Brian Lawson recently joined Max Surgical Specialty Management as its new vice president of business development to help support the organization with its continued growth, placing a special emphasis on supporting oral surgeons.
Before joining MSSM, Mr. Lawson served as the chief development officer at SALT Dental Collective, where he helped the DSO grow from 18 locations in two states to 100 locations in 10 states. He also served in leadership roles at Covenant Physician Partners and SAGE Veterinary Centers.
Mr. Lawson recently spoke with Becker's to discuss his new role and the key drivers of DSO success.
Editor's note: Responses were lightly edited for length and clarity.
Question: What inspired you to join Max Surgical Specialty Management?
Brian Lawson: So I have over 15 years of experience in M&A and growth, primarily within multi-site healthcare services, and I've had the opportunity to work with several very successful organizations that achieved some amazing results for everyone involved. Based on that experience, I've seen what works and what doesn't. To be successful, the very first thing you need to have is a truly unique and differentiated strategy that's focused on adding value. Our founder and Co-CEO, Dr. Jason Auerbach, has developed a vision for an oral surgery platform that is focused exclusively on the Northeast region of the U.S.
Oral surgeons are at the top of the food chain in the dental world, and it's natural that they want to partner with other oral surgeons to work together to elevate their industry, instead of joining multispecialty or general dentist-led organizations. Dr. Auerbach's vision and leadership on the clinical side has allowed us to build a deep bench of amazing oral surgeons at the top of their game, and naturally, other oral surgeons want to be a part of this group as well.
After developing a winning strategy, the second thing you need is amazing leadership to help execute the plan. Our Co-CEO, Mark Censoprano, is a true servant leader that has deep experience in driving growth across numerous companies, and he's built a top-tier team that's laser focused on giving the necessary support to our family of practices to help them achieve their full potential. Our headquarters is based in Hackensack, New Jersey, and is a short drive from all of our practices, which provides the high-touch operational support that no other organization in this space can offer to their oral surgeon partners.
Finally, despite the amazing growth that the team has executed on since officially launching last year, Max is still in a very exciting sweet spot that provides an opportunity for surgeons who join us to have a seat at the table and help chart the path for the organization. This is really a unique opportunity when you look at the oral surgery DSO landscape and provides a very compelling option for growth-oriented surgeons.
Q: What are some initial goals you have in your new role?
BL: So Max is unique in that it's a true surgeon-led and surgeon-empowered organization, and I believe we have an opportunity to build something truly special and differentiated in this industry that will last a long time. A key factor in achieving success will be to get the message out about what makes us different. So one of my initial goals is simply to meet and build relationships with all of our surgeons to fully engage them in the business development process so we can lock arms and help build an organization composed of blue chip, growth-oriented surgeons who are aligned with how we see the world. Max's focus on partnering with oral surgeons within the Northeast region provides a truly unique operational support system for our practices that no other organization in this space can offer, and gives practices that are already having success some extra support to allow them to reach their full potential.
Q: How do you plan to use your past experience to spearhead growth at MSSM?
BL: I have over 15 years of experience in driving growth within the healthcare services space, and have been primarily focused on helping private equity-backed, multi-site healthcare companies achieve successful outcomes for everyone involved. This experience has allowed me to see what works and what doesn't in this type of model, and a key factor in achieving success is providing the right level of operational support to help partner practices continue to grow after the partnership is completed.
Right now, the majority of DSOs out there are primarily focused on growing via M&A, while organic growth and support for the existing practices at the organization is an afterthought. Realistically, it's impossible to provide top-tier operational support to practices that are located two to three time zones away from the organization's headquarters. So a big piece of my role is to not only identify the right surgeons who are a cultural fit for Max, but also to help educate them on the differences in our model versus the other organizations they may be considering. Surgeons typically do this only once in their careers, so it's critical that they have the necessary information to be able to make the right choice.
Q: I know you also have experience working for physician and veterinary-focused organizations. Is there anything in particular about the dental industry that you enjoy in comparison to those other industries?
BL: During my time in the dental industry, I've been blessed to work closely with hundreds of dentists across numerous specialties. Overall, I found dentists to be incredible, high integrity people who want to do good work and take care of their patients and their communities. They've all worked very hard to build successful practices that support not only their families but also the families of their staff members. And they care deeply about these people. Also, most dentists work in solo practices, which can sometimes be lonely as you don't have anyone else to learn from or bounce ideas off of. As a result, so many dentists I've worked with over the years come to the realization after the partnership has closed that they've really missed this camaraderie, and are so excited to join a family of other great dentists in their field. I believe Max has created a special and differentiated platform for the oral surgery community that combines the best parts of private practice and joining a larger collective, and the culture and opportunity we've built is really resonating with surgeons.
Q: What are two to three key skills for dental executives to have while leading a multi-site organization?
BL: I believe first-rate results in this type of organization come down to being very strategic and process-oriented in your approach. To have success in any fast-growing company, you need full alignment on where the organization is going and how we will get there, and then backwards engineer the process to make it happen. The strategic vision typically comes from the top, but everyone plays a part in ensuring the specific tactics to achieve the vision and goals are completed. A key factor is for everyone involved in the organization to work hard to develop a true sense of ownership. This type of culture compels everyone to take action to solve their problems and work together to achieve big goals.