Inspiration from the top revived DaVita

Inspiration from the top revived DaVita
By Ann Schrader
The Denver Post
Posted: 05/31/2009 12:02:18 AM MDT
Updated: 05/31/2009 12:02:32 AM MDT

People spend a large portion of their lives at work, and Kent Thiry believes those hours should be not only profitable, but stimulating, rewarding and, yes, fun.

That belief has paid off for DaVita Inc., which has 1,400 centers that serve one out of three U.S. kidney-dialysis patients.

DaVita last week said it will relocate its headquarters from El Segundo, Calif., to the Denver area. Thiry and other senior executives said they plan to make the move soon.

Thiry's philosophy that every employee — which DaVita calls a "teammate" — is involved in improving quality of care contributed to a stunning turnaround of a struggling company, said John Donahoe, president and chief executive of eBay Inc.

"He is an exceptional leader. He totally captures and locks into a core set of values," said Donahoe, whom Thiry hired for his first job at Bain & Co. 25 years ago.

DaVita was born in 1999 out of Total Renal Care, a company "broken in every way, nearly in bankruptcy financially and broken in spirit," said Doug Vlchek, a longtime Thiry friend and former colleague.

Known as "Yoda" while he was "chief wisdom officer" at DaVita, Vlchek said DaVita may be the "greatest company. There is no question it has the best culture, it makes money, it saves taxpayers money."

The company ranks 433 on the Fortune 500, with annual revenue of nearly $6 billion. According to Forbes, Thiry received more than $11 million in compensation from DaVita last year.

"Colorado is hugely blessed to have Kent," Vlchek said of the pending move of Thiry and senior executives. "He will become a leader in the state."

Thiry doesn't look the part of a Fortune 500 chief executive. He has the blondish, sun-kissed look of a California beach boy, belying his 53 years.

Focus on serving humanity

And though he looks at home in a suit and tie, Thiry is ready to slip into a "Three Musketeers" outfit at company events to remind DaVita's 32,000 employees of the loyalty to each other expressed in author Alexandre Dumas' mantra: "All for one, one for all."

"I wear it at times," Thiry said last week. "To call it a costume would trivialize it."

Donahoe said the outfit, along with Thiry's performance of handstands and skits at company meetings, "just makes him human. It connects and inspires people to be human with their dialysis clients."

The Musketeer idea was born as Thiry and others years ago were watching "The Man in the Iron Mask," a movie about the Three Musketeers, Vlchek said. "I looked over, and tears were rolling down his face. That's the guy who is passionate about what he is doing, whether it's making a difference at work or watching a movie."

Friends, colleagues and business partners describe Thiry as an intelligent, warm man who is focused on serving humanity through what he calls "citizen leadership."

He contributes to political campaigns, supporting candidates who advance the fight against kidney disease.

Thiry has organized letter-writing campaigns in the health care industry to urge politicians to support issues.

He supports and founded nonprofit and charitable organizations, including the Tour DaVita bike ride; The Kidney Trust, which raises awareness of chronic kidney disease; and two scholarship foundations for "teammate" offspring.

His wife, Denise O'Leary, is board chairwoman of the Corporation for Supportive Housing, a national nonprofit that assists communities in creating permanent housing with services to end homelessness.

Thiry calls DaVita — which employees named and means "giving life" in Italian — a "village," where he is the "mayor" and hallways are labeled with street signs.

Those are more than just words, said Chuck Berg, chief executive of WellCare Health Plans Inc.

"When you visit a DaVita dialysis center, that's where you repay the benefit of this culture," said Berg, who as a DaVita board member supported the relocation of DaVita's headquarters to Colorado.

"Feels like a good fit"

Thiry said he is looking for a Colorado home. Currently, he and his wife live with their two college-aged children, Christina and Matthew, in Woodside, Calif., considered one of the nation's wealthiest communities.

The small town's other high-profile residents include actress Michelle Pfeiffer, folk singer Joan Baez, Apple CEO Steve Jobs and Koko, the lowland gorilla who reportedly can sign 2,000 words.

While leaving that will be hard, Colorado — with its central location, healthy environment, lower costs, biomedical community and incentives — "feels like a good fit," Thiry said.

Ann Schrader: 303-954-1967 or aschrader@denverpost.com

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