Dean Pappous
President
Dean has led HearingLife, a Demant company, since January of 2019. Demant is a global leader in hearing healthcare. HearingLife operates more than 600 clinics across 42 states. Dean serves the company's Team Members and their vision to help more people hear better.
Prior to joining HearingLife, Dean was the Chief Operating Officer for Gold’s Gym International and Senior Vice President for 24 Hour Fitness. He led the evolution of the Gold’s Gym Team Member and Member experience, elevating the latter to best-in-class by J.D. Power for two consecutive years. He was responsible for sales, marketing, revenue management, fitness, real estate development and facilities management. Before joining Gold’s Gym, Dean spent more than 20 years with 24 Hour Fitness. During his tenure, the company grew from a 24-location regional chain to a national brand of more than 400 clubs. Dean started his career as a part-time personal trainer and held several positions with increased responsibility. As Senior Vice President, he helped develop and implement the company’s growth strategy.
Dean is passionate about people, purposeful business, and health. He is committed to the company’s Team Members and Customers. With an experienced approach and personalized care, HearingLife helps more people hear better and realize an improved quality of life.
Dean loves being active, learning, traveling, and spending time with family and friends.
Tina Soika
Senior Vice President, Operations
As Senior Vice President of Operations, Tina Soika manages all aspect of operations, including real estate, compliance, loss prevention, business intelligence, facilities management and our Patient Support Center.
Tina loves working with people and acting as a mentor to help employees develop themselves and their careers.
Prior to joining HearingLife, Tina was President of YHNConsult, formerly AHAA, for 15 years. While heading YHNConsult, Tina worked with hundreds of independent practices, teaching them how to run their businesses; and how to implement “All the Right Things.”
Tina began her career in the long-term care rehabilitation industry, where she ran a $200 million division of NovaCare, Inc. It was there that Tina became passionate about helping people live their best lives as they grow older.
Tina loves music, cooking, gardening and hanging out with her two daughters; both of whom represent, as Tina states, the best work she has ever done.
Leslie Soiles
Chief Audiologist
Dr. Leslie Soiles earned her Doctor of Audiology degree from A.T. Still University Arizona School of Health Sciences in 2006; her Master of Science degree in Audiology from the University of Massachusetts in Amherst in 1985; and a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders from Worcester State University in 1982.
She founded HearingLife's Shrewsbury office (formerly New England Hearing Instruments) in 2006. In 2012, Dr. Soiles became the Lead Audiologist of HearingLife Shrewsbury. As a Doctor of Audiology, she previously worked with various ear, nose and throat (ENT) physicians for the first 20 years of her career.
In 2018, Leslie received the distinguished honor of being appointed to the role of Chief Audiologist for both HearingLife and the National Campaign for Better Hearing program in the U.S. As Chief Audiologist, she trains and mentors hearing care providers, staff and people with hearing loss across the United States. She has also spoken extensively on hearing loss to various media outlets.
Dr. Soiles has won numerous awards for her professional achievements, including:
- Recipient of HearingLife's President's Club award (2018 and 2019)
- The American Academy of Audiology Scholar Award (2014)
- An Award for Continuing Education from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (2014)
- The President's Award from the American Hearing Aid Associates (2012)
- Center of Excellence Award from the American Hearing Aid Associates (2009)
Leslie was born with hearing loss and utilizes amplification. Her Patients find her unique insights regarding life with hearing aids to be a valuable resource. This personal experience with hearing loss, coupled with her professional experience, inspired her to create a different kind of hearing services practice. Dr. Soiles believes that an informed decision makes for a stronger decision. That's why she provides Patients with detailed information and education relating to hearing loss, as well as their treatment options.
Outside the office, Leslie loves cooking and sharing her wonderfully prepared meals with friends and family.
Joe DiRenzo
Chief Financial Officer
Joe DiRenzo, Chief Financial Officer, oversees HearingLife’s accounting and finance, contracting and revenue cycle management. He is responsible for managing the organizations financial health, including performance evaluation, cash management and investment planning.
Joe’s career has revolved around healthcare finance for the past 15 years, most recently serving as CFO of PHOENIX Physical Therapy, and more than a decade at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC).
His growth-oriented leadership facilitated continued and accelerated organic growth, as well as new clinics openings and acquisitions, resulting in significant revenue growth, earnings increases and ultimately a successful recapitalization at PHOENIX.
At UPMC, as Director of Finance for the Northern Community and Regional Hospitals, Joe managed more than a billion-dollar operating budget across 6 tertiary hospitals and their associated outpatient sites (surgical, imaging & cancer treatment centers as well as primary care and surgical specialty physician offices). Additionally, Joe provided financial leadership for several organization initiatives including mergers & acquisitions (M&A valuation, due diligence & integration) and service line strategy (surgical) with focus to market planning and productivity.
Joe’s passions include family, food, sports and philanthropy. He is involved in his family’s local sports-themed restaurant business, proudly serving quality food and fun in his hometown neighborhood in Pittsburgh (he is quick to brag about his family’s pizza recipe). He serves as President of an educational foundation for Penn State University students, and proudly fundraises for local health issues, hosting fundraisers, primarily for the epilepsy foundation and local families with children battling the disease.
Michele Silverman
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Michele Silverman, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, leads the design, evaluation and implementation of all people programs. She oversees all HR functions and crafts strategies that meet current business goals and enable our continued growth as a modern, productive and inclusive place to work.
Prior to joining HearingLife, Michele was Vice President of Learning, Development and Internal Communications at Gold’s Gym. During her two years there, she led the team responsible for developing and deploying a comprehensive suite of learning and developmental programs. In addition, she built an internal communication infrastructure and team to support the organization of over 6,000 employees across more than ten states. As Senior Director, Internal Communications at Time Warner Cable for five years, Michele provided strategic communication guidance to support the large-scale employee engagement and change management initiatives for 55,000+ employees in 29 states. While at Towers Watson for six years, Michele served as a Communication Consultant. As strategic advisor and communication lead for employee education and change management engagements, Michele was responsible for employee development, project budget management and business growth in the Chicago marketplace.
Michele loves exercising, baking (which is why she exercises) and spending time with her two children.
Steve Strong
Senior Vice President, Hearing Centers
Steve Strong, Senior Vice President of Clinics, heads the Field Leadership Team to deliver a consistent Patient experience and superior hearing healthcare across all clinic locations. In partnership with the Senior Leadership Team, Steve provides strategic direction that helps achieve HearingLife’s vision of helping more people hear better. Steve is proud to be a servant leader to those providing care for HearingLife’s Customers.
Before joining HearingLife, Steve was Senior Vice President of Sales and Operations at Visionworks. In this role, Steve led the development of the national brand from a collection of regional chain stores through organic growth. While at T-Mobile, Steve served as the Regional Vice President and led the change management effort to convert from an operational model to a Customer services/sales-focused culture for the company. Prior to this, Steve was Senior Vice President of Stores for Zales Jewelers, one of the country’s largest jewelers.
Steve enjoys traveling with his family, endurance cycling and all things sports related.
Janice Jacobs
Senior Vice President, Marketing
As a member of the HearingLife US Leadership Team, Janice is responsible for developing strategies that elevate our brand awareness, bring new consumers to our hearing centers, deepen our existing Customer and community relationships, and increase our marketing ROI. Janice is leading our Marketing Team as we continue paving the path toward becoming the number one brand in the hearing healthcare industry.
With extensive experience in marketing for health, beauty, and wellness organizations, including CVS Health, Staples, C&E, and LuckyVitamin, Janice brings expertise in developing breakthrough brand strategies and creating digital marketing transformation through Customer journey mapping, digital marketing, website design, e-commerce, and launching direct-to-consumer multichannel marketing campaigns.
Janice holds an MBA degree in Business and Information Systems from Hofstra University, and a BA degree in Mathematics. Janice has lectured at Boston University and the University of Rhode Island and earned the Path to Purchase Institute’s Women of Excellence Award.
Janice has a deep commitment to helping grow awareness of the importance of hearing care and its relationship to our overall health and well-being.
For relaxation, Janice enjoys being outdoors, hiking, biking, and swimming with her husband, friends, and family.
