Healthcare Leader Janet Widmann Named CEO Of Kids Care Dental

SACRAMENTO, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Kids
Care Dental, a Sterling Partners portfolio company, announced
today the appointment of Janet Widmann as CEO, effective immediately.
Widmann brings more than 25 years of experience delivering significant
growth for healthcare companies while leading high-performing teams,
cultivating stakeholder relationships and driving business results
across a variety of healthcare subsectors, including technology and
insurance. Widmann was named one of the Bay Area’s Most Influential
Women by the San Francisco Business Times in 2013, 2014 and 2015.

Widmann will work closely with Sterling Partners and Kids Care’s
management team to lead the company into its next phase of growth, which
includes a strategic expansion plan throughout the San Francisco Bay
Area. Ultimately, Widmann’s keen focus on patient and employee
experience, coupled with her deep background in healthcare technology
and delivery, will help more parents and children experience Kids Care.

“I am so excited to lead and expand a healthcare company focused on
kids. For parents, dentistry and orthodontics are must-do services for
their children, and I want the experience we provide them at Kids Care
to be high-quality, safe, convenient and fun,” said Widmann. “I cannot
wait to work closely with our amazing clinical staff of nearly 200
professionals. As we expand throughout the Bay Area, it will be critical
for us to deliver exceptional patient experiences and that ultimately
starts with creating and maintaining an environment in which our
employees can thrive.”

A healthcare industry veteran with a high-growth record, Widmann served
as a senior executive for nearly a decade at Blue Shield of California,
most recently as executive vice president of markets, where she had full
P&L responsibility for the company’s $15 billion in annual revenue and
3.5 million members. During her tenure at Blue Shield, Widmann founded
the company’s Women Lead to Excellence (WL2X) program to better develop
women for leadership. Widmann is currently a trustee of the Health
Professions Education Foundation, which improves access to healthcare in
underserved areas of California, and also serves on the board of Avista
Corporation (NYSE: AVA).

Sterling Partners first invested in Kids Care in 2013. Kids Care
provides pediatric dentistry, orthodontic and oral surgery services for
toddlers to teens in Northern California. Kids Care’s differentiated
approach revolutionizes pediatric dentistry by offering parents and
children an easily accessible dental experience in a comforting and fun
environment. Kids Care offers comprehensive services including
preventive dental care, pediatric orthodontics and oral surgery.

“We are thrilled to have Janet lead the Kids Care team,” said Dan
Hosler, principal of Sterling Partners and a Kids Care board member.
“Because the pediatric and orthodontic industry is truly
non-discretionary, we believe the potential for growth here is very
strong, especially given Janet’s track record of scaling businesses and
managing high-performing, growth-oriented teams. Under Janet’s
leadership, Kids Care will strategically expand at a rate that makes the
most sense for the company and its patient base, while continuing to
deliver excellent dental care to kids.”

About Kids Care Dental

Kids Care Dental Group is a Sacramento-based dental practice conceived
and dedicated to serve the special needs of children from toddlers to
teens. The practice’s 200+ professionals are committed to providing
excellent dental care while promoting lifelong oral hygiene habits. Kids
Care’s differentiated approach revolutionizes pediatric dentistry by
offering parents and children an easily accessible dental experience in
a comforting and fun environment. For more information, visit http://www.kidscaredentalgroup.com.

About Sterling Partners

Sterling Partners is a private equity firm with a distinct point of view
on how to build great companies. Founded in 1983, Sterling has invested
billions of dollars, guided by the company’s stated purpose: INSPIRED
GROWTH®, which describes Sterling’s approach to buying differentiated
businesses and growing them in inspired ways. Sterling focuses on
investing growth capital in small- and mid-market companies in
industries with positive, long-term trends – healthcare services,
business services, and education services. Sterling provides valuable
support to the management teams of the companies in which the firm
invests through a deep and dedicated team of operations and functional
experts based in the firm’s offices in Chicago, Baltimore and Miami. The
people at Sterling believe in ideas and ideals, in people and in
partnerships that drive long-term success. For more information, please
visit www.sterlingpartners.com.

Contacts

Sterling Partners
Taylor Trovillion
sterling@finnpartners.com
312-329-3983