Meet Our Team: Q&A with CEO, Kevin Seabaugh

How did you become interested in working in healthcare, more specifically, healthcare innovation and business development? Why did you choose this path?
In healthcare, there’s a strong sense of mission and you can see the impact of your actions on people and communities. I thought about being a physician but quickly realized it wasn’t for me. I had enough science to stumble upon biotechnology. At the time, protein therapeutics were new, and they promised higher efficacy with less side effects. I got a job with a biotechnology company in drug licensing and partnerships. At that point, I found that I enjoyed putting deals together. One of my mentors recommended I move into sales, and it was an amazing experience. Those two experiences have stuck with me throughout my career. Since then, most of my roles have combined both creating something new (innovation) and bringing it to market (sales, business development).

What brought you to Sellers Dorsey?
I’ve worked in biotechnology, healthcare technology, and primary care. At each stop, clients and partners always asked – what can you do for Medicaid? There’s a significant unmet need in this market. We saw it profoundly during COVID; for all the miracles of modern medicine and the healthcare workforce, we saw challenges in access and care coordination that were disproportionately felt by vulnerable communities. Sellers Dorsey is uniquely positioned to lead in this space. We have a mission and vision that is clear and compelling, and a team with deep expertise and passion for Medicaid. That is a powerful combination, and it will bring a lot of benefit to Medicaid members.

What is your superpower and what is your kryptonite?
I don’t know if it’s a superpower but I’m really good at sticking to my new year’s resolution. I pick a habit every year that I want to work on, and I make it part of my routine.

My 11-year-old daughter is my kryptonite. I talked a good game and said she wouldn’t be able to manipulate me. That’s not how it worked out. It appears to be her superpower.

What would you consider your greatest achievement in your career thus far?
I led Cerner’s acquisition and integration of Siemens Health Services. Cerner wasn’t very acquisitive; we didn’t have a deep bench, and I got the role by default. I was working for Neal Patterson — Cerner’s CEO. We knew the business was for sale and it likely made strategic sense. The purchase price was ≈15x larger than anything we had ever acquired. He said something like – you’re one of about three people in this company who have ever acquired something; go figure out if we should do it, and be brilliant. We pulled together a skunkworks team of 40 people across 10 workstreams. We worked around the clock for 3 months, including shuttling between Kansas City and Germany. I made some mistakes, but I learned a ton along the way. We completed the deal and outperformed our deal expectations. It was great for Cerner, the Siemens Health Services team, and our clients. I’m still very close with most of the members of the acquisition team; and I’m getting together in February with several members of the Siemens Health Services team in Malvern.

I’m proud of the acquisition because no one on that acquisition team had ever done what we were about to do. We didn’t have a standard operating procedure. We didn’t even have a plan during our kickoff meeting; I think I was able to answer maybe five of the first twenty questions the team asked me. What we did have was a team that was excited and committed… a team that was comfortable doing something new… and a team that would do almost anything to make it successful. Great teams do great things. And that was an amazing team. I won’t forget that team.

What is the most rewarding aspect of working in your field?
I like helping people grow their careers. I know a lot of people say things like that. I had an early mentor in Philadelphia – Steve Napiecek. He was part of the Johnson & Johnson team that helped integrate Centocor. He gave me an opportunity that I didn’t think I was ready for. And he didn’t give me any training wheels. It reinforced for me that you don’t know what you’re really capable of until you try it. Steve is a mentor to many and always makes time for people development. When you build a strong team around you, you can have outsized impacts. I’ve tried to model Steve’s behavior and am very proud to see the success my former teammates have achieved.

What do you see as the biggest opportunities for enhancing healthcare access and quality in the next few years?
I believe we as a society currently have the mix of technical tools, healthcare infrastructure, and budget urgency required to bring better health and care to Medicaid within the next five years. Quality and access require an end-to-end solution. You must have data to know the member, tools and services to engage the member in care, and capabilities to manage them when they are outside the walls of the healthcare system. I believe the most effective offerings will combine technology, human services (in person and virtually), and deep expertise about the member (including social determinants of health). These offerings can have a profound impact on access and quality.

With the increasing importance of impact and transparency in the healthcare space, what does healthcare impact mean to you?
It’s about the person. Centocor’s main product was Remicade. It treated a number of immune-mediated diseases – rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s, etc. People would come for their infusion in a wheelchair in agonizing pain and leave on their own two feet. That’s impact. At Cerner, HealtheIntent identified patients with early signs of sepsis and saved their lives. We had one such person talk to our team; it was incredible. At Apree, early screenings saved lives. What’s exciting about Sellers Dorsey is that we can enable all these stories. We can help Medicaid members access life-saving therapies. We can help them access the screenings they need. They may not know that we helped… but what we do plays an important role.

What is one fun fact that people would be surprised to learn about you?
Our home in Kansas City is near a Civil War battlefield. I know this because I was working in my backyard and cut my hand on a Civil War bayonet. I got a tetanus shot. My son convinced my wife to frame the bayonet. It is on the wall in my office.

What was your very first job?
Lifeguard… I only had to save one person.

What is your favorite thing to do outside of work?
My weekends are filled with sports – hockey, soccer, basketball, baseball… you name it. I am a proud dad watching my kids from the sidelines.

Name your all-time favorite movie or book?
Hero of Two Worlds by Mike Duncan. Marquis de Lafayette lived an unbelievable life. I’ve read a couple of books about him. This is my favorite.

Want to learn more about Kevin’s journey and leadership at Sellers Dorsey?
Explore his profile and discover how he guides our mission.