COVER STORY
Our culture is the most important asset of the organization. “
THE EARLY YEARS “Well, first of all, I wanted to be a professional basketball player. Let’s be clear about that!” Rod Young says with a laugh. In reflecting on his career in healthcare, it’s clear that Rod approaches every facet of his life with purpose and dedication. Born in St. Louis, Missouri, and raised in Centreville, Illinois, Rod grew up in an athletic family with two older brothers. “My mom and dad were significantly important in all of our lives. We [received] great love, great discipline, and great guidance,” Young shares. His father worked in the construction equipment industry for forty years, and his older brother focused on sales. “My second choice [as a career] was to go into business based on what I saw from my dad and brother,” explains Young. Rod started his healthcare career in pharmaceutical sales for Uptown Pharmaceutical. It required tremendous dedication and studying to be successful. “To get into the pharmaceutical industry and do fairly well was quite a personal accomplishment. There were a lot of days and late nights spent at the medical library trying to get a grasp on various disease states. It was enjoyable and rewarding and gave me a good foundation for where I’m sitting today,” Young says.
Officers and Chief Financial Officers of the largest hospital systems in the region. It was then that Rod set on his path to lead a healthcare company. “Based on those experiences, I said, ‘I’m interested in becoming a CEO to lead an organization.’ While working through a local executive search firm, I was successfully placed with LecTec Corporation in my first CEO leadership role – a small, publicly- traded med-tech company,” Young describes. Next, he led another medical technology, Angeion Corporation, before assuming the helm of Delta Dental of Minnesota. Rod believes his best preparation for becoming a CEO goes back to his family, specifically his parents’ guidance. “You work hard and treat people the way you prefer to be treated. When you show respect; you typically receive respect. My father particularly demonstrated that you do whatever it takes to get the job done – these core values have served me well throughout my career,” Young summarizes. LEADING DELTA DENTAL As a self-professed Star Trek nut, Rod likes to consider himself the Captain or Starship Commander of Delta Dental of Minnesota. His priority is to take care of the business, continue to grow it, and serve all of its constituents, including members, subscribers, dentist partners, brokers, and team members. Effectively balancing these priorities day-to-day is key to running the business well. “The most important factor in managing
priorities is having a great team. I’m fortunate that our executive leadership team is pretty, pretty cool. They’re talented, smart, bright, ambitious, dedicated, and fun!” Young emphasizes. It’s clear from watching the executive team interact and listening to Rod describe the organization’s inner workings that they are a close-knit team and genuinely enjoy working together. Leaning into teamwork allowed Delta Dental of Minnesota to weather the COVID-19 pandemic well. The team rallied together in March of 2020 to adapt to remote work while continuing to deliver quality care and support for all of the organization’s constituents. At the end of September 2019, Delta Dental of Minnesota opened a technology call center in Bemidji and hired new team members to run the operation. Just a few short months later, Rod made the decision that the entire organization would work remote. “It was a herculean effort by the Information Technology (IT) team. They converted our new technology call center, and everyone began working remotely from home immediately. [We] went from centralized management at our call center and Minneapolis headquarters and [became] very efficient in managing operations remotely. They really showed their strength – and continue to!” Young remarks. At the Delta Dental of Minnesota headquarters in downtown Minneapolis, they recently completed a massive renovation effort. “We created collaborative
Initially selling to physician and dental offices, he soon graduated to large hospital sales, with the ability to call on the operating room and multiple departments in the hospital. “I quickly learned that, although hospitals are where they treat people who are ill, they are a business amongst themselves,” Young shares. “Everything from Post-It notes to Scotch Tape – you can tell I used to work for 3M – to floor and window cleaners. All things that a business needs are also sold to hospitals. Those experiences provided me a much broader understanding of the healthcare industry,” Young recalls. From physician office pharmaceutical and hospital sales, Rod progressed on to marketing and corporate business development. He assumed an account executive role with Baxter International, a large healthcare manufacturer and medical products corporation headquartered in Chicago, with the responsibility of providing hospital distribution management solutions to Chief Executive
Rod Young Get to know
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY I have a wife, Carla, and two daughters, Lauren and Taylor. Both daughters are married, and I have one granddaughter named Willow. BEST WAY TO SPEND FREE TIME Playing basketball, going to restaurants, watching documen- taries, and visiting museums. COOL TRAVELS The first two companies I led happened to have manufacturing in Italy, so I spent a lot of time there. Lake Maggiore in Northern Italy is beautiful. FAVORITE RESTAURANT I love J.D. Hoyt’s in downtown Minneapolis. The food, the service, and the ownership are awesome.
MUST WATCH MOVIE I’m a big fan of Russell Crowe’s Gladiator .
Rod Young catches up with Dr. Reena Gajjar and Sarah Leeth.
12 | Culture-Driven Leadership
Culture-Driven Leadership | 13
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