Connect on Social Media
LinkedIn:
Twitter:
Website:
About
First Name:
Last Name:
Title and Organization:
Bio:
Cindy Kent is an innovative healthcare executive and corporate director with a proven track record of leading commercial operations and enterprise transformations at Fortune 500 companies as well as venture-backed technology startups. She is renowned for inspiring teams amidst complex change and disruption. A recognized commercial powerhouse, she consistently delivers unrivaled value creation with a demonstrated ability to see around corners to identify solutions, unlock opportunities, and formulate. She also leads the execution of pragmatic operational plans that meet customers’ ever-evolving needs.
Most recently, Kent was the Chief Operating Officer at Everly Health—the digital health company at the forefront of virtual diagnostics care. The company and its subsidiaries offer at home diagnostic testing and telehealth solutions. At Everly Health, Cindy had responsibility for Supply Chain, Patient Support, Customer Service, Clinical and Telehealth services, as well as Laboratory Operations, which collectively drove 97% of all cost of goods (COGS) sold for the company and led an enterprise-wide margin expansion transformation that delivered 670bps YOY EBITDA improvement and developed roadmap to reduce COGS by 50% over two years. Prior to Everly Health, Kent was the Executive Vice President & President of Senior Living Community Operations for Brookdale Senior Living—America’s largest senior living company. Kent led Profit-and-Loss (PNL) and operational performance across Brookdale’s nearly 700 Independent Living, Assisted Living and Memory Care product lines—including field operations, resident and family engagement, clinical and sales overseeing 65,000+ residents and 40,000+ employees which she had direct reporting responsibility for.
Over her career, Kent has held leadership roles with increasing responsibility at Eli Lilly, Medtronic and 3M, where she led unprecedented revenue and margin growth. As President and GM of the Infection Prevention Division at 3M, Kent led the division’s $1.7B global business operations in sixty countries and managed sales in 170 nations worldwide. With global profit-and-loss responsibility, Kent had direct management responsibility for research and development, clinical, commercial functions and supply chain operations for eighteen global manufacturing sites.
Kent is an independent director with Accolade, which provides personalized, technology-enabled solutions and a member of the Nomination and Governance committee. She was also a member of Best Buy Co.’s Board of Directors, 2018 to 2020 and served as a member of the Finance and Investment Policy as well as the Compensation and Human Resources committees. Kent is currently a Trustee of Vanderbilt University, where she serves as a member of the Audit as well as the Academic and Student Affairs committees.
Kent has been recognized for her commitment to excellence in the workplace and her community. Directors & Boards named Kent a “Director to Watch” in its August 2021 Annual Report. In its 2020 and 2022 editions, Savoy Magazine named Kent one of the “Most Influential Black Executives in Corporate America.” In 2018, she was named Lead360’s “Executive of the Year,” in 2017 Black Enterprise Magazine named her one of the “Top 100 Most Powerful Women in Business” as well as one of the “Most Powerful Executives in Corporate America”. Kent was recognized as a “Top 35 Women Leaders in Healthcare” by the Women’s Health Leadership TRUST in 2014.
Kent received dual master’s degrees from Vanderbilt University—a Master of Divinity in Pastoral Care & Leadership as well as her MBA in Marketing. She completed a BS in Industrial Engineering and Management Sciences from Northwestern University and is a Henry Crown Fellow of the Aspen Institute. Kent resides in Greater Nashville.
Fellowship Program
Class
