Availity Names Seasoned Healthcare Business Development Leader as Chief Growth Officer
Jacksonville, Fla—June 8, 2021— Availity, the nation’s largest real-time health information network, named healthcare and business development veteran Leslie Antunes as its chief growth officer. Antunes will be responsible for driving strategic growth initiatives and leading the business development, sales, client services, marketing, trading partner, account and alliance management teams.
Most recently, Antunes was chief growth officer at Alegeus, a leader in consumer-focused healthcare payment solutions. While guiding teams responsible for more than 300 clients, Antunes was accountable for all revenue for the firm during a period of hyper growth.
“We are thrilled to add Leslie to our team,” said Russ Thomas, CEO of Availity. “Having just kicked off a new chapter in Availity’s growth, we needed a business development leader who was both a change agent and a team builder; someone who will deliver double-digit growth but will remain relentlessly focused on the needs of our current customers. We found all of this in Leslie.”
Prior to Alegeus, Antunes led the product, sales and service division within the Consumer Solutions Group at Optum (a part of UnitedHealth Group), where she drove triple-digit sales growth among national accounts while attracting several large government and commercial clients. Antunes was previously with Connextions Health, a consumer-driven healthcare firm, which was acquired by UnitedHealth Group in 2011. At Connextions Health, Antunes rose from chief operating officer to executive vice president and managing partner where she led all sales, account management and marketing functions, driving revenue growth to 40% year-over-year while developing new go-to-market strategies, increasing Net Promoter Scores and diversifying the revenue base.
“It is a tremendous opportunity to join Availity,” Antunes said. “I’ve already had the pleasure of getting to know a number of clients, and it’s inspiring to hear how eager our customers are to work with us on new endeavors. Together with our providers and our health plans, we are improving the way healthcare is digitized and delivered.”
Leslie lives in Winter Park, Florida, where she is an avid swimmer. In her spare time Leslie loves spending quality time with her large family and volunteering for Operation Underground Railroad.
About Availity
Availity is the place where healthcare finds the answers needed to shift focus back to patient care. We work to solve communication challenges in healthcare by creating a richer, more transparent exchange of information among health plans, providers, and technology partners. As the nation’s largest health information network, Availity facilitates billions of clinical, administrative, and financial transactions annually. Our suite of dynamic products, built on a powerful, intelligent platform, enables real-time collaboration for success in a competitive, value-based care environment.
