About – Team and Partners

About

Team and Partners

sovaSage is revolutionizing the sleep apnea industry with technology that is both powerful and easy to use.

Our TherapistAssistTM software optimizes the CPAP mask-fitting process to achieve better patient outcomes.

Team

William Kaigler

Founder & CEO

Bio

Christian Kebekus

Founder & CTO

Bio

Pat Karem

VP of Sales

Bio

Julie Kaigler

Chief Operating Officer

Bio

Kelley Lynch

CFO

Bio

Caryn Plessinger

VP of Clinical Services

Bio
jamie caputo

Jamie Caputo

VP of Strategic Business Development

Bio
hansen

Andrea Hansen

Senior Manager, Compliance

Bio

Daisy

Chief PAWerations
Officer

Bio

Joey

Head of Cuddles and Snacks

Bio

Shadow

Head of CyPAWsecurity

Bio

Partners

Parachute Health: sovaSage works with Parachute Health to transfer patient fitting profiles from participating sleep labs to DME customers, thereby making the selection and fitting of a mask virtually effortless.

UPMC Enterprises: UPMC is an investor and development partner

William Kaigler
Founder & CEO

Prior to sovaSage, Will started multiple technology companies including NewCare Solutions, an innovative sleep monitor that helps keep elderly residents living in assisted living and memory care safe, and medSage Technologies, a software company that developed the first patient management solution for the home healthcare industry. medSage was sold to Philips Respironics in 2011. Will is an Assistant Teaching Professor of Entrepreneurship at Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business, a mentor for Alpha Lab, and has served as an Executive-In-Residence at UPMC Enterprises. He holds an MBA with Distinction from Carnegie Mellon University and a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from West Virginia University.

Christian Kebekus
Founder & CTO

At sovaSage, Christian is responsible for research, software development, IT operations, and product delivery. Before sovaSage, Christian was CTO at Careform, which was acquired by ConnectiveRx in 2017, at NewCare Solutions, and at medSage Technologies, which was acquired by Philips Respironics in 2011. During his time at McKesson Automation, his team implemented the first-ever electronic order transmission of intravenous medication administration for barcode-enabled point-of-care. Christian has a Masters degree in Mathematics from the University of Dortmund, Germany.

Pat Karem
VP of Sales

R Patrick Karem has been in sleep medicine for almost 30 years. His career include VP with Salter Labs, Director of Hospital Sales with ResMed, CEO of Innomed Technologies, CEO of Somnotech, and well as multiple consulting global consulting and design projects. Patrick hold multiple degrees from University of Akron, The Ohio State University, and an MBA from Robert Morris University. He is an avid fisherman and resides in North Carolina.

Julie Kaigler
COO

Julie Kaigler has worked in the healthcare insurance and telemedicine space for the past 15 years. She has served in founding roles at three separate startups. Julie has a B.S. in Mathematics from the University of Pittsburgh and an M.S. in Insurance Management from Boston University. Julie is responsible for operations, including HR, Accounting, and Finance.

Kelley Lynch
CFO

With more than 30 years of experience in financial management and operations, Kelley Lynch has made significant contributions to the expansion, development, and fiscal security of businesses in the technology, pharmaceutical services, manufacturing, and engineering and construction industries. Kelley has worked in executive positions in several innovative, fast-growing companies overseeing finance, accounting, human resources, customer service and a variety of corporate projects. Most recently as the CFO and VP of Operations, Kelley helped to bring Othot Inc. to a successful sale in 2021, her third company that she led the financial and business operations efforts of a company sale. She has also led the integration efforts of numerous acquired companies. Her strong and effective communication and collaboration skills have helped shape and position many organizations for success. Kelley earned her MBA from Carnegie Mellon University’s Tepper School of Business and her undergraduate degree in Finance from Penn State University where she currently serves as the President of the Penn State Alumni Association Council. In addition to being a proud (some say obnoxious) Penn State fan, she is also a loving and involved Aunt of seven nieces and nephews and a dog-mommy to Joey!

Caryn Plessinger
SVP of Clinical Services

Caryn Plessinger, CRT, RCP, BS Ed., joins sovaSage as the VP of Clinical Services. Her career as a respiratory therapist spans 35+ years, the majority of which was in the Home Medical Equipment space as the President of Hub’s Home Oxygen & Medical Supplies. Treating those suffering with sleep apnea is her passion and was evident in the successful outcomes her clinical team produced for this population. She served on the Pennsylvania Association of Medical Suppliers (PAMS) Board of Directors, holding various executive board seats including Board Chair and for 15 years, was the Respiratory Committee Chair. She earned her B.S. in education from Lock Haven University and her respiratory certification from the California College of Health Sciences. She is an avid golfer, Penn State fan, and loves being a GiGi to her two grandsons.

Jamie Caputo
VP of Strategic Business Development

Jamie is a seasoned veteran of the HME industry with over 25 years’ experience. He’s held various positions in sales and sales management within Software & Technology – SaaS, Adherence Management, Tele-Health, Resupply Management with Fulfillment, Consulting, Research & Development, Operations, Marketing, Retail and Mobility.

Prior to sovaSage, Jamie was the National Services Sales Manager at Philips Respironics over the past 15 years. He lead their sales for medSage resupply, most recently PAMS LTAM and HDRS PAP services. Placing customers and patients first along with strong relationships is he’s core foundation.

He holds a degree in Economics and Minor in Business from The Pennsylvania State University. Outside work, he’s an avid golfer, skier, and fisherman, along with anything his three children are involved. Jamie can often be found on the sidelines of Penn State Behrend soccer or as the local barn dad while his youngest is jumping.

Andrea Hansen
Senior Manager, Compliance

Andrea’s early career experience was in various Human Resources roles, including one at Respironics. This experience led Andrea to a role at medSage Technologies in 2006 to help with their fast growth. That role turned into helping with many necessary activities that need attention at a startup including developing a small team to reach out to patients about their resupply needs.

Fast forward to the acquisition of medSage by Philips in 2011 and that small call center eventually turned into the very successful PAMS services and the Patient Management Center. Andrea grew and managed the team and the many services the PAMS team provided for over a decade at Philips.Andrea is thrilled to be back with much of the same team from medSage Technologies and also to be joining this new team at sovaSage along with some members from her PAMS team.

Andrea holds a bachelor of arts degree from West Virginia University, is the proud mama to Cole, Heather and her puppy, Rigatoni. Andrea has a strong passion for the PIttsburgh Steelers.

Daisy
Chief oPAWerations Officer

Miss Daisy’s primary role at sovaSage is supervising her pawrents (Will, CEO and Julie, COO), making sure that sovaSage business occurs but doesn’t interfere with her walk schedule.

Joey
Head of Cuddles and Snacks

Joey spends his workday cuddling with his mom (Kelley, CFO) and making sure she puts enough room in the budget for treats.

Shadow
Head of CyPAWsecurity

Shadow’s main role at the company is working with his dad (Christian, CTO) to make sure that sovaSage continues to be HIPAAw compliant.

Join our webinar

Initial compliance is important and JeanieTM is the tool to help your patients get there. But what happens after the initial 90-day compliance period?

Join William Kaigler, Caryn Plessinger, and Andrea Hansen, on Thursday, February 8th at 2:00pm EST to find out how JeanieTM can dramatically increase patient adherence, reduce waste in CPAP mask-fitting, increase your staff’s productivity, and boost patient profitability like never before!

Fill out the form below to reserve your spot.