Kristi Crum to take the helm as CEO at Rock Dental Brands
by June 2, 2021 3:21 pm 1,808 views
Little Rock-based Rock Dental Brands announced Wednesday (June 2) that Kristi Crum will succeed Merritt Dake as chief executive officer on July 1, 2021. Dake will remain on the board and will continue to serve as a strategic advisor.
Crum was recruited by Dake to Rock Dental in 2019 as chief operating officer. Prior to Rock Dental Brands, Crum spent 17 years at Verizon Wireless in a variety of leadership roles including operations, marketing, region president, director of retail stores and VP of corporate strategy. She is an Arkansas native and graduate of Hendrix College.
“Kristi shares the Dake passion for the Rock Dental mission and has the energy and proven business acumen to sustain – and even accelerate – our growth rate,” said Dr. Mark Dake, chief clinical officer at Rock Dental Brands. “We’re excited to have Kristi lead our all-star team and know that under her leadership Rock Dental Brands will continue to expand for years to come.”
Dake founded Rock Dental with his father, Dr. Mark Dake, and Dr. Bryan Hiller, and over the last decade has fueled exponential growth, expanding to more than 600 team members and 84 clinics.
Dake is stepping back to pursue a personal calling in the behavioral health industry.
“I’m excited to step into this new role at Rock Dental,” said Crum. “Since joining the company in 2019, I’ve worked alongside Merritt to expand our clinics, while staying true to our mission of setting the highest standard of care for our patients. I’m eager to continue our expansion efforts in order to bring quality dental health access to more Americans.”
Rock Dental Brands is a group of doctors, founded by specialists, who provide multidisciplinary care in Pediatric Dentistry, Orthodontics, General Dentistry, and Oral Surgery, with a focus on setting high standards of care throughout a patient’s lifetime.
Some of the brands include Leap Kids Pediatric Dentistry, Westrock Orthodontics, Rock Family Dental, Impact Oral Surgery and a host of other independent brands.