provide to cancer patients Developing and leading key growth strategies and initiatives including go-to-market strategy for healthcare product portfolio, development of expanded sales and account management engagement model and operational optimization while lending business acumen and insights in an advisory capacity to the CEO and executive leadership team for this high-growth, early-stage healthcare information technology organization. |
Health Language
A division of Wolters Kluwer General Manager April 2016 - September 2019 Denver, Colorado Modernized the healthcare marketplace by delivering interoperability and data equality to healthcare providers, patients and payers Served as the executive leader of $35M division or Wolters Kluwer. Transformed and turned around struggling business whose fortunes had shifted due to regulatory changes. Rebuilt leadership team, reconnected with customer base, improving customer satisfaction scores by 380% and driving customer retention rates from below 50% to 92%, improved operating margins from -($500K) to $11.1M, improved sales by 35%, drove employee engagement by creating, sharing and articulating new vision and direction - employee satisfaction and engagement scores went from the lowest within Wolters Kluwer Health to the highest in the company. Innovated and pivoted product landscape with the launch of Reference Data Management, Clinical Natural Language Processing and Artificial Intelligence solutions that generated $10M in new contracts. |
Experian Health
General Manager July 2005 - April 2016 Austin, Texas Developed and executed on the strategy that built one of the most powerful healthcare revenue cycle management companies from a startup position Led North American financial services product and marketing division, founded Experian Health and was promoted to lead the organization. Developed the Experian Health growth strategy. Led $1.2-billion in acquisitions from 2008 - 2013, ran integration on all acquisitions and served as the operational leader/General Manager of the consolidated organization with $350-million in revenues and 750 employees. Oversaw the development of healthcare revenue cycle management software and services offerings for over 3,000 hospitals and 150,000 physician practices across the U.S. The highly complex software offering provided a robust series of capabilities including orders, scheduling, eligibility, patient access, claims & contract management, patient engagement, population health and patient collections. |