CEO of private equity-backed Center for Diagnostic Imaging stepping down after 6 years
Rick Long, the CEO of private equity-backed Center for Diagnostic Imaging, is stepping down after six years on the job, company officials announced Tuesday.
Minneapolis-based CDI did not give a reason for the departure, nor immediately respond to a request for comment. Kim Tzoumakas, former CEO of cancer care network 21st Century Oncology, is assuming the leadership role and will pilot the radiology provider’s expansion, according to an announcement.
“I am thrilled to be the CEO of CDI,” she said March 9. “Trends toward more cost effective, high quality care in outpatient settings have positioned CDI for great success over the next several years and I am excited to be part of this next phase of growth for the company,” she added later.
Tzoumakas spent 16 years with healthcare-focused law firm Hall, Render, Killian, Heath & Lyman before joining Fort Meyers, Florida-based 21 Century Oncology in January 2018, according to her LinkedIn page. There, she helped transform the once legally challenged, bankrupt cancer care company, which erased more than $1.1 billion in debt during the process, Business Observer reported.
The integrated cancer care network had some 347 locations in the U.S. and Latin America and while there, Tzoumakas helped the company partner with more than 1,000 physicians, CDI noted. Australian cancer and cardiac care provider GenesisCare recently acquired 21st Century Oncology, eventually leading to her departure, though she remained on as a board member.
Meanwhile, Richard Long ascended to the CEO role in 2015, taking over for retiring former chief Robert Baumgartner who filled the spot since 2001. Long first joined CDI in 2004 as VP of market development.
The Center for Diagnostic Imaging was founded in 1981 and bills itself as one of the nation’s top providers of diagnostic imaging and interventional radiology services. It operates some 130 imaging centers, officials said in November, including recent acquisitions in Wisconsin and Utah.
Private equity firm Wellspring Capital Management acquired CDI back in 2019 and is eyeing expansion in the specialty after the hire. Tzoumakas sees CDI becoming the leading provider of radiology services in the country, backed by its partnership with the New York-based investment firm.
“The success we saw Kim achieve at 21CO as a result of her drive, strategic focus, and ability to forge strong relationships was key to our decision to appoint her to succeed Rick Long,” Alex Carles, managing partner of Wellspring and a CDI board member, said in a statement.
Marty Stempniak has covered healthcare since 2012, with his byline appearing in the American Hospital Association's member magazine, Modern Healthcare and McKnight's. Prior to that, he wrote about village government and local business for his hometown newspaper in Oak Park, Illinois. He won a Peter Lisagor and Gold EXCEL awards in 2017 for his coverage of the opioid epidemic.