Who We Are

Steve West is currently Managing Director at Healthliant Ventures. Previously, he served as CEO of Phiona Technology, a no-code data management platform, which was acquired in 2023. Prior to Phiona, he served as a Product Strategy Director at Anthem, Inc developing a next generation population health analytics platform in conjunction with a leading electronic health records company. He also led the mid-revenue cycle analytics product development and delivery organization at Streamline Health, where he launched eValuator, the first automated code auditing platform, leading to over $20M in new booked revenue. West began his career at The Advisory Board Company (acq by Optum) in a variety of consulting, product management and product marketing roles across their operational analytics technology divisions.

Alex Rassouli focuses on early and mid-stage venture opportunities in the healthcare sector, including HealthTech, Health IT, Tech-enabled Services, Marketplaces and MedTech. Prior to Healthliant, he worked for the corporate venturing company NAX Group. There, he was part of the initial three-person team that conceptualized and brought an insurtech venture to market. As the team scaled to around a dozen members, he led operations, designed and executed multi-phase RFP processes and strategic partner negotiations, and partnered closely with product leadership on strategy and design. Rassouli also helped lead 10+ exploration engagements across healthcare, financial services and CPG. Earlier in his career, He held consulting roles at Illum and Kelton Global (acq. by Material), advising on impact analyses across tech, commerce and media.

Mark Rainosek has founded and developed several innovative companies in healthcare and technology in the last 25 years, leading to three successful exits. He has extensive experience in raising venture and strategic capital, creating financial models, shaping business strategy, structuring strategic partnerships and assembling effective teams. He also co-founded Prinnovo to assist forward-thinking health systems in establishing portfolios of innovation partners that drive both clinical value and financial return for their enterprises.

Jay Brennan brings over 20 years of extensive experience, specializing in working with startups, leading turnarounds and coaching entrepreneurs. Beginning in the technology transfer sector, he evaluated and raised capital for promising startups before transitioning to operations consulting for privately held firms in the Greensboro region. As a co-founder of Prinnovo, Brennan oversees the hiring, training and management of health venture office staff. He forges strong bonds with health system leaders, providing guidance to entrepreneurial partners in delivering innovative solutions for the most critical needs of the health system.

Daniel Triggs serves as a Director at Healthliant Ventures, leading implementations for our portfolio companies’ solutions by managing onboarding processes that ensure product readiness, long-term customer success, and scalable change management across the industry. His career began at ChenMed in South Florida, where he joined the Leader Fellow Program and later advanced into operations, managing multiple clinics. While with ChenMed,  he launched a new service line with a mobile optometry startup, improved scheduling workflows and trained leaders in data analytics. Before ChenMed, Triggs interned at Ochsner Health in New Orleans while earning his Master of Health Administration from Tulane University. He led COVID-19 initiatives, including implementing the first monoclonal antibody clinic for the health system. His expertise in process improvement, implementation strategy, and data analytics, combined with his passion for healthcare and helping others, defines his professional journey. 

Jessica Swafford joined Healthliant Ventures as Venture Manager of Pilots. She comes from a decade of project management, predominantly pilot planning and monitoring of tech-based initiatives. Her past includes launching intelligent software across the U.S., managing vehicle safety recalls across North America, and expanding a U.S. company across Europe while living in England. She attended the University of Oxford's MBA program due to its focus on entrepreneurship and social good, and she is excited to work in healthcare to help others. Her main roles will be spearheading pilot management and tracking metrics to ensure that products and services are well integrated into the Tanner ecosystem. A West Georgia native, she is excited to be doing work that affects her local community!

Loy Howard has served as president and CEO of Tanner Health since 1994. Under his leadership, Tanner has grown into a regional destination for health, serving Georgia and Alabama with five hospitals — including two critical access hospitals and a behavioral health hospital. Tanner Medical Group has grown to be one of the largest medical groups in metro Atlanta. Howard has had extensive state and community involvement. He is past chair of Georgia Alliance of Community Hospitals, was selected by Atlanta Business Chronicle as one of the Most Admired CEOs in 2022 and is a graduate of both Leadership Georgia and Leadership South Carolina. In 2020, during Georgia Trend magazine’s 35th Anniversary, Howard was one of 15 recognized as Legacy Leaders for his efforts in improving lives across the state. At the community level, he is co-founder of Carroll Tomorrow, an economic development and quality of life initiative, past chair of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, past chair of Oak Mountain Academy, and was the Chamber’s Citizen of the Year in 2008. Howard has been recognized by Georgia Trend as one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians” for four years in a row and has also been featured in the magazine’s “Georgia 500” list of the state’s most powerful leaders across major industries and organizations.

For more than 25 years, Carol Crews has served the community through her many positions at Tanner Health. As enterprise CFO of Tanner, she oversees all business-related activity for the system, including budgets, audits and governmental filings. Her responsibilities also include accounting, payroll, patient financial services, patient registration and scheduling, health information management and revenue integrity. Crews earned her bachelor's in business administration and accounting from the University of West Georgia and later became a certified public accountant. She is a member of the west Georgia chapter of the Georgia Society of CPAs, the Healthcare Financial Management Association and the Georgia Hospital Association.

After serving as COO of Greenway Health, Greg Schulenburg joined Tanner in 2017 as chief information officer (CIO). In addition to CIO duties, he is also responsible for Tanner Medical Group, managed care, physician recruitment, compliance and facilities construction. Having earned a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Georgia, Schulenberg previously managed projects for Prudential Bank, National Support and NationsBank. In addition to his ambulatory division responsibilities at Tanner, he is a board member for Carrollton City Schools.