Leadership at PurpleLab®

Our mission is to drive innovation across the healthcare continuum. We’re building a world class team to drive the best results for our customers.

Our culture drives passion, productivity and results.

PurpleLab® is a healthtech company with a mission to spur value-driven innovation in healthcare to improve outcomes for patients. HealthNexus™, the company’s no-code analytics platform empowers life sciences, payers, providers and other stakeholders with real-world evidence to solve conventional and emerging challenges faster and more cost effectively.

Mark Brosso

FOUNDER AND CEO

Joe Dude

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Mike Hoey

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Russ Cobb

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Justin Rapp

CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER

Anna Fievitz

CHIEF DATA OFFICER

Russell Robbins, M.D.

CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATION OFFICER

Eugene Fievitz

SVP, HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS

Shannon LaRusso

SVP, PRODUCT STRATEGY

Sami Essayem

VP, LIFE SCIENCES SALES

Amy Crowe

VP, Go-to-Market Enablement

Luke Iannaccone

VP, Product-Provider Identity Management

Kelly Sborlini

VP, CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Ted Sweetser

VP, ADVERTISING SALES

Christa Haines

Sr. Director, Methodology

Jim Rolley

Sr. Director, IT

Travis Allred

Director, Commercial Operations

Richard Cho

DIRECTOR, PRODUCT-PAYER & PROVIDER SOLUTIONS

Ryan Heede

Director, Sales Development

Catherine Waligunda

General Counsel

See Open Positions

Our team is a passionate, loyal group of people who are driven by driving meaningful, positive outcomes. Sound like you? Explore our careers.

Mark Brosso

FOUNDER AND CEO

Business

  • Serial entrepreneur focusing on Real World Data (RWD) opportunities for the past 25 years. 
  • His first company, Health Market Science, Inc. (1999) focused on the development and licensing of proprietary databases, software, and analytical services for pharmaceutical, biotech, medical devices & equipment manufacturers, as well as pharmacy chains and pharmacy benefit management companies. Mark took the company from a one-person startup venture through multiple rounds of debt and equity financings, leading it to become an Inc. 500 honoree in 2004 and 2005, before its purchase in 2007 at an enterprise value of $55M. 
  • Afterward, he created Aileron Solutions, LLC, which was sold to IMS Health (now IQVIA) in 2014; it was the first data aggregator to use the Universal Patient Key (UPK) de-identification solution (now Datavant) to link together disparate medical and pharmacy claims sources while maintaining patient-level longitudinality. 

Education

  • Shippensburg University: Bachelor of Science in Marketing
  • Shippensburg University, John L. Grove College of Business: Master of Business Administration

What gives him the [zoomies]? 

  • Assisting other business founders and early-stage companies, serving as an active investor, Board Director, and advisor.

Joe Dude

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Business

  • Joe has over 30 years of financial planning and operations experience.
  • Specializes in financial system selection, project management, and strategic planning for growth-oriented companies.
  • Held financial leadership positions at McBee Associates, WAV Entertainment, Prime Technology Group, WineAccess, and Extendo, Inc.

Education

  • Temple University: Bachelor of Science in Accounting 
  • Drexel University: Master of Business Administration 

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Joe enjoys travel, concerts, theater, and dining out with his fiancé.
  • Passionate animal advocate, especially for cats and [dogs].
  • Cares for a colony of outside cats and supports various local cat rescue organizations

Mike Hoey

CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Business

  • Mike brings more than 30 years of technical healthcare and pharmaceutical experience to PurpleLab.
  • Founded Ipsum Clinical, a CRO based in Colombia focusing on clinical research in tropical and rare diseases in South America.
  • Previously served as the CTO of ESPS/Liquent, a regulatory publishing company serving the life sciences sector, helping ESPS become responsible for 85% of life sciences NDA submissions to the FDA in the late 90s and successfully launching an IPO in early 2000.
  • Started his career at Accenture, focusing on the pharmaceutical industry.

Education

  • Syracuse University: Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering and Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Spending time with family in Valley Forge, PA and exploring the outdoors.

Russ Cobb

CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER

Business

  • As the former VP of Enterprise Technology Marketing at Change Healthcare, Russ led the team promoting their technical offerings, achieved an annual bookings target exceeding $60M, and drove 176% business unit growth.
  • He led sales, marketing, and business development as the Chief Revenue Officer at Catalytic Data Science.
  • Founder, President & GM of the $100M Healthcare & Life Sciences Division at Blackbaud, Inc. Russ launched and led the successful venture Blackbaud Health Analytics, targeting strategic patient acquisition, population health, and SDOH. 
  • Supported a $1.75B company, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, as the VP & Chief Marketing Officer. 
  • Successfully launched and exited Carolina Lunker Sauce, LLC., a global CPG company in the sportfishing industry.

Education 

  • University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill: Bachelor of Arts
  • UNC Kenan- Flagler Business School: Master of Business Administration 

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Spending time with his wife and 3 children in his native North Carolina. 
  • Practicing CrossFit and Muay Thai, watching UNC Basketball, spending time outdoors, and coaching youth basketball and football.

Justin Rapp

CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER

Business

  • Justin is responsible for driving PurpleLab’s revenue growth and overseeing customer success and commercial operations.
  • Spent over a decade in the DaaS (Data as a Service) space with key positions at Datavant (merged with CIOX) and App Annie (acquired by SensorTower).
  • At Datavant, he was responsible for revenue relationships with strategic customers and eventually became Head of Analytics/Services, overseeing commercial relationships with leaders in the healthcare analytics and data industry.
  • One of the first 30 employees at App Annie, where he built the Customer Success team from one employee to a team of more than 40 globally. During his tenure, the company’s ARR grew from $4 to $100 million, while its client base expanded from under 50 to more than 500.

Education

  • University of Pennsylvania, School of Engineering and Applied Science: Bachelor of Applied Science
  • University of Pennsylvania,  The Wharton School: Bachelor of Science in Economics, Finance and Management
  • University of Pennsylvania, Jerome Fisher Program in Management & Technology graduate

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Enjoying Philadelphia with his wife and two young children.
  • Driving revenue growth and building successful customer relationships.
  • Leveraging data to drive strategic business decisions and fuel company growth.

Anna Fievitz​

CHIEF DATA OFFICER

Business

  • Anna brings over 25 years of experience in large data systems implementations, data integration, warehousing, and RWE analytics to PurpleLab.
  • Previously served as Vice President of Data Architecture at Publicis Health Media, where she led data assessment, major data acquisitions, and patient-level RWE platform development.
  • Former Senior Director of Data Architecture, Management, and Analytics at Symphony Health (now a unit of ICON), overseeing data architecture, development, and de-identification solutions for patient privacy and HIPAA compliance.
  • She developed sophisticated multimillion-dollar data platforms for Genentech, Pfizer, and other Specialty drug manufacturers during her tenure at SDI and IQVIA.

Education

  • University of Maryland, College Park: Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

What gives her the [zoomies]?

  • Cooking for family and friends, interior design, theaters, and outdoor activities.
  • Spending time in Philadelphia with her husband and 2 children.

Russell Robbins, M.D.

CHIEF MEDICAL INFORMATION OFFICER

Business

  • Dr. Russ is responsible for the HealthNexus platform’s clinical rules and the development of new modules, including Episodes of Care (EoC), Precision Medicine, and Treatment Patterns.
  • Led the team that enabled PurpleLab to become a CMS Qualified Entity, allowing access to Medicare Parts A, B, & D data for all 50 states.
  • A nationally recognized thought leader on Episodes of Care (EoC), with over twenty years of experience working on and developing healthcare groupers on physician efficiency, quality, gaps in care, and predictive models.
  • Previously served as the Medical Director and AVP Clinical Informatics at Blue Health Intelligence, and Chief Medical Officer at FairHealth.
  • Worked extensively in health and benefits consulting, serving as the Chief Medical Officer at Cambridge Advisory Group and as a Principal & Senior Clinical Consultant at Mercer.
  • Served as the clinical consultant to a Fortune 50 company for over a decade, designing, implementing, and monitoring their health and wellness strategies.
  • Worked in private practice as a Urologist in Schenectady, NY.

Education

  • Union College: Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Health Sciences
  • New York University School of Medicine: Doctor of Medicine (MD)
  • Swarthmore College: Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Biology

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Leveraging data to improve healthcare outcomes and drive innovation in the industry.
  • Enjoying continuous learning and contributing to the advancement of medical informatics.

Eugene Fievitz

SVP, HEALTHCARE INFORMATICS

Business 

  • Former independent consultant specializing in data strategy, gap analysis, data assessment and integration, product development, RWE healthcare integrated data platforms, outcomes and scientific research, and commercial studies. 
  • As the Senior Director at Symphony Health Solutions (acquired by PRA), he managed a team generating an annual revenue of $12M for the Health Economics and Outcomes Research unit. Clients included large Pharma and biotech companies, and Harvard and Duke medical schools.
  • Eugene held various positions of increased responsibilities at IQVIA over a 9-year tenure, serving as a subject matter expert for data assessment, acquisition, and integration.
  • Previously, he served as a Senior Manager of internal financial applications and reporting at Deloitte, supporting European partners.

Education

  • Bauman Moscow State Technical University: Bachelor of Science and Master of Science

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Watching NHL hockey, playing tennis, and outdoor activities.
  • Enjoying the life in Philadelphia with his wife and 2 children.

Shannon LaRusso

SVP, PRODUCT STRATEGY

Business

  • As the Senior Vice President of Product Management and Strategy at PurpleLab, Shannon brings a wealth of technical, scientific, and process expertise to her role.
  • Previously held key positions at prominent organizations including Innoplexus, Decision Resources Group, and Informa.
  • Established and led a global team dedicated to providing pre-sales support, project scoping, and post-sales delivery as Vice President of Sales Enablement at Innoplexus.
  • Developed and implemented comprehensive sales enablement programs, customized training sessions, and optimized client support processes in leadership roles at Decision Resources Group and Informa.
  • Before transitioning into executive roles, Shannon was a scientist at Roche Molecular Systems, being part of the Oligonucleotide Concept to Market Project Team, where she evaluated the feasibility of new products from development to market launch. She played a crucial role in preparing and reviewing standard operating procedures, batch production records, and regulatory submissions.

Education

  • The University of Toledo: Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology; Minor in Chemistry

What gives her the [zoomies]?

  • Spending time with her family in Morristown, NJ.

Sami Essayem

VP, LIFE SCIENCES SALES

Business
  • Sami’s 20+ years of experience in commercial Life Sciences technology spans enterprise software sales, business development and strategic account management.
  • Currently leads the Purplab® Life Sciences sales team delivering actionable insights from real-world data into the commercial and clinical segments.
  • Former Group Executive Vice President of Sales at Komodo Health and Vice President of Enterprise Sales at Mavens – A Komodo Health Company, driving value-based data solutions for the various segments of the healthcare industry.
  • His experience includes various manager and account executive positions at TraceLink, Litera Microsystems, Cryoport, MilliporeSigmna, Lonza and Fisher Scientific.
Education
  • San Francisco State University: Bachelor of Science in Microbiology and Masters degree in Biomedical Lab Sciences.
 
What gives him the [zoomies]?
  • A self proclaimed foodie, Sami enjoys experiencing new tastes and local cuisine in each city he visits.
  • Sami enjoys spending time with his family in Tampa, FL.

Amy Crowe​

VP, Go-to-Market Enablement

Business 

  • Amy has over a decade of experience in operations management, customer success, and product strategy in healthcare and life sciences.
  • At PurpleLab, she orchestrates effective go-to-market strategies and enables sales teams, helping align product offerings with market demands for optimized revenue generation.
  • She’s the former Senior Director of Customer Success at Prognos Health, where she spearheaded delivery operations, fostered a customer-centric culture and provided cutting-edge healthcare data analytics solutions to life science commercial and HEOR organizations.
  • As the Client Manager at Envision Pharma Group, Amy fostered strong client relationships and drove impactful engagements.
  • Former member of the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).

Education

  • University of Pittsburgh: Bachelor’s degree in Health & Healthcare Administration/Management
  • Temple University: Master of Public Health (M.P.H.) 

What gives her the [zoomies]? 

  • Enjoying Philadelphia with her husband and 2 daughters
  • Traveling in her spare time– she wants to reach 50 countries in the next 5 years

Luke Iannaccone​

VP, PRODUCT-PROVIDER IDENTITY MANAGEMENT

Business

  • Previously held the position of Head of Product at Verifiable, contributing to the development of provider data compliance and growth products for healthcare payer and provider organizations.
  • Luke has over a decade of experience in provider network management, compliance, revenue cycle, and data solutions.

Education

  • Georgetown University: Bachelor’s degree in Healthcare Management & Policy

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Golfing, fishing, and serving as a volunteer firefighter.

Kelly Sborlini

VP, CUSTOMER SUCCESS

Business

  • As the Vice President of Customer Success at PurpleLab, she leverages over two decades of experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
  • Former Vice President of Client Success and Data Operations at Prognos Health, where she significantly improved revenue retention and growth by elevating the renewal rate from 43% to the company target of 75-80% annually. She was instrumental in achieving a 99% on-time delivery rate and consistently reaching high client satisfaction scores, establishing the company as a trusted partner in the industry.
  • Held various leadership positions, including Vertical Market Lead for Life Sciences at LexisNexis Risk Solutions and roles at Decision Resources Group, where she drove strategic initiatives and operational excellence in data analytics and business development.

Education

  • St. Joseph’s University: Bachelor of Arts in English
  • Temple University: Master of Business Administration (MBA) in Health Administration

What gives her the [zoomies]?

  • Thriving in entrepreneurial and innovation-focused environments.
  • Leading transformative initiatives and shaping the future of the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries.
  • Living an active lifestyle as an accomplished athlete and enjoying time with her husband and two adult daughters.

Ted Sweetser

VP, ADVERTISING SALES

Business

  • Ted plays a crucial role in building and driving the advertising vertical strategy at PurpleLab, leading to the company’s success in sales and customer support.
  • Leads a growing team of sales executives focused on delivering value to advertising and ad tech clients, positioning PurpleLab as a market leader through innovation and continued market expansion.
  • Previously served as the Director of Sales Success at PurpleLab, forging partnerships, integrations, and achieving product-market fit between various systems and PurpleLab’s healthcare analytics platform.
  • Started his career as a Solutions Consultant at LiveRamp, where he drove customer success, and held roles as a Senior Customer Success Manager at Leverton.ai and Customer Success Manager at Madison Logic, excelling in managing client relationships and ensuring high levels of satisfaction.

Education

  • Kalamazoo College: Bachelor of Arts

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Driving customer success and forging partnerships in the advertising and ad tech market.
  • Leading PurpleLab’s advertising vertical strategy with a focus on innovation and market expansion.

Christa Haines

SR. DIRECTOR, METHODOLOGY

Business

  • Christa spent 7 years with Blue Health Intelligence coordinating and managing the build-out of an in-house created episode grouper, including developing product documentation, presentations to BCBS project staff and consulting clients, and training to define product functionality.
  • She also led the creation of the common data platform (CDP), including ingestion, validation, and standardization of submitting health plan data, enhanced with key methodologies such as physician attribution, pricing, benchmarks, quality measures, and BHI’s episode grouper.
  • Former product manager at ViPS, where she led the definition and design of their web-based reporting product for health plan medical management, along with the underlying data warehousing solution and common components.
  • Program manager for medical management data and processes at Mohawk Valley Plan (MVP), including annual HEDIS reporting and auditing, IPA and physician profiling, risk adjustment, predictive modeling, provider attribution, standardized pricing, prospective payment programs, and targeting high-risk members.
  • She started her career at Blue Shield of Northeastern NY, working as a financial analyst, underwriting analyst, and network analyst for provider contracting.

Education

  • State University of New York, Center at Albany: Bachelor of Science in Mathematics

What gives her the [zoomies]?

  • Spending time with her family in Baltimore, enjoying outdoor activities, and exploring new places.

Jim Rolley

SENIOR DIRECTOR, IT

Business

  • Previously served as the Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at PowerPay, a startup offering unsecured lending products in the home improvement and elective medical verticals. He led the development and implementation of a cloud-based loan origination system and payment platform, processing over $3 billion in loan applications in 2.5 years.
  • Architected a data warehouse and pipeline in AWS at PowerPay, incorporating data from multiple sources to provide invaluable business analytics on past performance and future trends.
  • Successfully instituted policies, procedures, and controls to obtain a SOC2 certification at PowerPay, crucial due to the abundance of Personally Identifiable Information (PII) collected in the loan application process.
  • Held various positions in IT, Operations, and Global Research & Development during his 13-year career at Teva Pharmaceuticals, the largest generic pharmaceutical manufacturer in the world.
  • Led the US and Global Serialization programs at Teva Pharmaceuticals, implementing systems and equipment to apply unique serial numbers to every pharmaceutical unit packaged and track them through the supply chain.

Education

  • Shippensburg University: Bachelor of Science in Finance

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Spending time with his wife and 5 children.
  • Playing soccer and following the Premier League in his free time.

Travis Allred

DIRECTOR, COMMERCIAL OPERATIONS

Business

  • As the Director of Commercial Operations at PurpleLab, Travis Allred leverages over a decade of experience with multiple privately funded start-up and early-stage companies. As one of the early employees at PurpleLab, he has worn many hats, significantly contributing to product development, enhancing commercial strategies, optimizing operational efficiency, and driving revenue growth.
  • Former top-performing Account Executive with the Global Private Client Group division at Merrill Lynch PF&S, Vice President at PNC Investments, and Vice President at the CIS Royal Bank of Scotland, where he managed $250M of private assets.

Education

  • Ursinus College: Bachelor of Arts in Business Administration & Econometrics

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Spending time with his wife and three children in the suburbs of Philadelphia.

Richard Cho

DIRECTOR, PRODUCT-PAYER & PROVIDER SOLUTIONS

Business

  • Former Senior Consultant at Premier Inc., where he designed and managed a suite of pharmacy analytics products to drive clinical advisory consulting engagements. 
  • Richard was part of the healthcare technology team at Deloitte, where he facilitated EDW implementation with state agency stakeholders and coordinated the design and implementation of MMIS Analytics Tools and Reports. 
  • Richard also served as a Senior Consultant in Healthcare Data Analytics at Guidehouse, leveraging his expertise in SQL and BI visualization to process clinical operations data and generate actionable insights for health systems and hospitals. 

Education

  • University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign: Bachelor of Science in Community Health;  Minor in Business 
  • Northwestern University: Master of Science, Data Science; Concentration in Artificial Intelligence

What gives him the [zoomies]? 

  • Translating complex healthcare data into tangible solutions that drive operational efficiency and improve patient outcomes.
  • Spending time with his family, participating in various recreational basketball leagues, and exploring the city of Chicago, where he currently resides.

Ryan Heede

DIRECTOR, SALES DEVELOPMENT

Business

  • Previously led the Market Development team at Optum, responsible for cross-functional collaboration with marketing and sales on lead generation strategy.
  • Ryan managed a team of 7 at Optum, where they built a pipeline of $163 million and met his bookings goal of $30 million.
  • Former market development representative at Change Healthcare. As part of the leadership group, he oversaw a department of 31 with pipeline growth from $213 million to $325 million year over year, plus exceeded his bookings by 143%.

Education

  • Clemson University: Bachelor of Science in Business Management

What gives him the [zoomies]?

  • Spending time with his wife and 2 sons in Nashville.
  • Shuttling his sons around to baseball, basketball, and hockey activities.

Catherine Waligunda

GENERAL COUNSEL

Business

  • Previously served as General Counsel & Head of Employee Relations at SkillSurvey, where she built a legal department, supervised the Chief Information Security Officer, and led due diligence workstreams resulting in a successful acquisition.
  • Spent eight years at Aramark as Assistant General Counsel for the Health Care Group, negotiating client and vendor agreements and advising on legal issues, as well as training on contractual compliance and risk mitigation in the Government Affairs Compliance group.
  • Prior experience includes roles at top international law firms Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP and Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP, focusing on healthcare law and white-collar criminal defense, with recognition for outstanding pro bono service.

Education

  • Harvard Law School: Juris Doctor
  • Stanford University: Bachelor’s degree 

What gives her the [zoomies]?

  • Traveling, enjoying a fresh iced coffee, and watching her boys play squash and lacrosse.