Mainstay Healthcare Partners Forms Strategic Advisory Board, Adding Deep Industry Expertise to Strengthen Growth and Capital Markets Advisory Platforms
Mainstay Healthcare Partners (“Mainstay”), a strategic advisory and investment firm supporting healthcare services and health technology organizations, today announced the formation of its Strategic Advisory Board. The new board brings together a distinguished group of operators, investors, and senior advisors who reflect Mainstay’s core philosophy: long-term, trusted partnership built on real operating experience and a deep understanding of the healthcare landscape.
The Advisory Board includes four seasoned leaders whose backgrounds span healthcare regulation, corporate strategy, high-growth investing, payer and provider operations, and market development. Together, they add substantial depth to Mainstay’s capabilities across its Growth Advisory and Capital Markets Advisory platforms.
Advisors with Proven Leadership Across Healthcare and Health Technology
Mainstay’s newly formed Advisory Board features:
- Michael Blau, a leading healthcare corporate and regulatory attorney
- Chuck Farkas, a senior strategy advisor to CEOs and boards
- Ann Gallo, a veteran healthcare investor across public and private markets
- Mike Matteo, a seasoned healthcare growth and commercial operations executive
These leaders bring decades of practical insight that will help Mainstay accelerate its impact for clients navigating growth, transformation, and market evolution.
A Philosophy Rooted in Experience and Partnership
The creation of the Strategic Advisory Board aligns with Mainstay’s approach of partnering closely with leadership teams. The firm emphasizes shared accountability, transparent collaboration, and deeply informed judgment—principles shaped by the founders’ own experiences as operators, investors, and advisors.
Mainstay was built to be the kind of partner we wished existed—one that combines operating credibility, healthcare depth, and trusted relationships,” said Dana McNally, Co-Founder and Partner. “Our Advisory Board reflects that vision. These leaders bring the experience, objectivity and perspective companies need as they scale and advance forward. Their willingness to lean in will meaningfully enhance our impact for clients.”
Strategic Advisory Board Members
Michael Blau – Strategic Advisor
Michael Blau is a retired partner at Foley & Lardner LLP, where he built a nationally recognized practice advising clients on corporate and regulatory healthcare matters. His guidance has shaped mergers, acquisitions, affiliations, financing transactions, and joint ventures across the healthcare continuum.
Throughout his career, Blau held numerous leadership positions at Foley, including chairing the firm’s Industry Teams Department, the Research and Development Group, and the Health Care Industry Team Planning Committee.
Prior to Foley, he led the Health Law Department for McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s Boston office. His decades of experience advising providers, payers, and health systems bring critical legal and regulatory insight to Mainstay’s clients.
Chuck Farkas – Strategic Advisor
Chuck Farkas is a long-time senior leader at Bain & Company, where he has been a partner since 1985. Over his 40-year career, he has advised CEOs and global executive teams on growth strategy, organizational effectiveness, leadership, and change management across healthcare, life sciences, financial services, and other sectors.
Farkas has held several influential roles at Bain, including Global Leader of the Financial Services practice, North American Head of Healthcare, and Managing Partner of Bain Canada. He has authored Maximum Leadership and contributed thought leadership to the Harvard Business Review, Fortune, In Vivo, and other leading outlets.
He currently serves on the boards of CONMED Corporation, Intuitive Health, Medicinal Genomics, Medzown, and Shields Health. He holds a BA from Princeton University and an MBA from Harvard Business School. His strategic insight and boardroom expertise add tremendous value to Mainstay’s clients navigating scale, competition, and market change.
Ann Gallo – Strategic Advisor
Ann Gallo brings nearly three decades of experience as a healthcare investor, operator advisor, and market strategist. She is the Founder and CEO of ACG Advisory, where she advises high-growth healthcare service and technology companies.
Previously, Gallo spent more than 25 years at Wellington Management Company, LLP, serving as senior managing director, partner, and leader of the firm’s $60 billion healthcare franchise. At Wellington, she led diversified healthcare portfolios, evaluated healthcare services and medtech companies, and played a critical role in developing the firm’s late-stage private equity platform.
She has served on numerous governance and operating committees and currently sits on the Boards of Piper Sandler, Sword Health, and Boston Ballet. Gallo holds a master’s degree in finance and applied economics from MIT and a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Boston College.
Her investment judgment, public-markets experience, and deep knowledge of healthcare business models further reinforce Mainstay’s commitment to disciplined, market-ready advisory.
Mike Matteo – Strategic Advisor
Mike Matteo is a Principal at MCM Consulting, LLC and a senior advisor to InTandem Capital Partners. He previously served as a Venture Partner at Oak HC/FT, supporting emerging healthcare companies with strategy, commercial execution, and go-to-market design.
Matteo served as President of Grand Rounds (now Included Health), where he led all growth and client-facing teams. Before that, he spent nearly 20 years at UnitedHealth Group, holding leadership roles including Chief Client Officer at OptumRx, CEO of UHC National Accounts and Public Sector, and Chief Growth Officer at Optum.
Early in his career, Matteo held various roles at Travelers Insurance Company. He is a graduate of the College of the Holy Cross and completed Columbia University’s Executive Development Program. His experience in payer operations, client management, and commercial growth strategy brings essential market perspective to Mainstay’s advisory work.
Strengthening Mainstay’s Integrated Advisory Platform
Reflecting its strategic approach and the evolving needs of healthcare organizations, Mainstay has organized its offerings into two complementary advisory platforms:
Growth Advisory
Supporting healthcare organizations with:
- Strategic planning and growth acceleration
- Go-to-market design and execution
- Sales operations development
- Industry relationship building
- Partnership formation
The platform helps companies define market opportunities, build scalable commercial infrastructure, and accelerate near-term and long-term performance.
Capital Markets Advisory
Guiding organizations through the full capital lifecycle, including:
- IPO and exit readiness
- Investor narrative development
- Stakeholder communications
- Governance evolution and board alignment
- KPI discipline and reporting maturity
- Long-term value creation strategies
This platform leverages deep experience in public healthcare services and healthtech markets, enabling clients to navigate scrutiny from investors, analysts, and strategic partners with confidence.
Commitment to Real-Time, Hands-On Partnership
Amid growing pressure on healthcare organizations to scale, differentiate, and deliver measurable outcomes, Mainstay emphasizes practical, hands-on partnership—working side-by-side with executive teams and boards.
Our clients trust us because we show up as hands-on partners,” said Kevin M. Ban, MD, Co-Founder and Partner. “We sit alongside executive teams and boards to help navigate complexity with clarity. This Advisory Board strengthens our ability to deliver that level of partnership.”
Dave Khtikian, Co-Founder and Partner, added, “Today’s markets reward discipline, transparency, and credible execution. Our Advisory Board blends rigorous technical insight with strategic perspectives shaped by decades of operating and investing experience. Their guidance will be invaluable as companies work to build durable performance and long-term stakeholder confidence.”
About Mainstay Healthcare Partners
Mainstay Healthcare Partners is a strategic advisory and investment firm serving healthcare services and health technology companies. The firm provides top-of-house advisory grounded in real operator, investor, and clinical experience across growth advisory, capital markets advisory, and executive partnership.
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