Founder of telehealth business Coviu, Silvia Pfeiffer, has stepped back from the role of chief executive.
“After a decade of pushing the telehealth barrel up the hill and getting chased by it down the pandemic slope, I’m now looking for new problems to solve,” she said.
Pfeiffer said she was grateful to co-founder and chief technical officer Nathan Oehlman, the Coviu Global team, and customers who use the technology every day, to deliver care to people in need.
“You’ve achieved the seemingly impossible: to make healthcare available online for everybody,” she said. “And Coviu will continue to support you in every way possible.”
Pfieffer first started working on the project that became Coviu as a software engineer at CSIRO’s digital technology division NICTA about ten years ago. She became chief executive of the newly independent company in 2018.
CSIRO-sponsored Main Sequence Ventures provided seed funding to Coviu. Other investors have included impact firm Giant Leap, software venture firm EVP and Medical Angels
Pfeiffer remains the company’s major shareholder and a director.
Pfeiffer said that as Coviu grew to support over 100,000 clinicians it achieved a 10x valuation increase for its initial investors.
Post-pandemic economic changes, including high inflation and high interest rates, and a cautious approach to investment, had required the company to consolidate from a post-pandemic team of 55 across Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the US. The company was, however, net profitable and in an excellent position, with funds available for growth projects.
Pfeiffer said Coviu was well placed for a professional chief executive to usher in its next chapter.
She said she would be looking for new challenges but intended to stay in the healthcare sector.
Image: Silvia Pfeiffer, she has spent a decade developing Coviu.