DaVita was dying.
Kent Thiry knew it from the instant he took over as chairman and CEO of the company in 1999. DaVita Inc.’s previous regime had made too many acquisitions and spread the company’s resources too thin. Operational costs had spiraled out of control. Top managers had left their posts, abandoning the sinking corporate ship. Many of the managers who hadn’t left
voluntarily had been fired.
“We had 25 senior managers when I came on,” Thiry says. “A few years later, about five were left.”
Cash was dwindling. Within two months, the company would be in danger of missing payroll for some 12,000 employees.
In short, Thiry inherited a disaster in the making. But he wasn’t about to play the role of the doomed captain and go down with the ship.
When just about everybody else was fleeing, Thiry saw an opportunity to not only save the dialysis services company but propel it to new heights.
For Thiry, it wasn’t just about straightening out DaVita’s numbers. It was about crafting a whole new outlook for everyone in the company.