Leadership

Strategic Leadership in Behavioral Health Payor Alignment

GrowthMD is led by experienced behavioral health and payor strategy executives who operate at the intersection of clinical integrity, reimbursement design, and enterprise growth.

Our leadership team works directly with executive stakeholders to ensure payor strategy supports long-term organizational value, operational performance, and market expansion.

Leadership Team

Maks Danilin

Founder & Managing Director

Maks Danilin is the founder of GrowthMD and a behavioral health growth executive specializing in payor strategy, reimbursement optimization, and scalable revenue architecture. He has led commercial and payer strategy initiatives within national behavioral health organizations, overseeing network expansion, contract positioning, and multi-market growth.

Throughout his career, Maks has worked closely with executive leadership teams and private equity stakeholders to design and launch innovative service models aligned with long-term business objectives. His experience bridges sales strategy, payer engagement, and enterprise revenue design — ensuring that organizations are positioned competitively within complex payor environments.

At GrowthMD, Maks partners directly with CEOs and executive teams to align payor economics with strategic growth initiatives, helping organizations strengthen market position while maintaining operational discipline.

Ryan Soave

Principal, Clinical Strategy

Ryan Soave is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor with more than a decade of experience across the behavioral health continuum of care. He has served as a clinical and executive leader within a national behavioral health organization, helping design and scale treatment programs while aligning clinical integrity with operational performance.

Ryan operates as a strategic extension of the C-suite, translating complex clinical delivery models into language that health plans, medical directors, and actuarial teams can clearly evaluate. His expertise bridges the gap between patient-centered care and reimbursement strategy, ensuring payer partnerships reflect both clinical outcomes and financial sustainability.

His thought leadership has contributed to nationally recognized discussions on mental health treatment innovation and performance.

Rick Ashcroft

Principal, Payer Partnerships

Rick Ashcroft brings extensive national experience working directly with health plans to design and implement innovative behavioral health reimbursement models. He was part of the leadership team responsible for launching a first-of-its-kind behavioral health delivery framework nationally, where he directed payer strategy and structured complex contracting initiatives.

Rick has developed value-based reimbursement frameworks, outcome-sharing agreements, and cross-departmental payer collaborations that supported new program launches, expanded patient access, and strategic growth initiatives. His work spans direct engagement with senior contracting leaders, medical directors, and network executives across major commercial and managed care organizations.

At GrowthMD, Rick leverages his longstanding payer relationships to help behavioral health operators position their models effectively, strengthen alignment with health plans, and unlock strategic partnership opportunities.

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