Lawrence “Larry” Higby was known as something of a taskmaster back during his days in the Nixon White House.
More than 30 years later, Higby takes a different tack as chief executive of Lake Forest-based Apria Healthcare Group Inc.
Higby has an experienced second-in-command and a team of key lieutenants who allow him to work on big picture issues.
Lawrence Mastrovich, Apria’s president and chief operating officer, runs things day to day. That includes overseeing Apria’s trucks and vans that call on the homes of patients in need of breathing treatments.
Mastrovich’s been with Apria and one of its predecessors, Homedco Group Inc., since 1984, except for a short time as chief executive of TechRx, a provider of software for pharmacies.
He’s been in his current job since 2004.
“Of 11,000 people, probably 10,000 of them are in my bandwidth,” Mastrovich said of Apria’s workforce.
If critical issues arise, Mastrovich said he and Higby “are in direct contact with one another via voice, BlackBerries.”
“It’s not unusual for he and I to exchange e-mails in the middle of the night,” he said.
Higby, who served as Apria’s president and chief operating officer before taking over as chief executive from Philip Carter in 2002, said he values a strong No. 2.
“I can be very specific on this one,” he said. “There is a great deal of difference between running a company and running the day-to-day operations of a company. Both of those things are full-time jobs.”
Mastrovich “had 21 years of experience in our business,” Higby said. “I spotted him when he was a region vice president.”
Earlier, Mastrovich “did a fabulous job” reworking Apria’s billing system, Higby said.
Troubles getting paid were a key stumbling block for Apria in the late 1990s, after the company was created with the combination of Abbey Healthcare Group Inc. and Homedco Group.
Higby said he and Mastrovich “have great personal chemistry for two reasons. Not only do we agree on a lot of stuff, but we’re able to disagree and reach positive conclusions, which is equally important.”
Apria officials say Higby keeps track of projects and executives,many of whom report directly to him. But he allows them to handle their businesses without micromanaging, they say.
In the Nixon administration, Higby served as principal aide to chief of staff H.R. Haldeman. He gained a reputation for dogged persistence and attention to detail.
At Apria, Higby is “much more in touch with details of the business than at least one prior CEO, but he’s not so involved in the details that he’s become a micromanager,” said Lisa Getson, a 13-year Apria veteran who is executive vice president, government relations, investor services and compliance.
Higby “has infectious enthusiasm for this business, for the industry, for our customers, the patients, the customers we serve,” said Jeri Lose, executive vice president and chief information officer, a relative newcomer to the company.
Office Neighbors
The offices of Apria’s executives are close together, something Chris Karkenny, new chief financial officer, said helps them do their job: “I’m a big believer in teamwork and management by walking around.”
Higby’s office is in the corner. Next to him are Lose, Getson, Getson’s assistant and Cameron Thompson, executive vice president of logistics. At the other end is Mastrovich.
“If we’re all at the corporate office, we both have formal meetings or more impromptu informal meetings,” Getson said. “We all actually rely on e-mail quite a bit. We all have BlackBerry connections.”
Higby said he looked for three key attributes in putting together the team, including commitment to the company and diversity of experience.
The third: “People who fit together, so you’d get not only personal chemistry, but group chemistry,” he said.
Higby, who turns 62 Friday, is diplomatic about up-and-comers.
“I’d say today, we’ve probably got 15 or 20 who would fit into that category,” he said.
The team’s biggest challenge is running an operation with $1.6 billion in yearly sales and more than 500 locations around the country, Getson said.
Many of the company’s employees are hourly drivers who call on patients in their homes. The company put together a communications committee to reach workers in the field, according to Getson.
“Translating some of the company’s vision, goals, strategy and initiatives into actionable plans for the employees working out there, taking care of patients, is where we constantly strive to improve,” she said.
Apria’s executive team is a mix of longtime hands, such as Mastrovich and Getson, and some newer faces including financial chief Karkenny, who joined in November, and Lose, who joined in 2005 after serving as one of its directors for three years.
Before, Lose was chief information officer for St. Jude Medical Inc., a St. Paul, Minn.-based medical device maker.
Mastrovich started at the company as a management trainee in the 1980s and came up through the ranks doing various jobs, including sales, distribution, driving a company truck, working customer service, setting up warehouses and cleaning equipment.
Getson, who started as Apria’s director of business development for its infusion business, started her government relations work about seven years ago. That’s when Medicare, which makes up some 30% of Apria’s revenue, underwent reimbursement cuts.
“I was pressed into action,” she said.
Executives have occasional outside planning meetings. But Apria isn’t big on the typical executive retreat. Executives also take part in quarterly leadership meetings.
“We don’t go orienteering or climb hills together,” Lose said.
Meetings generally include a meal, “so people can have a chance to talk, get to know people a little bit better rather than just talk about problems, then get on an airplane and fly out to the next place,” Higby said.
“Informal dialogue is just as important as formal dialogue,” he said.
Apria’s executives keep busy outside the office.
Mastrovich refers to himself as a “golf maniac” and tries to balance his hobby with spending time with his wife and his 15- and 12-year-old sons, plus church and his membership in the Young Presidents’ Organization.
Getson enjoys skiing, gardening and is a prolific reader. Her four nieces and nephews, along with four godchildren, keep the single executive “busy long-distance.”
Lose, who has a picture of characters from the “Wizard of Oz” in her office and is a fan of “The Oz Principle”,a book that advocates accountability,spends time with her husband and their four children.
Lose also likes golf and reading.
Karkenny, too, enjoys reading. His other interests include surfing, and, “in my free time, I try and get out and ride quarter horses and break and train them.”
His interest in horses, which he picked up some 15 years ago, was featured in a 2001 BusinessWeek article.
THE TEAM
– Lawrence “Larry” Higby: 61, chief executive since 2002, replaced turnaround specialist Philip Carter. Served as interim CEO in 1998. Came to Apria in 1997 as president, chief operating officer. Prior to Apria, was president, COO of Unocal’s 76 Products Co., group vice president of Unocal Corp. from 1994 to 1997. Earlier was an executive at Times Mirror Co., including chairman of the Los Angeles Times’ Orange County edition. Assistant to H.R. Haldeman, President Nixon’s chief of staff.
– Lawrence Mastrovich: 45, president, chief operating officer. Named to current posts in 2004. Has been with Apria and predecessor Homedco since 1984, except for 2001 to 2002 when he served as president, chief operating officer of TechRx, a pharmacy technology company.
– Chris Karkenny: 39, executive vice president, chief financial officer. Came to Apria in November, succeeding former CFO Amin Khalifa, who joined Leap Wireless International Inc. in San Diego. Most recently was vice president of corporate development and treasury operations for PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., now part of UnitedHealth Group Inc. Reports to Higby.
– Jeri Lose: 49, executive vice president, chief information officer. Came to Apria in 2005. Served as a member of Apria’s board from 2002 to 2005. Background includes serving as vice president of information technology, chief information officer of St. Jude Medical Inc. of Minnesota. Reports to Higby.
– Robert Holcombe: 64, executive vice president, general counsel, secretary. Promoted to executive vice president in 2002. With Apria since 1996. Background includes serving as general counsel for a pair of public companies. Reports to Higby.
– Lisa Getson: 45, executive vice president, government relations, investor services, compliance. With Apria since 1994, started as director of business development for infusion business. Reports directly to Higby.
– W. Jeffrey Ingram: 39, executive vice president, sales. Promoted to current job in 2005. Earlier served as Apria’s senior vice president, national accounts. With Apria since 1994. Reports to Mastrovich.
– Robin Barton: 43, executive vice president, revenue management. Promoted to position in 2006 after serving as senior vice president, strategic business operations. With Apria, predecessor since 1983. Reports to Mastrovich.
– Cameron Thompson: 38, executive vice president, logistics. Promoted to position in 2006. Earlier was division vice president of operations since 2005. With Apria since 1997, having joined as branch manager in Corpus Christi, Texas.
