Ivy Rehab Network Inc., a leading provider of management support services to a network of physical therapy centers in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States, and a portfolio company of Waud Capital Partners, has announced the appointment of Michael Rucker as Chief Executive Officer.

Mr. Rucker brings over 20 years of outpatient ambulatory healthcare management experience to Ivy, including senior leadership positions at Surgical Care Affiliates, DaVita Inc. (NYSE: DVA) and Gambro Healthcare. Most recently, Mr. Rucker served as Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer of Surgical Care Affiliates, overseeing more than $2 billion in revenue across over 200 sites of service leading up to its sale to Optum, a business unit of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). Mr. Rucker holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Miami University and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School of Business. Mr. Rucker joined Ivy’s Board of Directors following WCP’s 2016 investment.

Mr. Rucker succeeds Michael Neuscheler, who commented, “Since founding Ivy 14 years ago, the Company has grown to support 55 locations providing industry-leading care to its patients. During this time, it has been a true pleasure to not only serve Ivy’s clinical team and its executive leaders but also, more recently, to partner with Waud Capital. These are exciting times for Ivy, and I have the utmost confidence and trust that Michael Rucker will lead Ivy successfully through its next stage of growth.”

Mr. Rucker commented, “After working closely with Ivy and WCP over the last year as a Director of the Company, l am thrilled to be joining Ivy full time. I am eager to continue building upon Ivy’s history of providing exceptional patient care and look forward to working closely with the existing leadership team and clinical staff to execute on an aggressive multi-pronged growth strategy, including organic growth initiatives, acquisitions, de novo openings and strategic partnerships. Michael Neuscheler should be proud of his legacy, including his fundamental principle that ‘it’s all about the people’ – I fully intend to honor that philosophy as we seek to accelerate our growth.”

David Neighbours, Partner at Waud Capital, remarked, “WCP has committed significant capital to Ivy to support its robust growth strategy. We believe the industry-leading leadership team we are assembling, led by Michael Rucker, will successfully capitalize on Ivy’s strong pipeline of opportunities ahead. On behalf of the entire Company and Board, we thank Michael Neuscheler for his unwavering dedication, vision and efforts leading Ivy over the last 14 years.”

About Ivy Rehab Network Inc.

Founded in 2003, Ivy provides management support services to a network of outpatient physical therapy centers. The Company provides a comprehensive offering of physical therapy services through its centers in the Northeast and Midwest regions of the United States. For additional information on Ivy, visit the Company’s website at www.ivyrehab.com.

About Waud Capital Partners

Based in Chicago, Waud Capital Partners is a leading private equity firm founded in 1993 that partners with exceptional management teams to acquire or create platforms in the U.S. lower middle market through control-oriented growth equity investments, industry consolidation, buyouts or recapitalizations. The firm seeks to invest $50 million to $150 million (including follow-on investments) of total equity in each platform company and employs a disciplined three-phase investment strategy with staged investments designed to generate superior risk-adjusted returns. WCP targets services businesses in large, growing, fragmented markets within two industries: healthcare services and business and technology services. Typically, the initial platform companies in which WCP invests have enterprise values between $50 million and $250 million. The firm has approximately $1.8 billion in assets under management. Since its founding, WCP has successfully completed more than 200 investments, including platform companies and follow-on opportunities.

For additional information on WCP, visit the firm’s website at www.waudcapital.com.