Chief Strategy Officer

Versant Health

About The Position

Versant Health is seeking a visionary, results-oriented Chief Strategy Officer (CSO) to join its Executive Leadership Team. Reporting directly to the CEO, the CSO will lead development and execution of the organization’s long-term strategic vision, growth agenda, and enterprise transformation initiatives. The CSO will advise the CEO and Board of Directors on market trends, growth opportunities, competitive dynamics, strategic investments, partnerships, and emerging healthcare innovations, translating strategic ideas into measurable business results. The role leads enterprise strategic planning, growth and portfolio strategy, corporate development and partnerships, market intelligence, strategic execution, and performance governance. It also builds and leads the strategy function, develops strategic planning capabilities across the organization, and fosters data-driven decision-making and collaboration across the Executive Leadership Team. Versant Health is a managed vision care company operating through its Davis Vision and Superior Vision networks. Its stated purpose is to improve access to vision care and education in the communities it serves and to make healthy vision a reality for everyone.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in business, Finance, Healthcare Administration, Economics, or a related field.
15+ years of progressive leadership experience in corporate strategy, management consulting, healthcare, insurance, corporate development, or a related field.
Demonstrated success leading enterprise strategy, growth initiatives, and organizational transformation.
Strong understanding of healthcare, health insurance, specialty benefits, or healthcare services.
Experience evaluating strategic investments, partnerships, mergers, and acquisitions.
Exceptional analytical, financial, communication, and executive presentation skills.
Proven ability to influence senior executives, Boards of Directors, and cross-functional stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

MBA or advanced degree.

Responsibilities

Lead the development, execution, and ongoing refinement of the three-to-five-year enterprise strategy with the CEO and Executive Leadership Team.
Establish and maintain a fact base covering market dynamics, competition, customer needs, regulation, healthcare delivery, emerging technologies, and industry economics.
Evaluate strategic opportunities and risks, develop recommendations, and present decision-ready alternatives to executive leadership and the Board of Directors.
Direct the annual enterprise strategic planning process and keep strategic priorities responsive to market and business conditions.
Partner with Finance to align strategic priorities with financial plans, capital allocation, and long-term investments.
Develop and drive growth strategies across customer segments, products, service lines, markets, geographies, and adjacent opportunities.
Work with business leaders to identify, assess, and prioritize organic and inorganic growth opportunities.
Evaluate opportunities in commercial and government-sponsored healthcare, specialty benefits, healthcare services, digital health, value-based care, care navigation, and alternative funding models.
Establish and oversee a framework for decisions to build, buy, partner, invest, or divest.
Maintain an enterprise portfolio perspective to support effective allocation of capital, resources, and organizational focus.
Develop and manage a pipeline of potential acquisitions, investments, joint ventures, and strategic partnerships.
Lead strategic assessments, business case development, due diligence support, and transaction evaluations with Finance, Legal, and operational leaders.
Identify external capabilities, technologies, and partnerships that accelerate growth, expand market access, or strengthen competitive differentiation.
Support integration planning, synergy realization, and value capture for acquisitions and strategic partnerships.
Build and lead an enterprise-wide market intelligence capability focused on competitors, customers, healthcare trends, regulation, providers, technology disruption, and evolving business models.
Conduct market analyses and scenario planning to anticipate industry shifts and opportunities.
Deliver actionable insights for strategic planning, investment decisions, and risk mitigation.
Provide the CEO and Executive Leadership Team with forward-looking assessments of market opportunities, competitive threats, and strategic implications.
Translate enterprise strategy into strategic priorities with defined outcomes, milestones, executive accountability, and financial targets.
Establish governance processes and strategy reviews to monitor progress and enterprise alignment.
Evaluate strategic initiatives and recommend course corrections, acceleration, investment adjustments, or discontinuation as appropriate.
Lead complex cross-functional strategic initiatives sponsored by the CEO and Executive Leadership Team.
Promote enterprise-wide collaboration while maintaining business and functional leaders’ accountability for execution and results.
Advise and serve as a strategic thought partner to the CEO on critical business decisions.
Provide objective, fact-based analysis and constructively challenge assumptions to improve decision-making.
Clarify complex issues as strategic choices, trade-offs, and actionable recommendations.
Partner with the CEO to develop strategic content for Board meetings, executive presentations, and governance discussions.
Present strategic analyses, market insights, growth opportunities, and investment recommendations to the Board of Directors.
Foster Executive Leadership Team alignment and collaboration on enterprise priorities and transformational initiatives.
Build and lead a high-performing strategy function focused on innovation, analytical rigor, and business impact.
Develop strategic planning capabilities and promote enterprise thinking and informed decision-making across the organization.
Influence stakeholders at all organizational levels to drive alignment, accountability, and execution of strategic priorities.
Champion data-driven strategic decision-making and organizational transformation.