Past President
Steve Kess, MBA
Henry Schein, Inc.
Steven William Kess, M.B.A., is widely recognized for his critical insight and ability to synthesize public and private coalitions, as well as business and public policy issues. He is both an entrepreneur and an executive. Mr. Kess is Vice President of Global Professional Relations, Office of the Chairman & CEO, for Henry Schein, Inc., a Fortune 250 global health care solutions company, where he was instrumental in developing Henry Schein Cares, its corporate social responsibility program. Mr. Kess serves as the founding President of the Henry Schein Cares Foundation.
An advocate for underrepresented minorities, Mr. Kess has been particularly active in the area of diversity and access to health care for at risk populations. He has served in a variety of leadership roles in many health care associations and organizations. He currently serves as the Founding President of the Dr. Edward B. Shils Entrepreneurial Fund and Chairman of Project Accessible Oral Health for individuals with disabilities. He is the Immediate Past President, but an active EMC member of the Santa Fe Group, an oral health think tank dedicated to improving lives through oral health. In addition, Mr. Kess serves on a host of dental school advisory boards including New York University, Columbia, UPenn and University of Michigan,
He has served in the past as the Chairman of the Dean’s Advisory Board of Harvard University School of Dental Medicine and served on the dental school boards of Tel Aviv University, Al Quds University, Case Western Reserve University, University of Illinois Chicago, University of Kentucky, University of North Carolina, Virginia Commonwealth University, University of Rochester Eastman Institute for Oral Health, University of Buffalo, University of Florida, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Rutgers University and Temple University. He has also served on the boards of Oral Health America, Children’s Dental Health Project, American Dental Association Foundation where he helped co-develop the ADA Give Kids A Smile program now in its 20th year, the American Medical Association Foundation and the Alliance for Oral Health Across Borders (AOHAB) now in its 12th year.
In addition, Mr. Kess has served on the strategic advisory planning group for the American Veterinary Medical Association Vision 2020 and FDI’s Vision 2020 Program Task Force for developing its strategic plan and defining the explanation of oral health. While at Harvard he was instrumental in creating the “Initiative” to integrate Oral Health and Primary Care.
Mr. Kess has been married for 54 years and lives in New York City with his wife, Sharon. They have one daughter, Meredith Millen and two grandchildren, Benjamin and Alexandra.