About Us

Ventegra is

More than a PBM.

Ventegra is a new class-of-trade Medical Benefit Manager (MBM), delivering a superior product with significant financial savings. We manage health care costs and improve quality of care for businesses and consumers. Our innovative MBM model, coupled with a solid foundation of company stability and community commitments, has made Ventegra a powerful force in the healthcare industry since its formation in 2004.

Our Mission
Ventegra is

A force for good.

Ventegra was created with the intention to ensure appropriate use of prescription drugs while lowering our clients' costs through innovative programs and products. As a Certified B Corporation, we are part of an elite tier of businesses that hold each other accountable to maintaining a balance between purpose and profit.

Ventegra is a force of good

We are proud to be at the forefront of corporations that implement initiatives that benefit not only stakeholders, but society as a whole. For us that means we:

  • Eliminate hidden margins and spreads commonly seen with traditional Pharmacy Benefit Mangers (PBMs).
  • Help uninsured and underinsured populations have greater access to affordable healthcare.
  • Provide employees with paid volunteer time off ("VTO") so they can be active in their communities and focused on causes that hold personal significance.
  • Maintain a low carbon footprint by operating virtually as we have done for years.
  • Support nonprofits such as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society, Orangewood Foundation, and the Illumination Foundation.
Ventegra is

More than a name.

Ventegra is a family business predicated on the values of veritas (truth) and integritas (integrity). These values, which formed the basis of our name, affirm the high ethical standards built into our business model. It is not only our name, it is how we do business.

Ventegra is

A team of dedicated professionals.

A Ventegran is a loyal, supportive team member with an intrinsic drive to actively contribute to Ventegra's mission and the greater good of society. As proud representatives of Ventegra's moral and ethical culture, Ventegrans are collaborative and respectful communicators. They are proactive and innovative in creating solutions that are in alignment with Ventegra's values of truth and integrity.

At Ventegra, our dedicated team of professionals, led by our innovative leadership team and supported by our advisory committees, brings together decades of combined skills and experience in the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries. Our understanding of the unique needs and concerns of employers, managed care organizations (MCOs), providers (both pharmacy and medical), trade organizations and pharmaceutical vendors enables us to improve the way drug benefits are designed, delivered and managed.

Meet Our Leadership Team
President and CEO
As a nationally recognized leader in hospital and managed care pharmacy operations, Bob Taketomo launched Ventegra in 2005 to focus on the pharmacy segment of healthcare, with a strong vision and expectation to expand into other healthcare delivery segments. He has more than 40 years of experience as a pharmacist. He started in research as a Clinical Pharmacokineticist, moving into general clinical programs as a Supervisor, Manager, and Director in the hospital environment. He has been involved in managed care for more than a decade, starting with Cigna, FHP, PacifiCare, and Health Net. For FHP and PacifiCare, Bob oversaw all pharmaceutical contracts and implemented purchase, rebate, and risk agreements. As Vice President of Industry Relations, he also launched the generic sampling program, FirstLine Solutions, and the first injectable program (now known as "specialty") at RxSolutions, the PBM for PacifiCare. In January 2002, Bob joined Health Net of California as Vice President of Pharmacy. In this capacity, he oversaw all pharmacy functions including formulary, benefit design, network management, claims, and prior authorization. He spearheaded Health Net's injectable initiative which included the consolidation of approximately $50M in injectable purchases into a single preferred pharmacy, and worked with other payors to launch The Generic Advantage program. In January 2004, he assumed pharmacy oversight responsibility for Health Net of Oregon. Bob received his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Southern California, and conducted his undergraduate studies at the University of California at Los Angeles. He completed a clinical residency in Pharmacokinetics at the Veterans Administration Medical Center in La Jolla, California. He went on to earn his Master's of Business Administration from Pepperdine University.
Vice President, Industry Relations
Mariana Ritchie joined Ventegra in January of 2005, starting as our first "healthcare intern." With more than 20 years of experience in pharmacy benefit management, pharmaceutical contracting, and retail pharmacy, Mariana is responsible for the company's Industry Relations. In this role, she bridges the relationship between Ventegra, our clients, and the pharmaceutical industry. Among her accomplishments, Mariana was instrumental in implementing Prescription Solutions' automated rebate system, and assisting in the development of their generic sampling program and a zip code reporting tool. She has spearheaded the development and implementation of Ventegra's proprietary Robo-Rebate solution, and has been the lead architect of the company manifesto. Mariana holds a Master's of Public Health from Loma Linda University and is a California State Board of Pharmacy registered Pharmacy Technician.
Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer
Mark S. Shinmoto, PharmD, brings more than 18 years of healthplan and managed care visionary leadership and healthcare industry know-how to his position of Vice President and Chief Pharmacy Officer at Ventegra. He has results-proven experience working with health plans, hospital health systems, PBMs, medical providers and the pharmaceutical industry market segments. Mark has extensive knowledge of health system operations, healthcare policies and compliance, and Commercial and Medicare reimbursement for oral and injectable medications. Mark is an expert in benefit design and formulary considerations. Prior to joining Ventegra, Mark served as Director of Pharmacy for HealthCare Partners (HCP), where he had responsibilities for pharmacy operations and various committees within HCP. Mark was pharmacy co-chair for the CAPG Pharmaceutical Committee and co-chair for the Medicare Pioneer ACO Pharmacy Workgroup Committee. Previous, he was Director of Pharmacy for PacifiCare Health Systems for multiple states nationally, and the Director of Pharmacy Services at RxSolutions, the PBM for PacifiCare. Mark received his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Southern California.
Vice President, Operations
Joyce Howie joined Ventegra in February 2005 and provides leadership in our Business Operations division. Joyce has a rich hands-on background in the pharmacy industry. She began her pharmacy career as a pharmacy technician in 1986 with Cigna Health Plans. Her biggest accomplishment with Cigna was helping launch the prior authorization department. She also received the Pharmacy Technician of the Year award. Joyce continued her pharmacy education at St. Francis Medical Center as the Department Administration Assistant. She learned the methodology around hospital pharmacy while assisting with such areas as P&T Committee and JCAHO accreditation. To round out her experience in the PBM arena, Joyce was a contract analyst for Prescription Solutions. She managed multiple rebate contracts, administering millions of dollars for PacifiCare clients. In 2005, she joined the Ventegra team in the Industry Relations department. In 2010, she transferred over to Ventegra's Business Operation team. She holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Marketing from California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.
Vice President, Strategic Business Development
Backed by a 30-year-long career in myriad aspects of healthcare business, Brian Vossler's breadth of sales experience has well positioned him as our Vice President of Strategic Business Development. Much of his business acumen is due to his first position with the startup Lexi-Comp, in which he rose through the ranks to become Director of Sales. Under Brian's leadership, Lexi-Comp became renowned for providing clear, concise, and accurate clinical reference information solutions to healthcare professionals and institutions worldwide. Brian continued to hone his sales and marketing skills in the pharmacy technology space after his time at Lexi-Comp, eventually landing at DataRx. There, he served in increasingly responsible roles, first as their VP of Sales and Marketing and eventually as President and CEO. During his time with the company, he led the growth of company revenues by over 3,000%, as well as spearheaded a turnaround that saw the company go from negative net income to over 11% margins. Brian holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.
Chief of Network Administration
Maria Adams, MBA joined Ventegra as Chief of Network Administration in 2022. She brings 30 years of experience in payer and network contracting and management to the role, having held several executive positions including Senior Vice President for Network Management and Development at Alignment Healthcare, Vice President of Network Management at DaVita Healthcare Partners. She has also provided consultative and leadership support to multiple organizations across the country to help them meet their value-based growth goals. With her proven track record in successfully developing transformative value-based healthcare solutions for national and regional organizations, she is a valuable asset to the team. Her extensive knowledge and skill in strategy implementation complements continued growth and development of Ventegra's Medical Services Administration product. Maria holds an MBA from the University of Washington and a BA from California State University.

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