LEADERSHIP & LEGACY

Industry titan steps aside

After more than three decades at the helm, Stanley Bergman will retire as CEO of Henry Schein at the end of 2025. His 35-year run makes him one of the longest-serving executives in healthcare, credited with transforming a regional dental supplier into a global distribution giant. But his exit comes at a moment of significant reform, with Schein’s recent performance under investor scrutiny. 

Let’s jump into Bergman’s legacy, the state of the behemoth he built, and what this transition signals for DSOs watching their largest supplier chart a new course. Hats off to a legend!

What happened: Henry Schein launched a formal search for a new CEO after Bergman announced he’ll step down as CEO at the end of 2025 and remain chairman of the board. The decision follows a period of activist investor pressure, flat stock performance, and growing scrutiny over the company’s future.

The announcement was paired with news earlier this year that private equity firm KKR has taken a 12 percent stake in Henry Schein and secured two board seats, as well as a committee role related to CEO succession. 

A legacy built on growth: Bergman joined Henry Schein in 1980 and became its first non-family CEO in 1989. Under his leadership, the company expanded from a mail-order dental distributor with $225 million in revenue to a $13 billion global operation serving over 1 million healthcare providers across 32 countries.

Key milestones include:

• Leading the company’s IPO in 1995 and joining the S&P 500

• Expanding into medical distribution, digital software, and specialty products

• Building out global public-private partnerships focused on access to care

• Launching the BOLD+1 strategy to shift Schein toward higher-margin segments like implants, endo, and private-label goods

Bergman’s vision was long-term, purpose-driven, and often personal, as outlined in his internal memo to staff announcing his retirement. 

But headwinds gathered: In recent years, Henry Schein has faced rising pressure. Revenue grew, but margins thinned. Investor opposition to company plans started to appear. 

In 2023, a ransomware attack disrupted operations and exposed patient data, costing an estimated $350 to $400 million in lost sales. Meanwhile, costs ballooned and investor patience wore thin.

Enter Ananym Capital, an activist fund that launched a campaign in late 2024 demanding a board refresh, new CEO, cost cuts, and a possible divestiture of the medical business. Ananym prepared a proxy fight to take up to six board seats. That threat likely accelerated the KKR “white knight” deal.

Where Schein stands now:

• Flat stock performance over the last 12 to18 months

• Restructuring plan under way to cut up to $100 million in costs

• Strong brand loyalty among dental customers, but growing competition from leaner, tech-first rivals

• Ongoing integration of recent acquisitions, including Acentus, into the broader supply chain and specialty portfolio

• KKR’s presence signals a pivot. The firm brings deep dental experience from its ownership stakes in Heartland Dental and 123Dentist. 

What this means: Schein has been one of the leading “default” suppliers for decades, but DSOs have more options now, and thus more leverage. As the company navigates its leadership transition and sharpens its focus, customers may see shifts in pricing, service, and strategic alignment.

With KKR’s involvement and near leadership, expect Schein to double down on its most profitable segments, thin out or depart from less profitable segments, lean harder on high-margin tech products, and look for new ways to lock in large enterprise clients. 

But until a new CEO is named and strategy clarified, the company will likely be in a transitional posture, continuing to watch margins, manage investor expectations for change, and likely saying “no” to new initiatives.

Looking ahead: Bergman’s legacy is hard to overstate. He shaped an entire segment of dental commerce and technology, helped define the modern supplier-DSO relationship, and kept Henry Schein at the top of the industry longer than most competitors lasted. 

But the next era will look different. The question now isn’t whether Schein will stay relevant. It’s  who will take the wheel next and whether they can steady the ship in choppier seas. 

In the meantime, hats off to the captain of the ship, Stanley Bergman, who kept the ship afloat and growing for over three decades.