Our Team
John Adams
Sharmayne Bierschenk
Kathleen Black
Chaitali Brahmbhatt
Shelly Casler
Vi Chee
Amy Chun
Linda Clower
Cassandra Cosgrove
Marquise Daniel
Dung Doan
Gregory Duchon
Lissett Garcia
Xavier Gardner
Daniel Gates
Eric Giesecke
Judge Holden
Bill Jackson, DDS
Christina Johnson
Nick Johnson
Rahul Khot
Sharmila Khot
Chae Kim
Tracy Larsen
Dat Le
Kathleen Lee
Richard Lee
Johnny Luong
Bridget McClelland
Fabby Medina
Management
Kathleen BlackVice President, Finance
Prior to Planet DDS, Kathleen served as controller for both DentalXChange and Dental Connect. She has held key consulting and management-level finance and accounting positions with some of the industry’s leading dental service organizations and large practices. Kathleen was a Senior Consulting at Ernst & Young, where she advised leading banks and Fortune 500 companies. She holds CCM and CMA credentials, and received an MBA from the University of Iowa.
Eric GieseckeChief Executive Officer
Eric is responsible for operations, technology, finance, customer success, and strategy at Planet DDS. Prior to joining the company, he co-founded District Line Partners, a private investment fund created to acquire and operate a single attractive business in a growing industry. He also ran Onesource Water, a bottleless water cooler firm where he nearly doubled the size of the company in less than three years. Eric has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.S. in mechanical engineering from the University of Virginia.
Bill Jackson, DDSSenior Adviser
Bill helps set the company’s strategic direction and fosters business development initiatives. He is also deeply involved in the company’s virtual business service offerings and revenue cycle management. Prior to joining Planet DDS, he served as the Senior VP of Business at Dental Connect. Bill led Prudential Health Care’s Dental Division, overseeing a national company of 600 employees and $800 million in revenue, and served as General Manager of WellPoint Health Networks during its growth from a $60 million company (Blue Cross of California) to $500 million. A former practicing dentist, Bill was also the co-founder of Hygeia, a dental HMO.
Chae KimVice President, Technology
Chae co-founded Computer Age Dentist, a nationally recognized practice management software company that subsequently merged with Medical Dynamics, a publicly traded company. At Medical Dynamics, he led the software division, with over 130 employees in 15 states, and was instrumental in selling Medical Dynamics to Practice Works, a leading dental practice management practice company. Computer Age Dentist is still in use at over 2,000 dental practices.
Richard LeeFounder and Advisor
Richard founded Planet DDS and is a key member of the management team. He is the glue that
holds the company together, focusing on promoting Planet DDS’ core ideology, product
development and customer success. Richard is a serial entrepreneur with 30 years of
experience, 24 of them in the dental technology arena. Prior to Planet DDS, he was the CEO of
Dental Connect, a connectivity company that launched the industry’s first internet-based,
HIPAA-compliant real-time insurance claims processing and eligibility verification system. He
also co-founded DentalXChange, a leading e-commerce internet portal.
Blake RicePresident
Blake is responsible for sales, marketing, business development, and strategy at Planet DDS. Before he joined Planet DDS, Blake co-founded District Line Partners, a private investment fund created to acquire and operate a single attractive business in a growing industry. He also served as an infantry officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, with deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and worked for the U.S. State Department in Africa. Blake has an MBA from Harvard Business School and a B.A. from Davidson College.