Foodsmart Announces Appointment of Healthcare Veteran and Virtual Care Leader Kurt Knight to CEO

SAN FRANCISCO, /PRNewswire/ -- Foodsmart, the leader in foodcare, today announced the appointment of Kurt Knight to the role of Chief Executive Officer. Previously Amwell's COO, Mr. Knight built the company's national provider group, managed all aspects of clinical operations and client delivery, and helped drive innovative partnerships with government, health systems, and national payers. He was instrumental in the acquisition and integration of four digital health companies, significantly strengthening the company's market position and expanding access to virtual care. His work on maternal and child nutrition initiatives with global health organizations such as the Gates Foundation, brings a unique global perspective to Foodsmart. Knight holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, an MPH from Columbia University, and a BA in Economics from BYU.

After 15 years as CEO, Founder Jason Langheier, MD, MPH will now serve as Chief Science Officer, and remain as a Director on the Board. Dr. Langheier will continue to leverage his background in nutritional epidemiology, neuroscience, medicine, and data science to further data-driven clinical intelligence and foodcare AI innovation, and extend industry-leading and sustained outcomes for patients.

"Through his thoughtfulness, sustained work ethic, and team-based approach, Kurt has been one of the key people that has fundamentally enabled the virtual care industry at scale. We are lucky to have a values-driven leader like Kurt – with a background in nutrition, and a shared vision for foodcare – bring his deep experience to our next phase of growth and impact," said Dr. Langheier. "I'm grateful for Foodsmart's skilled, collaborative, and impact-oriented dietitians and team; paired with Kurt's extensive expertise in building and scaling companies, we are well-positioned to continue to execute our vision for foodcare as a core pillar of population health efforts nationwide. The Foodsmart platform – anchored by unique personalized foodcare technology including telenutrition, and food-as-medicine benefits management (FBM) – has consistently demonstrated best-in-class sustained improvements in clinical outcomes, and significant reductions in total cost. I've been excited to focus even more time on step-function innovation, and ways to embed foodcare into healthcare operations at scale, long-term."

Executive Chairman Frank Williams added, "Kurt brings invaluable leadership expertise and a track record for driving innovation for payers and providers at scale. He has a long history of pushing the healthcare industry to be more forward-looking in driving sustained improvements in population health, and we are thrilled he will bring his insights to build upon Foodsmart's position as an industry leader." Mr. Williams continued, "Dr. Langheier built Foodsmart to advance foodcare as a key component of gold standard population health, chronic disease management, and whole person care. Under his leadership, Foodsmart has been incredibly successful in driving that vision forward, while growing profitably."

In serving more than 2 million members, Foodsmart is the only at-scale platform where members continue to improve outcomes such as improved weight after 3 years; in addition:     

• $25 to $58 PMPM was saved for payers across numerous controlled studies
• 73, Foodsmart's "excellent" Net Promoter Score (NPS) demonstrates high member satisfaction and trust
• 55% of low-income members with obesity lose more than 5% of weight at 12 months
• 42% of food insecure members become food secure within six months
• 39% of members with diabetes have controlled HbA1c by 24 months
• 33% of members with hypertension achieve BP control by 9 months
• $34 on average was saved on food orders for members

"Dr. Langheier and the Foodsmart team have created something transformational," says Mr. Knight. "Foodsmart's momentum gives us a unique opportunity to reshape how foodcare integrates with healthcare. As diet-related chronic disease and food insecurity impact millions of Americans, our work has never been more urgent. I look forward to collaborating with our team, health plans, providers, and food retail partners to expand the reach of our foodcare solutions, and improve the health of communities nationwide."

For more information about Foodsmart, please visit www.foodsmart.com.

About Foodsmart
Foodsmart is the most comprehensive and widely adopted foodcare platform in the U.S., supported by the largest national network of Registered Dietitians. Foodsmart helps patients make healthier food choices and achieve lasting behavior change and health outcomes, by enhancing access to nutritious, affordable food options. Foodsmart's digital platform provides personalized guidance to members, saving them time and money through the integration of FoodSMART telenutrition with personalized care and meal plans, and FoodsMART online food buying and delivery, money savers and food-as-medicine benefits management. Learn more at www.foodsmart.com.

SOURCE Foodsmart