Furst Group Tapped by PracticeWise for CEO Search

October 2, 2025 – Executive recruitment firm Furst Group, which serves the healthcare and insurance industries, has been retained by PracticeWise to lead in its search for a new CEO to guide the company into its next phase of growth and impact. This is an exciting opportunity for a leader who shares that passion and is eager to help strengthen behavioral healthcare for children and adolescents by supporting the providers and systems who serve them. Principal/senior client partner Tim Frischmon and senior consultant Judy Kliethermes are leading the assignment.

“Grateful for our partnership with PracticeWise on this search,” Furst Group said in a LinkedIn post. “Engagements like these reinforce the why that drives our work – connecting passionate leaders with opportunities to positively impact healthcare and strengthen our communities.”

This is a pivotal role for a commercially minded executive who brings a strong track record in business development, strategic execution, and product implementation, and who thrives in externally facing roles. As CEO, the incoming leader will be the face of PracticeWise and play a key role in expanding the company’s impact nationwide.

Furst Group is seeking a leader who has a high level of ‘personal ownership’ in the future success of the organization and who can be a strong advocate for the PracticeWise mission. The company is looking to attract an individual who sees the bigger picture and can help develop a vision and strategy to get there but who does not get so lost in strategy that execution is hindered. The CEO must translate market insights, product innovation, and customer needs into actionable growth strategies that expand reach, strengthen competitive positioning, and maintain alignment with the mission.

The ideal candidate will have a proven track record of scaling innovative organizations, coaching expert teams, and collaborating effectively with boards. A passion for both business and behavioral health is essential to advance PracticeWise’s mission and market leadership. This is a highly competitive search for a visionary leader committed to impactful growth.

Founded in 2004, PracticeWise advances how evidence and information are used to improve the lives of children and families. The organization partners with clinicians, educators, and system leaders to bring the best of science into everyday care — helping kids get better faster and supporting healthier communities.

Furst Group, headquartered in Rockford, IL, partners with many of the premier healthcare organizations in the world, from providers and payers to life-science companies and private equity/venture capital firms. While Furst Group’s roots are in managed care, the firm continues to be one of the nation’s leading executive search partners to health systems, hospitals, academic medical centers, post-acute, and hospice and palliative care facilities. Its work with insurers stretches back to the HMO era, yet the firm also teams with life science, pharmaceutical, and medical device companies. Furst Group also has offices in Phoenix, AZ; Radnor, PA; San Francisco; Brentwood, TN; Chicago; Irving, TX; Minneapolis, MN; Seattle; St. Louis; and Washington, D.C.

Bob Clarke, chairman of Furst Group, has been a trusted advisor to CEOs and boards for more than 30 years. His acumen in executive search and integrated talent management is valued by hospital systems, managed care organizations, medical groups, indemnity companies, end-of-life care providers, healthcare associations, and other medical delivery systems across the U.S. Mr. Clarke concentrates his work at the board and C-suite levels for providers and payers of every variety, creating recruitment processes and counseling boards and search committees. He also partners with boards of directors of healthcare organizations to manage C-suite transitions, develop succession plans, assess leadership teams, and implement leadership development programs.

Proven Consultants

With three decades of experience shaping healthcare leadership, Mr. Frischmon serves as a strategic advisor to boards and CEOs, partnering with organizations across the healthcare ecosystem to align executive talent with transformational objectives. His work spans Fortune 50 companies, high-growth private equity-backed firms, and leading non-profit healthcare organizations driving industry innovation. Drawing from his executive coaching certification from Hudson Institute and background in Economics and Business Management, Mr. Frischmon develops integrated talent solutions encompassing leadership development, succession planning, and strategic executive selection.

Ms. Kliethermes is an experienced healthcare senior consultant with a wealth of expertise spanning more than 20 years in healthcare executive search. Her career boasts a diverse portfolio of midsized to Fortune 500 clients, including health systems, hospitals, large medical groups, academic institutions, clinically integrated networks, managed care companies, and other healthcare entities. Ms. Kliethermes has a history of placing senior and C-level administrative as well as physician executives across various healthcare disciplines. Her expertise encompasses developing robust candidate sourcing plans, managing the candidate selection process, fostering client relationships, and executing strategic marketing initiatives.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief and Dale M. Zupsansky, Executive Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media

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