Led by experience.
Driven by heart.

With over 25 years of experience in veterinary medicine, including 16 years in clinical practice, Dr. Stewart brings a deep understanding across private practice, corporate, and specialty/ER settings. Over the past decade, he has focused on supporting hospital teams through regional leadership roles in medical, operational, and medical operations functions—building collaborative, high-performing teams and implementing systems that improve satisfaction, retention, and hospital performance.

Passionate about creating a sustainable and rewarding future for veterinary professionals, Dr. Stewart is dedicated to empowering leaders, supporting teams, and ensuring that practices have what they need to deliver exceptional care to pets and their families.

Originally from the Chicago suburbs, Dr. Stewart earned his undergraduate and veterinary degrees from the University of Illinois. He now resides in Raleigh, NC, with his wife and two children. Outside of work, he enjoys music, cooking, the outdoors, and spending time with his family—including their golden retriever, Nessie, and three cats.

Jon has more than twenty years of finance and accounting experience. Prior to joining Heartland Veterinary Partners, Jon was Vice President of Finance at FlexManage (an IT consulting firm). He has also held senior finance roles at two global management consulting firms—A.T. Kearney and Huron Consulting Group. He graduated from the University of Illinois with a degree in accountancy and is a registered CPA in Illinois. In his time outside of work, Jon enjoys spending time with his wife, three children, and their chocolate labradoodle.

Peter has over a decade of experience in operations and leadership roles spanning multiple industries. Prior to joining Heartland Veterinary Partners, Peter spent several years managing international development projects in Latin America and then as a management consultant with PwC implementing strategies to increase efficiency and operational effectiveness. Most recently, Peter was with Innovetive Petcare, focusing on improving business operations at acquired veterinary hospitals. Peter earned his BA from Virginia Tech, economics training at the London School of Economics and a dual MBA from the University of San Diego and the Tec de Monterrey in Monterrey, Mexico.

Michael brings over 15 years of experience in both operations and facilities. Prior to entering the world of veterinary medicine, he was Facilities and Project Manager for approximately 180 financial, commercial, and institutional properties in the Ohio area. After that, he spent 8+ years as a leader at MedVet in Operations. His first three years were spent developing and growing a Facilities team to support their specialty hospital network. Most recently, he was accountable for all operations initiatives for ten specialty hospitals from the Great Lakes to the northeast. Michael currently resides in Chicago with his wife, who is a boarded Veterinary Radiologist, and kids (two humans, two dogs, and a cat). In his spare time, he loves to enjoy the outdoors, hike, and travel anywhere he has never been before.

Angela brings over 20 years of experience leading teams and driving operational excellence within the veterinary industry. She’s held management roles in a multitude of environments including private and corporate practices, and has supported multi-specialty/emergency and general practices of all sizes across the country. Angela’s passion is developing transformational growth strategies that align with a practice’s culture, team purpose, and service to the community. In addition, she is committed to creating and supporting career growth opportunities for professionals within the veterinary industry. Angela earned her BA in Psychology from San Francisco State University and a Master of Science degree in Human Resource Management from Troy University, and she received a Certification in Veterinary Practice Management early in her veterinary career. Angela and her husband live outside Nashville in a home they share with three cats, two parrots, some busy chickens, and a few exotics.

Kelly’s experience in marketing and advertising spans several decades, and includes leadership roles within companies on the brand side and within advertising agencies. While she’s experienced in virtually every aspect of marketing, Kelly’s expertise and passion is in location-based marketing where she has had success developing strategies to drive traffic and revenue to local businesses. Prior to joining Heartland, Kelly was the head of marketing at XSport Fitness and at Apartments.com. She also led advertising and field marketing efforts at Bally Total Fitness. Kelly’s agency background consists of senior account management positions at a variety of shops including Leo Burnett where, as Senior Vice President, she led the Nintendo of America team. Kelly’s most recent position was at TDH Creative where she led an integrated team for Vi Senior Living (formerly Classic Residence by Hyatt), a luxury senior living brand with locations in six states. Kelly received her BA in Journalism/Advertising at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. Her love for animals has led her to volunteer positions within shelter organizations and to having many faithful companion animals over the years.

Keri Horn has over 20 years of experience in management including seven years in multi-site senior housing management and then in regional management of veterinary practices. Her experience in long-term care started in skilled nursing homes and then moved into assisted living for a start-up company where she served as Regional Operations Director for 7 years and oversaw 14 assisted and independent living communities. In 2013, Keri transitioned into animal healthcare by joining VCA as a Regional Operations Director overseeing 23 general practice animal hospitals in Illinois and Milwaukee. She joined Pathway Vet Alliance in 2017 where she was responsible for general practice and specialty/ER hybrid hospitals in the eastern United States. Keri earned her BS in Biology from Bradley University and her MBA from Olivet Nazarene University.

Liz has over 20 years of healthcare leadership experience. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Healthcare Management and an MBA from Bellevue University. Liz began her career as an Executive Director in Assisted Living and Memory Care. After 10 years in that field, she transitioned to hospice care following a personal experience with her mother. Prior to joining Heartland, Liz led multiple hospice branches across several states in the Midwest as Area Vice President of Operations.

She currently resides in Ankeny, Iowa, with her husband, children, and two rescue dogs: Winnie, a large Boxer/Pitbull mix, and Lovie, whose breed is unknown. Liz enjoys spending time outdoors, exploring new places, and traveling to visit her adult children in Nebraska, Michigan, and New York. She is passionate about her work at Heartland and leading teams to provide exceptional care.

Dr. Robinson has over 30 years of veterinary industry experience holding numerous clinical, operational, and senior management roles throughout his career. Prior to joining Heartland Veterinary Partners, Dr. Robinson held a senior management and operations position with National Veterinary Associates, a group veterinary hospital and support organization with over 500 hospital locations and 1000 veterinarians throughout the U.S. Prior to National Veterinary Associates, Dr. Robinson held several management roles with Banfield Pet Hospital, including as a Regional Medical Director for Banfield responsible for multi-hospital leadership and operations for a region with over 180 veterinary hospitals. Prior to these management roles, Dr. Robinson also owned, operated, and successfully sold his own veterinary hospitals. Always a practicing DVM; his special clinical interests are avian medicine, orthopedic and soft tissue surgery. He enjoys lecturing, teaching and sharing his knowledge through journals, media,and mentorship. He is a graduate of the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, has an MSPH degree from the Howard University School of Medicine, and a BS from Southern University. He previously served as vice president of the Louisiana Board of Veterinary Medicine and is presently a class agent for the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Robinson also served as the Chairman of the Practice Advisory Panel of the AVMA that notably issued the AVMA Practice Advisory Panel report on Telemedicine.

Kiearra’s career began in the veterinary industry in 2008 upon graduating from Purdue University’s Veterinary Technician program and has continue to grow since. She has supported veterinarians as a registered technician, through practice management and leadership, & multi-site operational support in private practice as well as in corporate practice environments. Kiearra began working with National Veterinary Associates in 2011 and during her time there she supported general small animal, large animal, and exotic practices in Illinois, Iowa, Missouri, and Kansas. Kiearra is passionate about supporting veterinary teams in growth and development. She is happiest when she is connecting and communicating with teams to support their goals and aid in elevating their personal development. Kiearra resides in west central Illinois with her husband and three daughters. She enjoys spending time with her family on her small hobby farm with their horses, goats, pigs, dogs, and cat.

Connor has spent the last 15 years leading teams through high-growth in the healthcare industry, while staying true to a purpose-driven culture. Connor began his career in the investment banking division of Cleary Gull (“CG”) where they routinely helped founder owned and led businesses into their next chapter of ownership. His exposure to entrepreneurialism during his childhood and while at CG, inspired him to join National Surgical Healthcare (NSH), an owner and operator of musculoskeletal focused short-stay hospitals and surgery centers with over 500 affiliated physicians. While at NSH, Connor managed mergers and acquisitions and eventually led operations across multiple surgical facilities. After NSH sold to Surgery Partners (NASDAQ: SRGY), Connor joined Heartland as COO in 2017, a vet-centric focused platform that had a handful of practices at the time. Heartland has since grown to an expansive network of practices and veterinarians across 27 states. Connor’s oversight as President includes strategic initiatives, field operations, marketing, integrations, procurement and facilities expansion. With experience across both animal and human health, Connor’s focus continues to be partnering with world class doctors in order to provide the best possible client and patient experience.

While Connor lives in Chicago, he is a loyal Michigander and enjoys time “up north” with his wife and young children on the water, beach, or golf course.

Carl has more than 20 years of finance and accounting experience, including nearly ten years in the healthcare services location based business. Carl held senior finance and accounting roles while at Accelerated Rehabilitation, a private equity backed leading outpatient physical therapy company which grew to over 300 locations in eight states prior to selling to Athletico Physical Therapy in 2014. Prior to his work at Athletico and Accelerated Rehabilitation, Carl held a senior finance role at Applied Systems and served as a global accounting executive for the consulting firm A.T. Kearney working across multiple domestic and international offices. He graduated with a BA in Accounting from Northern Illinois University and a Masters of Information Systems from DePaul University.

Angela Deputy is a Human Resources executive with 20+ years of experience across various industries including technology, healthcare, automotive, and retail. She has led talent and organization development efforts for publicly and privately held organizations including Walgreens Boots Alliance, and most recently, Aspen Dental. Angela earned an MBA from LaSalle University in Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Science in Psychology from Ball State University in Indiana, and has a number of certifications in various leadership programs and assessment tools. Angela holds a board position with Aspire, a non-profit organization recognized throughout Illinois and Wisconsin. Outside of work, Angela loves running, cooking and spending time with her husband and two sons.