Our Team
With our 50+ years of dental industry experience, our team leverages our backgrounds in investment banking, leadership positions inside of the nation’s leading DSOs and private equity groups. Learn more about the TUSK team below:
Kevin Cumbus
President
Kevin has over a decade of experience in the dental industry. He has valued and sold over 120 dental practices, managed over $100MM of revenue in a DSO, and is co-owner of a start-up dental practice, Mundo Dentistry. He earned his BA from Washington & Lee University and MBA from the Babcock School of Management at Wake Forest University.
Maggie Jarrett
Director, Business Development
Maggie has over 15 years of leadership experience in the dental and healthcare industry, most recently serving as a Principal at Cedar Investors and as Board Director for Cedar Dental, Cedar’s DSO platform. Maggie received her B.S. from Oklahoma State University and MBA from the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
Alex Malone
Director, Business Development
Alex has over 15 years of experience in the sales industry, with 8 years devoted to SAAS for Dental and Healthcare professionals. Alex has served in leadership positions for Enterprise and Strategic Accounts. He studied Business Management at the LDSBC in Salt Lake City.
Ryan Mingus
Managing Director, Mergers & Acquisitions
Ryan has 12+ years of sales and leadership experience in the dental and healthcare industry, most recently as Business Development Director for Strategy and Optimization at Align Technology, Inc. Mr. Mingus earned his BA in Economics and Business from the Virginia Military Institute and his MBA from the University of San Diego. He also held the rank of Captain in the U.S. Army National Guard.
Kevin Sauer
Director, Mergers & Acquisitions
Kevin Sauer has nearly two decades of experience in the dental industry. He has served in leadership positions for four DSOs that range from $30MM to over $1B in revenue. During his tenure, he built out Pacific Dental Services’ Doctor Recruiting Department, was VP of Operations and responsible for over $135M in revenue, and most recently served as the COO for a regional DSO with $30M in revenue. Kevin received his BS and MLOS from Azusa Pacific University.
Josh Swearingen
Director, Mergers & Acquisitions
Josh has over 15 years of leadership experience in the dental and healthcare industry, most recently serving as the CEO for Vesper Alliance, a DSO located in Cincinnati and Columbus, OH. Prior to that Josh was Director of Corporate Development for American Dental Partners and quarterbacked several of their largest transactions during his tenure there. Josh received his B.S. from THE Ohio State University.
Yazen Abusad
Associate, Mergers & Acquisitions
Yazen Abusad helps lead TUSK Partners M&A advisory engagements, allowing clients to achieve full value of their businesses and identify new opportunities for growth. Prior to joining TUSK Partners, Yazen was a Vice President at Generational Group, the leading middle-market M&A investment banking advisory firm in North America. At Generational Group, Yazen was a key member of the deal team, where he had extensive involvement in developing and executing exit strategies on numerous sell-side transactions. Yazen received a Master’s in Finance and a Bachelor’s in Biochemistry from Southern Methodist University.
Alex Cherniavsky
Director of Analytics
Alex Cherniavsky has over 6 years of experience in the M&A space. Alex previously served as a Senior Financial Analyst for Wendy’s Corporation and valued over $750M of M&A transactions before joining Galt & Company where he co-developed innovative valuation models that supported a $10B dollar re-franchise sale of a Fortune 100 company’s production and distribution businesses.
George May
Associate
George has over 4 years of experience in the financial services industry. He has previously served as an Intern at Essex Private Wealth Management and as an Investment Research Intern at Cambridge Trust Company. George has been with TUSK since 2019 and plays a crucial role in the firm’s M&A deal team. He earned his BS in Business Administration from Washington & Lee University.
Taylor Adams
Senior Analyst
Taylor Adams has 6 years of experience in financial services and corporate finance. He has previously served as a Senior Associate at Dimensional Fund Advisors and as a Senior Financial Analyst at American Tire Distributors, where he performed valuations on internal projects with $5M+ in potential cost savings. Taylor received his CFA Charter in September of 2020. He earned his BS in Finance from the Brigham Young University Marriott School of Business.
Sam Lupton
Analyst
Sam has 3 years of experience in the data analytics industry. He has previously served as an intern with the University of Oklahoma’s Sports Analytics department. Sam has been with TUSK since 2021 and plays a role in the firm’s data analytics team. He earned an MS in Sports Data Analytics from the University of Oklahoma and his BS in Business Administration from Western Carolina University.
Austin Truitt
Director of Marketing
Austin has over 4 years of experience in the digital marketing space. As a previous intern at Husqvarna Group, he assisted with branding the Battery and Consumer Robotics product division. Currently, he is responsible for the execution of all marketing efforts at TUSK. Austin attended Western Carolina University’s Forsyth School of Business, where he earned his BS in Marketing and Business Administration.
Mariana Alvarez Gonzalez
Marketing Assistant
Mariana has 3 years of experience in the digital marketing space, with a focus in social media marketing. As a previous intern with Iconic Heroes, she assisted with the development of social media management and strategy for athletic collections. She has also previously interned at Red Ventures where she focused on the creation of materials and solutions in areas such as paid social and customer experience. Mariana attended Meredith College, where she earned her BA in Communication.