MEET THE TEAM

Our mission is to build a physician-centred organization that supports our partners in delivering the best quality patient care in an ever demanding healthcare field.

A True Partnership Model

We are committed to building lasting partnerships with growth-oriented medical specialists. From day one, you become a partner and shareholder in the company through a cash + stock transaction and start participating in equity growth. As SMP grows through our partnership model, so does the share value in your company. You remain your professional corporation’s leader- an essential differentiator in our model that preserves the patient-doctor relationship.

SMP has a place for physicians at all stages of their careers. You will receive support to alleviate your day-to-day administrative tasks and will work with a dedicated team of professionals whose primary goal is to help you grow while maintaining high-quality patient care. Our support services include business operations, HR, marketing, bookkeeping, team management, IT, purchasing, retirement planning, and more.

MEET THE EXPERTS

Unmatched expertise at your fingertips

We are doctor-focused and growth-oriented, so you can be patient-focused

MICHAEL BLACK

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Michael graduated from Saint Mary’s University with an MBA and has received certificates in Corporate Finance from Rothman and Mergers and Acquisitions from Wharton. He has also completed Cornell’s Mastery of Negotiation program and High-Performance Negotiation from Haskayne. Mike has lifelong experience in corporate consolidations and M&A (Mergers and Acquisitions), which has positioned him as an industry leader.

Mike co-founded Canadian Orthodontic Partners – the first of its kind in Canada. Under his leadership and expertise, the company became the largest Orthodontic founded DSO in Canada and has grown into a partnership network with over 60 orthodontic practices.

With a focus and passion for prioritizing the growth of individuals and the community, Mike’s commitment to physicians was driven by Dr. Noel, a cardiologist, who requested his expertise in practice management. He realized that he could help physicians who experience the same challenges daily. He looks forward to partnering with and supporting medical specialists by creating environments where they can thrive.

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OLIA GALEVA

CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Olia is an experienced operations leader and a strategist with a passion for elevating patient experience, supporting employee growth and development, as well as designing and implementing operational efficiencies. After completing her MBA at University of Guelph, she joined Starbucks Coffee Canada in an operational role where she immersed herself in change management and successful growth strategies implementation.

Looking for a new challenge, Olia joined the healthcare field and contributed to the success of multiple organizations. She has been instrumental in the exponential growth of VetStrategy and supported the scaling from 11 to 116 practices across Canada in under 7 years. She has also worked as a senior leader at Altima Dental, Apollo Applied Research, and most recently Dentalook in a COO capacity where under her leadership the company grew from 14 to 26 practices in 16 months. Olia’s expertise in growing companies organically and through acquisitions and supporting medical professionals from multiple fields to achieve their goals has always been focused through the lens of positively impacting the patients and the local communities.

Send Olia an email

GRAHAM NEIL

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Graham is a seasoned financial executive with over 20 years of leadership at the C-suite level with extensive experience as a Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and Vice President of Finance for several national healthcare companies. Graham is responsible for overseeing all aspects of Specialty Medical Partners’ financial management, including process improvement, business analysis, and mergers and acquisitions. During his 20-year career in the medical space, Graham‘s main goal has been to support medical professionals who put their patients and community at the center of their business.

Graham has extensive experience working with medical professional across Canada. He was formerly the CFO at Canadian Orthodontic Partners where he helped scale the company from 5 clinics to over 60 clinics across Canada, which saw company’s revenue grow significantly in a little under 5 years.

Graham is a Chartered Professional Accountant, Chartered Accountant, and holds a Bachelor of Administration degree from York University.

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DR. CAMERON GILBERT

PRESIDENT

Dr. Cameron Gilbert, MD MSc FRCPC, is a cardiologist and electrophysiologist. He has experience in academic cardiology as well as community cardiology. He began his career at St. Joseph’s Health Centre, in Toronto, before moving to the University Health Network as a Clinician Teacher. He completed his internal medicine and cardiology training at The University of Toronto and completed his fellowship in electrophysiology at The University Health Network. Prior to this, he completed a Masters of Science in Clinical Pharmacology through the University of Toronto and the Hospital for Sick Children.

Dr. Gilbert founded the Toronto Cardiac Clinic and oversaw its growth as the Medical Director. Dr. Gilbert is passionate about the unification of community based practices nationally and helping create a stronger voice for specialists on a national and provincial level. Through this, his priority remains to provide excellent care to our patients and community, as is evident through his own practice.

Dr. Gilbert looks forward to working with his colleagues to grow their practices and expand a network of superb, patient focused, clinics.

Send Dr. Gilbert an email

DR. ROBERT WALD

CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER

Dr. Robert Wald, BSc, MD, FRCPC, is a cardiologist at Sinai Health and holds the title of Associate Professor Emeritus at the University of Toronto. He completed medical school, his residency, and a fellowship in Electrophysiology in Toronto. He started and directed the Pacemaker Program at Sinai Health. He has held leadership roles in the Division of Cardiology, as Director of Clinical Services and in the Department of Medicine as Deputy-Physician-in-Chief, on the executive of the Section on Cardiology of the OMA, where he was awarded a prestigious Life Membership, and on the Executive of the Ontario Association of Cardiologists. He participated in the ECG-Based Testing Guidelines initiative and in the Echo Quality Improvement Program, serving on the EQI Advisory Panel from its inception at Cardiac Care Network of Ontario, and later at Accreditation Canada Diagnostics.

Dr. Wald founded and directed Full Care MD Clinics, a chain of walk-in medical clinics, and MS Cardiology Services, the first integrated comprehensive community based ambulatory cardiac care facility in Ontario.

Dr. Wald believes that the partnership and networking framework at the heart of SMP holds great promise in the delivery of excellent cardiac care to patients by using technological advances to provide an optimal environment within which cardiologists can deliver that care, while also enhancing their ability to achieve their professional, personal, and financial goals, at all stages of their professional carrier.

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DR. KRISHNA SHARMA MD

CHIEF MEDICAL OFFICER

Dr. Krishna Sharma, MD, began his undergraduate studies in New York and Australia before returning to Canada for medical school at Queen’s University. He completed post-graduate training in Internal Medicine at the University of Ottawa, followed by subspecialty Respirology at Kingston General Hospital. Throughout a 20-year career in academic medicine with the Division of Respirology at The Ottawa Hospital, Dr. Sharma focused on assisting graduating fellows transition to practice and thrive both clinically and financially.

Outside of the hospital, Dr. Sharma maintained a busy general Respirology practice in the community and developed business skills through the acquisition and growth of Independent Health Facility Pulmonary Function Testing laboratories and their associated clinical Respirology practices. Starting in Ottawa (Bank Respiratory Services), Dr. Sharma is currently co-managing the PFT lab at Kingston Respiratory Services, including the expanding Respirology practice.

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ERIK SUOKAS

VICE PRESIDENT - PHYSICIAN PARTNERSHIPS

Erik has over fifteen years of combined experience in healthcare; as a practicing chiropractor and also working in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. His extensive experience has allowed him to work in markets all across North America and within several different healthcare sectors.

To accompany his bachelors and doctoral level degrees, Erik also holds JD and MBA degrees from Osgoode Hall Law School and the Schulich School of Business, with specialization in Finance.

Erik’s experience with healthcare M&A and creating successful network partnerships has allowed him to better understand how to implement efficiencies and lessen the administrative burden many clinicians face.

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ANDRÉ CHAMPIGNY

PHYSICIAN PARTNERSHIPS - QUEBEC

André holds a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science and a Law Certificate from the University of Montreal. He has a passion for system development and processes optimization where the patient’s experience always comes first, and repetitive administrative tasks are automatedHe has 20+ years of experience in health care practice management and development.

André helped to start and optimize dental practices’ operations where he brought a clinic’s efficiency to a ″Zero waiting time″ patient’s experience. He also has experience in real estate acquisition, management, sales and lease negotiations.

Today André still offers his expertise as a consultant for private health care service provider where he brings practices’ working processes and methodology to a higher level. His knowledge and expertise also cover selection and hiring other Dr’s team member. His passion brought him to develop a software tool for internal communication and task to do automation.