Geoff Gross

Founder & Chief Executive Officer

Geoff Gross is the founder and CEO of Medical Guardian, a leading provider of personal emergency response and connected care solutions. Founded in 2005, Medical Guardian protects 600,000+ active subscribers nationwide. Geoff’s passion for the connected care, healthcare tech, and IoT industries is the basis for the mission of Medical Guardian — to empower customers to live a life without limits. With 16 years of experience in the personal emergency response systems industry, Geoff has positioned Medical Guardian to empower its customers through innovative products that offer protection at home and everywhere they go.

Medical Guardian was named one of the “Best Places to Work” by Philadelphia Business Journal in 2015 and 2018, included in “Philly 100” fastest growing companies, and listed in Inc. 5000’s list of fastest growing American companies for the seventh consecutive year in 2019.

Geoff was named Ernst & Young’s 2019 Entrepreneur of the Year and a Glassdoor Top CEO in 2018, ranking #38 in the U.S. small-and-medium-sized business category. In 2016, Geoff was named to the “Most Admired CEO’s” list by the Philadelphia Business Journal. He has also been named a “40 under 40” by the Philadelphia Business Journal and Direct Marketing News, and Smart CEO Magazine’s “Future 50”. Geoff sits on the Board of Directors for the Medical Alert Monitoring Association, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society of the Delaware Valley, the Please Touch Museum, and as a Co-Chair of Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia largest fundraiser event, “Cheers for CHOP.” He’s also a member of the Young President’s Organization (YPO).

Sashidhar Kokku

Executive Vice President of Product

Sashidhar Kokku serves as the Executive Vice President of Product at Medical Guardian, bringing over two decades of experience in spearheading transformative initiatives within the healthcare industry. With a robust engineering foundation and a Master of Science from the Syracuse University College of Engineering and Computer Science, Mr. Kokku discovered his passion for Product Management in healthcare, where he has successfully designed, developed, and implemented programs for members, payers, and providers.

Sashidhar’s expertise encompasses the entire product lifecycle, from conceptualization to market deployment. His impressive track record includes the successful launch of more than six enterprise-class products and driving digital transformations in both startups and Fortune 6 companies. Prior to joining Medical Guardian, he led large-scale transformation and integration programs at industry leaders such as Aetna/CVS, Walgreens, and Change Healthcare, impacting millions of lives. Notable achievements include overseeing Aetna’s member experience for their entire book of business, developing Walgreens Health experiences, and creating a health outcomes-focused marketplace.

In his current role at Medical Guardian, Sashidhar leads the product department, focusing on delivering compelling engagement experiences for members, caregivers, and team members. His leadership style is characterized by a purpose-driven approach, a strong bias for execution, and a passion for quality and innovation. Sashidhar fosters an empowering and collaborative work environment that values diverse perspectives and continuous improvement.

Sashidhar’s dedication to empowering patients and enhancing healthcare delivery aligns seamlessly with Medical Guardian’s mission of transforming healthcare experiences for improved outcomes. His strategic vision and extensive industry experience position him as a key asset in driving the company’s product innovation and growth strategies.

Alex Prough

Chief Commercial Officer

Alex brings more than 12 years of healthcare and health technology experience to Medical Guardian. He has built successful programs with hundreds of payer, provider, and senior living organizations. Alex most recently served as Vice President of Business Development at Truepill, Inc. Prior to that, Alex led the payer channel at Best Buy Health, which included its Medicare Advantage and Medicaid businesses, partnering with many of the country’s largest health plans. Before that, Alex was an executive leader responsible for all growth activities at Critical Signal Technologies (CST), a remote monitoring company acquired by Best Buy. Alex is passionate about the senior health market and leading a team with a shared mission of empowering all patients and members to live a life without limits.

Sean Forrest

Chief Financial Officer

Sean Forrest serves as Chief Financial Officer at Medical Guardian, bringing decades of leadership experience and expertise in strategic, financial, and operational management. He has served as CEO and CFO of several private equity-backed service companies in the security alarm industry, focusing on recurring revenue growth through organic growth and acquisitions, with an emphasis on operational excellence and customer experience as primary drivers.

Most recently, Sean served as CEO of Alarm Connections, a nationwide security company headquartered in Philadelphia. His executive experience followed a 20-year career in banking, where he founded and grew two large specialty lending groups focused on recurring revenue businesses, first at LaSalle Bank (now Bank of America) and later at The Private Bank (now CIBC).

Sean is a strategic and team-oriented leader known for his transparency, a commitment that builds trust, solid relationships, and strong results. He received his B.S. in Finance from the University of Illinois and holds a master’s in business administration from the Kellogg School of Management. His extensive financial leadership experience adds to a talented leadership team at Medical Guardian pursuing exciting growth opportunities.

Robert Smedley

Chief Sales Officer

Robert joins Medical Guardian with over 11 years of experience in call center management. Beginning a career in sales in 1999, Robert excelled through multiple levels of sales management leading to positions as either Vice President or Senior Vice President of Sales. He also expanded his career skills and professional education by becoming an RCCSP Certified Call Center Manager, completing Ken Blanchard Situational Leadership II Training and the Wharton School of Business Executive Development Program.

One of Robert’s most notable experiences was a tremendous 8-year run while working as Vice President of Sales and Counseling for Nutrisystem, Inc. Charged with driving performance for a 400-person call center, Robert was responsible for sales growth of $38 million annually to over $775 million annually.

Robert strongly believes in coaching and developing talent with a strong emphasis on creating a sales culture that continues to strive for excellence. Robert’s passion lies in inside sales operations with both an entrepreneurial spirit and a strategic plan focused on expansion through driving sales performance.

Matthew Guerrieri

Chief Marketing Officer

Matt Guerrieri is the Chief Marketing Officer at Medical Guardian and a Philadelphia Business Journal 40 Under 40 nominee. Matt graduated from Ohio State University in 2009 with a Bachelors’ Degree in Social Communications and Marketing. In 2010 Matthew joined Digitas Health, an interactive marketing agency catering exclusively to pharmaceutical companies. In 2011, the agency integrated into the Publicis Healthcare Communications Group (PHCG), the world’s largest healthcare communications network, where Matt was promoted to the role of Media Planner for AstraZeneca.

In 2013, Matthew was hired as the Digital Marketing Manager at Medical Guardian at age 26 and was promoted after a year and a half to Director of Marketing, earning his spot on the company’s Executive Team before the age of 30. He’s helped the Medical Guardian secure partnerships with retail giants like Costco, CVS, Walmart, and QVC, as well as upwards of $105 million in capital investment from Apollo Global Management.

Jennifer Sali

Vice President of Customer Care

Jennifer joins Medical Guardian as Vice President, Customer Care. She brings with her an extensive professional background in insurance operations, with over 20 years in the industry leading high performing service teams. Most recently, she spent 14 years with Transamerica, holding a number of key leadership roles in the areas of call center, workforce management and claims. During her tenure, she championed several initiatives netting measurable improvements in service quality, customer retention and departmental efficiency.

Jennifer strongly believes in collaboration and the power of “team” in delivering consistency and excellence in results. She possesses a deep passion for providing products and services that offer protection and security to families. As an integral part of the leadership team, Jennifer will focus on optimizing call center performance to deliver a best in class customer experience to our customers.

Karina Brodsky

Vice President of Information Technology

As Vice President of Information Technology, Karina Brodsky oversees core business processes and technology development with a primary focus on monetizing the Medical Guardian IoT platform.

Karina’s 20+ years experience includes 8 years at Subaru of America and 12 years at the Hibbert Group, as a leader of the IT Development and Ops Team. Specializing in project management life cycles and Agile methodologies, Karina also has extensive experience with implementing large-scale B2C and DTC web application initiatives.

Howard Teicher

Vice President of Healthcare & Business Development

Howard has joined Medical Guardian with over 20 years of experience in the Medical Alert and Life Safety industries. As the Director of New Business Development, he continues to expand Medical Guardian’s footprint with national partnerships and strategic alliances, as well as its dealer and affiliate business.

He also plays a key role in helping Medical Guardians growth by expanding its healthcare program for Hospitals, long term care, and senior housing communities.

Prior to joining Medical Guardian, Howard has been a consultant in the Healthcare, Security and PERS industries for such things as product manufacturing, marketing strategies, and sales growth implementations. He also served as Vice President of Business Development at Connect America.

Howard has been recognized and received awards by such companies as Honeywell, General Electric, and First Alert for his business growth and partnership strategy programs.

His genuine love for helping others and carrying out our mission is reflective in his personality and resonates clearly to his new business partners.

Eliza Salerno

Chief Operations Officer

Eliza joins Medical Guardian with 10 years of experience in the Healthcare sector as a Program Director and Project Manager for Healthcare facilities. Eliza has had several key leadership roles at Medical Guardian, including a Director of PMO position where she led several teams in project management, quality assurance and business operations. During this time, she was responsible for execution of technical initiatives, driving significant company growth, and establishing several operational teams needed to support that expansion.

In her current role, Eliza oversees cross functional teams including supply chain and logistics, training, fulfillment, healthcare operations and product management. Eliza’s passion for quality and innovation fosters her diligence in the development of Medical Guardians’ expanding product suite. She strongly believes collaboration is the backbone of success and loves working with the teams at Medical Guardian to drive operational efficiencies and creative design of products.

Eliza graduated summa cum laude from Rutgers University. She is a PMI certified Agile Practitioner and an active member of the Project Management Institute.

Jennifer Fernandez

Vice President of Human Resources

Bringing over 15 years of Human Resources expertise to Medical Guardian, Jennifer stands as a proven leader specializing in cultivating and enhancing Human Resources functions within fast-growing organizations. Her proficiency in fostering an empowered culture, driving organizational design, and nurturing employee growth aligns seamlessly with our mission, values, and aspirations.

Jennifer’s extensive experience spans various industries, including Life Sciences, Data Analytics, SaaS, Professional Services, and IT Consulting. Her strategic brilliance has been instrumental in propelling numerous organizations towards success, catalyzing rapid growth that led to an impressive scale of over 600 employees across multiple global locations. Her data-centric approach empowers informed decision-making, delivering tangible value to organizations.

A virtuoso in building high-performance teams, Jennifer excels in talent acquisition and development, perpetuating a culture of continual learning. Her expertise extends to recruitment, retention, and employee growth, exemplified through the creation of pivotal HR programs, adept management of M&A transitions, and the formulation of impactful data-driven solutions.

She plays a crucial role in leading and shaping our HR programs and initiatives and implementing best practices, driven by her commitment to employee development and fostering an environment of continuous learning that aligns within MG23 and our aspiration goals for the years ahead.

Derek Gerberich

Vice President of Marketing & Consumer Revenue

Derek Gerberich is the Vice President of Marketing at Medical Guardian, overseeing performance marketing, marketing technology, and marketing analytics for the team.

Derek arrived at Medical Guardian with nearly a decade of experience in digital performance media consulting. Some of his notable work included leading digital media efforts for Five9 which culminated in a $15B purchase offer from Zoom.

In addition, Derek has overseen growth efforts for several challenger brands which subsequently secured multiple rounds of investor funding, in addition to three different acquisitions exceeding $1B.

Derek graduated from Penn State University with his Master’s Degree in Statistics.

Bryan Johnson

Vice President of Information Technology (CISO)

Bryan joined Medical Guardian with more than 25 years’ experience in Information Technology (IT), with an emphasis in cyber security. He works alongside leaders and IT teams to effectively monitor and maintain the security of our applications, databases, computers, and websites. He oversees information security, data warehousing, and supports Financial/ERP applications.

Bryan holds a master’s degree in management, is a Certified ScrumMaster (CSM®), Certified Information Security Manager (CISM®), and holds other security and technical certifications.

In his previous role with The American College of Financial Services, Bryan was responsible for implementing and maintaining application platforms, program/project management, data integration, web development, and B2B technology support services. Notable accomplishments include the implementation of a new Financial ERP platform, transition to a new Customer Relationship Management platform, and several data and system integrations with B2B clients.