Atlanta, GA
January 27, 2020
Warbird Consulting Partners, a leading provider of healthcare consulting services, is pleased to announce the expansion of its Partnership, Merger and Acquisitions practice and associated strategic and operational advisory services. With the addition of three experts, Robert Kirsch, Managing Partner; Douglas Johnson, Managing Director; and C. Ryan Sprinkle, Director, Warbird is poised to support the growing need of healthcare clients requiring strategic and transaction advisory services.
Rob Kirsch has spent the better part of two decades successfully collaborating with clients in the areas of strategy, operational improvement, capital planning and partnership strategies. He has deep domain experience in finance, operations and transactions and a reputation of solving complex, challenging issues experienced through periods of change or distress. Whether working directly with boards, senior leadership or a diverse group of stakeholders, Rob has a demonstrated ability to build consensus, achieve durable results and positive outcomes for clients throughout the industry and across the country.
Prior to joining Warbird, Rob helped establish and introduce services and capabilities in the Mergers, Affiliations, and Partnerships practice, Performance Improvement practice and Valuation practice at Stroudwater Associates. He served in leadership roles in those practices from their founding. Rob also lead his prior firm through an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) conversion while serving as its Chief Executive Officer and board member for the last several years. Rob holds the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and is a member of the CFA Society of Atlanta, Turnaround Management Association and serves on several not-for-profit boards across the arts, education and environmental causes. Rob is based in Atlanta, GA.
Doug Johnson is an accomplished healthcare professional with over 25 years of transaction advisory, business development and financial accounting experience. He is an experienced strategic advisor with demonstrated ability to direct non-routine, sensitive and complex transactions. Doug's focus is the design of optimal transaction structures that align with client developed strategic objectives and organizational goals. His work has primarily been in the general acute care hospital, post-acute care (rehabilitation hospitals and nursing homes) and ambulatory surgery center space.
Most recently Doug co-led the Mergers, Affiliations and Partnerships practice group at Stroudwater Associates. He also has held executive positions at Capella Healthcare, Quorum Health Resources, and Community Health Systems. Doug also has Big 4 public accounting experience. Doug is based in Nashville, TN.
Ryan Sprinkle is a seasoned advisor to healthcare leadership teams and governing boards. Ryan has navigated hospital and health system clients in multiple states through asset divestitures, mergers and acquisitions, and strategic planning initiatives. He also works with healthcare organizations, alongside legal counsel, creditor bodies, and financial institutions to develop and implement turnaround plans.
Prior to joining Warbird, Ryan served as one of the two Practice Leaders for the Performance Improvement practice group at Stroudwater Associates and was a member of that firm’s Mergers, Affiliations, and Partnerships practice group. Ryan is a licensed but non-practicing attorney, having previously practiced bankruptcy law. He is a member of the American Health Lawyers Association, where he has served in various leadership capacities, and is a member of the Turnaround Management Association. He frequently writes and speaks on topics of healthcare policy and operations for national publications and organizations. Ryan is based in Atlanta, GA.
Warbird’s Partnership, Merger, and Acquisitions Practice provides healthcare organizations with a dedicated team of veteran professionals who take a hands-on approach in developing transaction or affiliation options and negotiating partnerships that further the strategic objectives of clients. The expansion of Warbird’s M&A practice group provides clients with over 110 years of affiliation advisory experience spanning 25 states.
About Warbird Consulting Partners
Founded in 2012, Warbird’s Healthcare practice exists to help hospitals, physician practices and health systems who need results-driven solutions to unique challenges. Warbird Consulting Partners is the unrivaled, experienced financial and operational consulting firm that delivers guaranteed ROI because only Warbird has proven practitioner-consultants who use first-hand knowledge and a laser-focused approach to rapidly assess situations, advise the best path forward and implement transformational outcomes.
Warbird’s areas of expertise include finance, revenue cycle, IT, municipal advisors and now partnerships, mergers and acquisitions. As a result of the combination of the Partnership, Merger, and Acquisition practice with Warbird Municipal Advisors, our extensive experience allows us to specialize in pre-transaction and transaction execution services to meet healthcare organizations' greatest and most urgent needs.
