Tan to step down as Healthengine CEO

Medical platform Healthengine has begun a changing of the guard, with founder Marcus Tan stepping down as chief executive and announcing an outsider to take his place.

Dan Stinton, currently managing director of Guardian Australia, the local division of the global media player, will replace Dr Tan in August.

Perth-based Healthengine is best known as a national platform that allows patients of doctors and other health professionals to make online bookings. It is ranked eighth in Data & Insights on the basis of its 100 staff in Western Australia and revenue of about $23 million in the past financial year.

Dr Tan said the decision to step down had been made in conjunction with the board, chaired by Susan Forrester, and reflected a desire for change after 15 years heading the business.

“This has been nine months in the planning,” he said.

“It is more about taking a break and reflecting on the next thing.”

Dr Tan and his wife, Sylvia, have established a charitable foundation called the Wellspring Foundation, which has a stake in Healthengine as its only asset.

“We are committed to spending more time in the philanthropic space primarily supporting initiatives improving health, education, especially promoting STEM, innovation and entrepreneurship, and economic empowerment,” Dr Tan stated.

He also recently joined the board of the Foundation of the WA Museum, adding to his role at Meridian Global Foundation.

It has certainly been an exciting ride, at times.

Dr Tan said the business had raised about $80 million over five material fundraising efforts, which includes $20 million a little over a year ago. That new backing came from Sydney-based investment group Inspire Impact, adding to major venture capital investors Seven West Media, Larsen Ventures, Telstra Ventures and US-based giant Sequoia.

Revenue has steamed ahead, jumping 25 per cent to $22.8 million in the 12 months ending June 30 from $18.2 million the previous year, aided by a federal government contract to provide COVID vaccination appointment booking platform which had 2 million bookings and generated $3.5 million.

The company has expanded into the pharmacy sector with 1,100 chemists on the Healthengine platform, which handled 2.7 million bookings for that sector during the last financial year.

In late 2021 it acquired another booking system for health practitioners called Healthsite for $4.5 million.

There have also been speed humps.

A planned IPO was shelved as the tech market started to cool in late 2021. A couple of years prior, Healthengine had a regulatory run-in after wrongly disclosing non-clinical customer data to advertisers.

Turning a profit has also proved challenging. The company recorded a loss of almost $6.1 million for the last financial year, down from $6.9 million in the red the previous year. Accumulated losses to the end of the last financial year amount to almost $70 million, according to its latest annual report.

Dr Tan said the business Mr Stinton would take over was a much more mature business than it had been, but still needed to be innovative and entrepreneurial.

Mr Stinton has spent the past five years guiding the Guardian’s Australian digital news organisation from startup to become a major player in the local media landscape.

His past experience includes roles in software-as-a-service, online marketplace businesses and consumer brands. He was previously Seven West Media head of digital and Yahoo7 director corporate development.

Prior to that, Mr Stinton co-founded and ran online marketplace eBev.

Dr Tan will serve as interim medical director from August. Healthengine chief financial officer Dan Rohr will step in as interim CEO until Mr Stinton takes the permanent position in August.