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Your veterinary practice is your personal and financial legacy. If you are considering selling your practice, contact us! Our veterinary practice transition team offers the financial know-how and expertise to guide you through the complex transition process. We know how to protect and maximize the value of your life’s work.

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Selling your practice is challenging, so our experienced team is here to guide you. Our expert advisors have years of veterinary experience and are dedicated to helping you achieve your goals.

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Rich Lester

Chief Executive Officer
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Win Lippincott

Chief Operations Officer
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Dr. Roger Redman

Exec. VP of Business Dev.
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Michael Kemp

VP of Business Dev., Canada
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Ryan Lester

Dir. of Business Dev.
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Ryan Barlow

Dir. of Business Dev.
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Rich Lester

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Win Lippincott

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Roger Redman, DVM

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Michael Kemp

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Ryan Lester

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Ryan Barlow

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Schedule Directly with an Ackerman Advisor

Rich Lester

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Win Lippincott

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Roger Redman, DVM

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Michael Kemp

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Ryan Lester

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Ryan Barlow

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Rich Lester headshot
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Rich Lester

CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

 

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Rich Lester has spent the past 15+ years in the veterinary industry, primarily working with veterinarians to ensure their financial success. After a few years as President of BrightHeart Veterinary Centers, Rich became the Founder of Veterinary Practice Partners (VPP) in 2011. VPP was the first group that exclusively focused on co-owning hospitals with local veterinarians, and as CEO, Rich grew it from a startup idea to a large organization with more than 65 hospital partnerships. In 2020, he stepped down as CEO and remained as an advisor. In his current role at Ackerman Group, he enjoys helping veterinarians secure their financial futures.

“I enjoy helping practice owners realize their goals, which includes the combination of the financial rewards, finding the ‘right’ fit for the staff, and Associates going forward and ensuring continuity for their hospital’s role in the community.”

Having spent over a decade as a practice buyer, Rich is extremely well-versed in the space and enjoys advising practice owners on the process of selling to corporate groups. Prior to the veterinary industry, Rich worked within the human healthcare sector in senior management. In particular, he spent much of this time at DaVita, a multi-site operator and consolidator of dialysis clinics.

Rich has an MBA from UCLA and an undergraduate degree in Finance and American History from the University of Pennsylvania. He’s married to his wife, Rachel, and they have three children. He loves to ski, golf, and spend time with his family.

 

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Win Lippincott

PARTNER, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

 

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Win has spent nearly a decade thoughtfully advising veterinary practice owners on a wide variety of business issues. At Ackerman Group, he both oversees the growth marketing of the company and works directly with veterinarians during their practice sale processes of their businesses. Previously, he served as Chief Growth Officer for Veterinary Practice Partners (VPP), a corporate practice ownership company, leading its Marketing and Business Development functions. Over his eight-year tenure at VPP, he developed revenue growth strategies that culminated in multiple, successive years of industry-leading revenue growth for VPP’s practices, contributing to VPP’s inclusion on the Inc. 5000 list from 2016-2020. While overseeing Business Development, he developed the company’s new practice assessment methodology and led its efforts to acquire high-quality practices across the country. In addition, Win started and led the company’s Technology and Data/Analytics teams, ultimately improving the organization’s ability to efficiently understand its practices’ performance.

Prior to joining VPP, Win was a Senior Associate at Centerwood Partners, LLC, an alternative investment firm, and Director of Marketing at Foresite Sports, Inc., a specialty B2C insurance brokerage.

Win earned his MBA at Duke University and Bachelor’s degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

 

Headshot of Dr. Roger Redman, expert in veterinary practice sales.
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Roger Redman

EXECUTIVE VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT

 

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Dr. Redman was born and raised in Wooster, Ohio, the son of a veterinarian at The Ohio State College Veterinary Medicine. He attended The Ohio State University for both his undergraduate degree and his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine degree and served as President of his class throughout veterinary school.

He has owned and managed two very successful veterinary hospitals with outstanding teams of healthcare providers and sold these in 2018. He currently owns a third practice in northeast Ohio.
He has been appointed and served under three Ohio Governors to the Ohio Veterinary Medical Licensing Board, was elected to the Ohio Veterinary Medical Association Board of Directors, and was the 2019-2021 President of the American Association of Veterinary State Boards, which oversees the regulation and licensing of Veterinarians and Veterinary Technicians in the USA, Canada, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands. In that role, he oversaw RACE continuing education and the VTNE (Veterinary Technician National Exam) which is the testing requirement of technicians in North America.

In his spare time, he enjoys woodworking, saltwater fishing, and wake surfing. He is also a licensed pilot. He resides with his wife, Peg, and their dog, Ruger at Lake Buckhorn, Millersburg, and Punta Gorda, FL. Peg and Dr.

Redman has 5 children and 8 grandchildren.

 

Michael Kemp
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Michael Kemp

VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT, CANADA
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Michael is a seasoned executive with over two decades of experience in corporate development within hypergrowth environments. He has successfully negotiated and closed over 800 transactions, significantly enhancing the growth and success of major veterinary chains. As a key leader, Michael’s strategies contributed to doubling the size of several chains within just a few years. He holds a Master of Applied Sciences degree from the University of Toronto and is a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Business Valuator (CBV).

 

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Ryan Lester

VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
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Ryan has spent over ten years in corporate strategy and business development at some of the largest and fastest growing companies in the world. At Ackerman Group, he’s responsible for Business Development. Ryan is focused on making sure that veterinarians view us as a trusted advisor at every step of the process and have a consistent experience with us.

Before joining Ackerman Group, Ryan worked at Venture Capital-funded startups in addition to blue chip companies like AT&T and Salesforce. At these companies, Ryan’s responsibilities ranged from negotiating complex, multi-site agreements with Fortune 5,000 companies to designing quotas, territories and sales strategies for hundreds of sales professionals.

Ryan holds a degree in History from Gettysburg College and currently lives in Oakland, California with his wife Kim. Outside of work he loves to run, cook and volunteer in his neighborhood.

 

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Ryan Barlow

VP OF BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT
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Ryan Barlow joined Ackerman Group in 2022 as a Senior Financial Analyst. He brings over 4 years of experience in financial analysis in veterinary and multi-site healthcare. Prior to Ackerman Group, Ryan worked as a Senior M&A Analyst for Community Veterinary Partners, where he focused on evaluating the financials of veterinary hospitals and conducting internal financial due diligence. Outside of the veterinary industry, Ryan was a Senior M&A Analyst for Taqitz Advisors, where he assisted in financial consulting and the execution of third-party financial due diligence for private equity firms and their portfolio companies. He is excited to help Ackerman Group continue to guide practice owners in finding their best price, terms, and fit as they look to transition their businesses and secure their personal and financial legacies.

Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Denver, where he also played collegiate soccer. He is originally from Dallas, Texas, and currently resides in Denver Colorado. In his spare time, Ryan loves to eat good food and watch TV shows with his wife Paulina and their three-year-old mini Goldendoodle, Miley.