Koert Takkunen, MBA

Koert Takkunen, MBA, is a results-driven, high-accountability sales and operations executive with over 30 years of experience across every layer of the dental and healthcare industries — beginning as an entry-level distribution sales representative at Patterson Dental Company. He drives performance — KPIs, P&L and balance sheet strength, and enterprise value — by building strong leadership teams who serve and support their people. That people-forward philosophy drives the results: invest in people, and they invest in patients — producing financial performance that exceeds expectations year over year while building a culture that attracts and retains top talent and creates the bench needed for expansion through internal promotion. That trajectory carried him to executive leadership at two of the industry's most recognized platforms — helping guide Clear Choice Dental Implant Centers to a successful acquisition by The Aspen Group, and completing a successful personal equity transaction as a partner at Pacific Dental Services.

As Founder & Principal of Invicta Dental & Healthcare Consulting, Koert partners with DSOs, healthcare organizations, private equity sponsors, and practice owners to build the cultural and operational foundation that drives financial performance. His work is organized around his 4-Pillar Framework — Purpose, People, Process, and Performance — translating vision and values into the operating discipline that drives financial results and enterprise value, delivered through the same people-forward philosophy that anchors his leadership. His client roster includes prominent national and regional healthcare and dental organizations, and his services span individualized executive coaching as well as team development, coaching, and training for a focused group of critical leaders within an organization — work that extends beyond dental and healthcare. A multi-session leadership program for Wetzel's Pretzels' national franchise development team, credited with directly advancing individual leadership skills and goals, underscored a core belief: the leadership qualities that drive results, and how to develop them, transcend industry.

As Fractional Chief Strategy Officer for KIME Sports Performance Physical Therapy, a regional multi-location rehabilitation and athletic performance platform, Koert facilitated a shared vision and strategic growth strategy that increased annual revenue by $3.6 million (26.5% CAGR), lifted profitability 68%, patient visits 66%, and revenue per patient 11%, and delivered executive coaching to the CEO, CFO, and emerging leaders that drove multiple promotions to senior leadership. KIME is now on a two-year path to surpass $10 million in annual revenue, driven by same-store growth and De Novo expansion across California and into new states.

In a deliberate, mission-driven pause from consulting — a conscious financial sacrifice — Koert partnered with the founder and CEO of The Academy at District Church to co-author and architect LaunchPad, the high school's leadership studio for upper-classmen. Grounded in the Academy's 10 Mindsets — including personal ownership, critical thinking, resilience, and work ethic — LaunchPad immersed students in real-world projects and experiences to apply their leadership toward specific outcomes, each required to meet rigorous criteria to earn "launch," the program's term for graduation. Koert guided a cohort of nine students in conceiving, building, and pitching CALA, an AI-bot customer-experience business for small and medium-sized trades businesses, securing full-ride scholarship offers worth over $1 million to Austin Christian University for all nine — creating an immediate launch pathway for the six graduating seniors.

Prior to these ventures, Koert served as President of the West Division at Clear Choice Dental Implant Centers, leading a $320M+ division across a 78-center, 30-state platform. Each center served a broad regional patient base — driven by a national television campaign with a direct call to action — and was staffed by integrated teams of prosthodontists, oral surgeons, and on-site labs connected through a digital workflow, delivering unmatched quality and experience for patients and team members alike. Koert delivered record revenue ($277M to $320M) and EBITDA ($37M to $63M) growth, led the division through COVID-19 to a 92% revenue recovery (vs. a 50% industry average), and built a talent-development and succession-planning process for both business and clinical leaders — culminating in a successful acquisition by The Aspen Group (TAG).

Earlier, as one of Pacific Dental Services' original seven Regional Partners, Koert served as President & Regional Partner for the Pacific Northwest — an equity ownership role in a partnership model new to the organization at the time. Over eight years, he grew the region from 16 to 77 offices (including 10 stand-alone pediatric and orthodontic centers), revenue from $19M to $150M, and EBITDA from $6M to $24M — leading doctor-owner candidate selection and a sequential leadership development program that advanced multiple doctor-owners into equity partners and regional leaders. He ultimately completed a successful personal equity transaction, consistent with his partnership agreement, on the strength of the enterprise value he built.

Koert's foundation in sales began as a Territory Sales Representative at Patterson Dental Company and continued at Bristol-Myers Squibb. In between, he pursued his MBA at UC Irvine's Paul Merage School of Business while working as a Strategic Sourcing Manager at Conexant Systems, a semiconductor company at the forefront of early Bluetooth technology, where he managed capital equipment and consumables procurement for customers including Nokia, Motorola, and Samsung. He then joined Nobel Biocare as an implant sales representative and advanced quickly through Territory Sales Manager, Regional Sales Manager, and US Central Area Sales Manager, coaching multiple direct reports into national top-10 rankings along the way. He earned the President's Award for #1 sales representative nationwide, then as Regional Sales Manager engineered his region's turnaround from worst-performing to runner-up within two years and #1 Region of the Year in his final year. He was also selected by Nobel Biocare's North America President to represent the organization in a 12-month Bain Consulting customer-segmentation initiative in New York City that helped accelerate company-wide growth.

Koert holds an MBA in Marketing & Finance from the Paul Merage School of Business at the University of California, Irvine, a BS in Business & Economics from the University of Wisconsin, Madison, and a Graduate Certificate from the Center for Higher Ambition Leadership.

Koert's career has been marked by consistent recognition at every stage — including the President's Award and Region of the Year honors at Nobel Biocare, President's Circle and a Region of the Year runner-up distinction at Pacific Dental Services, the CEO's First Award and Conexant Award for Performance at Conexant Systems, a top-5% national sales ranking at Bristol-Myers Squibb, and Rookie of the Year honors at Patterson Dental Company.

Beyond his executive roles, Koert served as Board Director for Carecru (an AI-driven SaaS platform for dental patient engagement), Dentistry for Children, and Folsom's Hope — nonprofits providing dental care to underserved children and mentoring at-risk youth. He also enjoys coaching youth sports, with an emphasis on football, and in 2019 founded Athletes in Devotion, a faith-based youth group that grew from a handful of student athletes to sixteen, meeting weekly to explore what it means to lead effectively both on and off the field; many of those young men still lean on Koert for mentorship and encouragement today.

Outside of work, Koert's greatest joy is time with his family — his wife, Renee, their three children, daughter-in-law, and the family dog. An avid boater, water-sports enthusiast, and winter skier, he's also a loyal Wisconsin Badgers fan supporting his alma mater, along with the Minnesota Vikings, Chicago Blackhawks, and Minnesota Twins. His faith is central to how he leads and lives. Whether on the water, on the mountain, on the sideline, or around the family dinner table, Koert brings the same energy and care to his personal life that he brings to his career.