Mark Ahern – Chief Development Officer
Mr. Ahern joined Vantage Oncology as its CDO in 2005 and is the former President of First Circle Medical, Inc.; a medical device company focused on developing treatments for Hepatitis C. Prior to that, Mr. Ahern was Senior Vice President of Corporate Development for US Oncology, a large healthcare services network dedicated to cancer treatment and research. While at US Oncology, Mr. Ahern was responsible for acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances. At the time of his departure in the fall of 2000, US Oncology had grown to over 900 affiliated physicians, 460 practice locations and 85 free-standing cancer centers encompassing 32 states. Mr. Ahern earned his BA from the University of Arizona.
Ed Mercado – Vice President, Corporate Development
Mr. Mercado is formerly managing partner with Pinellas Radiation Oncology Associates in Clearwater, Florida, and Vice-Chair for Administration and Finance for the Department of Radiation Oncology for Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tennessee. He was previously President and Chairperson of the Society for Radiation Oncology Administrators (SROA). He currently serves in the Advisory Council of SROA and is the SROA liaison to the Practice Management and Managed Care subcommittees of the Health Policy and Economic Committee (HPEC) of the American Society of Therapeutic Radiology and Oncology (ASTRO) and is a former liaison to the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA) Associated Sciences Consortium. Ed has an MBA from Florida Southern College and is a Certified Medical Practice Executive through the American College of Medical Practice Executives.
Dee DeLapp – Vice President, Corporate Development
Mr. DeLapp has more than 28 years of experience in health care and consulting. He has held senior management positions in sales, mergers/acquisitions and business development with publicly held physician practice management companies and consulting firms concentrating in oncology. Prior to Vantage Oncology, Dee served as Vice President of Corporate Sales for McKesson Medication Management, a $500 million dollar subsidiary of publicly held McKesson Corporation. Dee was Vice President of Operations for Preferred Oncology Networks of America (PONA), a national private practice oncology management company. Dee was also National Director of Operations for Caremark's oncology physician resource division. Before joining Caremark, he was Vice President of Development for Cancer Treatment Center of Tulsa and its related nine-member oncology practice, Oncology Care Specialists. Dee received his BS and MA in Business Administration from the University of Oklahoma.
Mark Donovan – Vice President, Strategic Planning and Business Development
Mr. Donovan joined the Vantage Oncology management team as Vice President of Strategic Planning and Business Development in May 2008 and brings 15 years of health care experience, as both an operator and investor, to Vantage. Mark’s past experience includes Summit Partners and Salix Ventures; two prominent private equity and venture capital investment firms. Mark also was instrumental in founding and growing, through its initial public offering, American Dental Partners, Inc. (NASD:ADPI), a dental practice management company. Mark received his BA in Architecture from Princeton University and an MBA from the Harvard Business School.
