98point6 chairman Jeff Greenstein is now the company’s permanent CEO after taking over interim leadership duties following the departure of former CEO and co-founder Robbie Cape in September.
Greenstein was named interim CEO after the board of Seattle-based 98point6 decided to remove Cape as CEO. At the time, the telemedicine company said it was looking for a new leader who could position the 6-year-old startup for its next phase of growth.
That person ended up being Greenstein, a longtime Seattle business leader and philanthropist who served 38 months in prison a decade ago for conspiring to defraud the Internal Revenue Service and aiding and assisting in the filing of a false return as part of an approximately $240 million tax shelter fraud.
Greenstein founded investment management firm Quellos Group in 1994 and sold it to BlackRock for more than $1 billion in 2007. He now runs an investment firm called YIS Capital. He co-founded 98point6 in 2015 with Cape, though his role was largely under the radar until this year.
Greenstein remains chairman of the company, which provides virtual primary care in all 50 states to more than 3 million patients. It has more than 300 commercial contracts. The startup employs 369 people.
Previously: Inside the shakeup at 98point6: Board member explains abrupt CEO change at well-funded startup
“Over the last several months, I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with the amazing team at 98point6 and continue to be impressed every day by the passion, commitment and dedication of improving people’s lives,” Greenstein said in a statement. “We are at a pivotal moment in history; a time that has us managing through a global pandemic and creating new technology to serve people when and where they need care. Through innovation and constant improvement, I believe 98point6 will forever change the way people view primary care. I’m extremely bullish on the company and I’m honored to be working alongside a world-class group of professionals.”
The board’s decision to let go of Cape surprised people in the Seattle startup community, in the health tech industry, and even inside the company, which has raised $247 million and reported a huge increase in customer demand during the pandemic. Cape also left the company’s board.
In a previous interview with GeekWire, board member Lisa Brummel said there was “nothing improper” that led to Cape’s firing, stressing that it’s not unusual for a founding CEO to step aside to allow a leader with different skills to take the helm.
Cape is a veteran of the Seattle tech scene. Before launching 98point6 he sold family scheduling app Cozi to Time Inc. in 2014 and previously spent 12 years at Microsoft.
Earlier this week Cape said he was exploring potential new opportunities in agriculture and the environment.
“While I don’t know the ‘what’ yet, and certainly there is no ‘us’ yet, the ‘how’ starts with great people. In fact, it’s *all* about people,” Cape wrote in a LinkedIn post. “So once I decide what’s next, one of our first hires is likely to be the person who helps build the team and the culture.”
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