Leadership

Dunston Almeida is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of triValence. Dunston has over 25 years of experience with a track record at best-in-class healthcare companies, including Zelis ($5.7 billion recap), eviCore ($3.6 billion sale), and Medco (Evernorth/Cigna). He was a member of the executive team at Zelis, a leading provider of healthcare payments for health plans and consumers. Previously, he was that part of the core team at eviCore which grew from a few hundred million to $3+ billion in revenues in under 4 years. He also headed up Medco’s Emerging Markets strategies, including Brazil, India, and China. 

He sits on the Board at PurpleLabs, a leading no-code healthtech analytics company for Real-World Evidence solutions. He graduated from Cornell University with a degree in Electrical Engineering.

Steve Smerz serves as Chief Technology Officer at triValence. Steve is a 38 Year IT veteran. He has worked in numerous industries including banking, manufacturing, software and transportation. He transitioned to Healthcare Technology and has successfully led 5 companies from startup to significant financial events. These companies include Stratyc (lab supply-chain), Definity Health (consumer-driven health plan sold to United Health), Ability Network (secure data transport for Medicare/Medicaid sold to Inovalon), Icario (member engagement platform for Payers), and Halo Health (Clinical Communication Platform sold to Symplr).

Steve attended the University of Minnesota in Aerospace Engineering and Computer Science.

Alex Pirrotta serves as the SVP of Finance at triValence. Alex has more than 15 years of experience as a seasoned finance leader with a background in driving success within high-growth technology companies.

Most recently, Alex served as SVP of Finance for myOrthos, an Orthodontic Services Organization where he helped execute nearly 40 acquisitions in less than 3 years. Before joining myOrthos, Alex was Controller at Toast, an all-in-one point of sale and financial services provider for the restaurant industry. At Toast, he constructed and led the accounting team during its hyper-growth when Toast was recognized as the 3^rd fastest growing software company in North America by Deloitte. Before Toast, Alex was responsible for building the accounting and finance function for iZotope, a software and technology developer for the music industry. 

Alex is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts and holds an MBA from Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business. He actively contributes to the finance community by serving on the advisory board of the Controller Collective, a community of industry professionals leading the charge in elevating the finance function. 

Tonia Kraus serves as VP, Head of Strategic Supplier Engagement at triValence. Tonia has over 30 years in non-acute healthcare leadership with over 20 years as an executive in group purchasing organizations. Prior to triValence, she served as a Vice President of AdvantageTrust, the non-acute division of HealthTrust/HCA.  She had operational responsibility for strategic planning and development for the ambulatory surgery center program and direction of the Non-Acute Care sales unit. She served as the Vice President of Industry and Customer Relations for Provista a wholly owned subsidiary of Vizient, after the MedAssets acquisition.  Prior to the MedAssets sale, she was the Senior Vice President, Alternate Care Group (ACG) at MedAssets and worked for MedAssets for 15 years, developing their non-acute division from acquisition.  ACG represented over 26% of the bottom-line revenue to MedAssets, supporting over 170,000 members.  MedAssets acquired RPI and retained Tonia to build their alternate care business, managing the full P&L. Tonia was a partner in Radiology Partners, Inc, a radiology-specific GPO that serviced the diagnostic imaging and alternate care markets. Representing over 50% of the Independent Diagnostic Testing Facility (IDTF) market.  Selling to MedAssets in 2002.

Tonia is a University of South Florida graduate and lives in Nashville, TN. She is a Contributor, Board Member, and Volunteer for various Service organizations.

Katie St. Onge serves as the Head of Product at triValence. Katie has nearly 20 years of experience in healthcare; she started her career in healthcare supply chain at a large IDN, which evolved to a consulting role where she had the opportunity to collaborate and create with some of healthcare’s most innovative supply chain leaders and health system executives. Most recently before joining triValence, Katie served as an account executive at a predominant GPO and technology firm.

Katie earned her bachelor’s degree in Biology and master’s in business administration and Health Management Systems at Duquesne University.

Paul serves as the VP of Sales at triValence. Paul has over 20 years of experience in sales; with a track record of producing rapid and high-growth revenue results for Amkai Solutions & Surgical Information Systems, SourceMedical, AstraZeneca Pharmaceuticals, & Enterprise Rent-A-Car. Paul currently oversees all strategic sales and growth initiatives for triValence.

Paul earned his bachelor’s degree in Corporate and Organizational Communications from Northern Illinois University, and is pursuing an MBA from St. Xavier University Graham School of Management.

John Mwangi is an Advisor for triValence, providing strategic guidance to the Fintech Product Development team. He has over 11 years of experience in product development, product management, and strategy. John’s career includes multiple roles spanning product management and strategy at Mastercard. He’s held various roles in global organizations, including PayPal, Deloitte, and Action Against Hunger.

John holds a master’s degree in Business Administration from University of Virginia Darden School of Business and a bachelor’s degree in Information Technology from Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology, Kenya.