Meet VBA

Kelly Wiza

Senior Vice President, Product Experience

Joined VBA: 2023

Professional History

Kelly joined VBA in October of 2023 as the Senior Vice President of Product Experience. In this role, she is responsible for overseeing the strategy, planning and development of VBA’s solutions from initial concept through launch and beyond. She works closely with the development, operations, sales and marketing teams to ensure a cohesive product strategy.

Prior to joining VBA, Kelly was the Senior Director of Product Operations at Applied Systems, Inc. In that role, she oversaw the development and ongoing management of product-related processes and tools in an effort to develop better cross-functional organizational alignment with the go-to-market teams and achieve the company’s strategic goals.

Kelly brings over 20 years of experience across a variety of operational functions in organizations that support the healthcare and insurance industries, including provider network management, software product management, implementation and design.

Kelly earned a bachelor’s degree in communication from St. Norbert College and a master’s degree in health care services from Cardinal Stritch University. She is also Pragmatic Marketing certified.

Personal Interests

In her free time, Kelly enjoys spending time with her husband and three daughters. She can often be found in the cheering section at her youngest daughter’s volleyball games. Kelly likes to travel and Door County, Wisconsin is one of her favorite places to visit.

Michael Clayton

President & CEO

Joined VBA: 2013

Professional History

Mike joined VBA as the CEO and 12th employee in February 2013. Today, VBA has over 125 employees and continues to grow rapidly. Mike has day-to-day operational responsibilities for all aspects of the business, full profit and loss responsibility, and leads the overall strategic plan development and execution for VBA. Mike was elected to the VBA Board of Directors in 2020.

Prior to joining VBA, Mike was a partner in The Capital Executive Group (CEG), LLC. As part of CEG, Mike was the Executive Vice President, Office of the Chairman for Woods Equipment Company with a broad set of responsibilities including ongoing post-acquisition operational integration, business development and strategic planning.

Previously, Mike held various positions in finance, distribution, marketing, business development, and general management, both domestically and abroad. His prior employers include well-regarded companies such as at Textron’s Jacobsen Division, Deere & Company (Germany), Case Corporation/CNH Global NV, and Ford Motor Company.

Mike earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Northern Iowa and his MBA from Pennsylvania State University. He is also a graduate of Wharton’s Executive Management Program and Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Business Mergers and Acquisition Program.

Mike is a respected leader in the industry and currently serves on the VBA Board of Directors and the Board of Directors for the Health Care Administrators Association (HCAA).

Personal History

Mike is an avid marathon runner, having completed over 20 marathons to date including Chicago (14x), Boston (2x) and New York City. He is also passionate about cycling. Each summer, Mike bikes across the State of Iowa in an event known as RAGBRAI and a one-day event (235 miles) across Wisconsin called RAW. Mike has his eyes set on biking across the U.S.

Mike is active in multiple charity events and organizations, including fundraising for the American Red Cross, Susan G. Komen Foundation, Children’s Hospital, and the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation through some of his marathon and biking events. Mike also enjoys spending time with his two great children, hunting, watching movies, woodworking, and cooking.

Rich Pierce

Chief Technology Officer

Joined VBA: 2001

Professional History

Rich began his career with the US Air Force in 1995 where he earned the Honor Graduate commendation during basic training, a recognition only awarded to 7 percent of graduates. After basic training, he was stationed in Biloxi, MS, where he received his initial training in software development and design at the Air Education Training Center (AETC).

Upon honorably exiting the Air Force in 1999, he took a role with GlyThor Consulting where he developed inventory tracking systems and websites for several clients. While at AWHN, Rich entered the healthcare space when he designed and developed a provider network application for the credentialing of physicians according to NCQA requirements.

In early 2001, Rich left AWHN for a software developer position at KeyLink Solutions, a third-party administrator and a sister company of what would eventually become VBA. He quickly advanced in the organization while continuing to grow the core functionality of the claims administration application. In 2009, Rich completed development of the next-generation software solution, VBASoftware, and became a partner and owner in VBA.

Over the next several years, he would be responsible for the development of a robust flex administration platform, process automation, offline remote perpetual adjudication and real-time claims payment, and VBA has experienced tremendous growth as a result of these efforts.

In 2013, a new leadership team was formed, and Rich was promoted to Chief Technology Officer. In this role, he has continued to oversee the growth of the core products while working with AWS on developing a new services platform that will continue VBA’s role as a technology leader in the healthcare space for years to come.

Personal History

Rich’s hobbies include watching NBA Basketball, playing hoops, video games and movies!

Joe Richlen

Chief Revenue Officer

Joined VBA: 2024

Professional History

Joe joined VBA in 2024 as the Chief Revenue Officer. He is responsible for demonstrating the value proposition of VBA solutions in the market and achieving the company’s strategic growth objectives. He oversees the sales, marketing and account management functions.

Joe brings over 20 years of experience in sales leadership to this role. Prior to joining VBA, he served as the Vice President of Sales for ONE, a financial technology company. He also led the sales division at Mineral, formerly ThinkHR, where he played a pivotal role in turning around the company’s financial trajectory and growing it eightfold. Joe was also a national sales consultant at Wisconsin-based Zywave during the company’s rapid growth phase.

Through his leadership, Joe has helped technology companies grow revenue, drive sales and foster team collaboration. He has also led significant strategic transformations and rebranding initiatives.

Joe earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.

Personal History

Outside of work, Joe enjoys hiking and watching movies with his pugs. He is constantly in search of the perfect slice of pizza.

Rachel Lanser

Chief Client Officer

Joined VBA: 2003

Professional History

After joining KeyLink Solutions in 2003 as a Customer Service Representative, Rachel worked in various roles within the TPA and was promoted to Operations Manager in 2007. The TPA business was sold in 2009 to focus solely on VBASoftware. At that time, Rachel worked closely with Rich Pierce to rearchitect VBASoftware as a cloud-based solution that focused heavily on configuration options rather than custom development requirements.

With her entrepreneurial spirit and refusal to fail, Rachel supported numerous client implementations and trained new team members as the organization grew. In 2020, she was promoted to Chief Client Officer, responsible for overseeing our Client Experience Team and ensuring our clients receive the highest level of service in both their onboarding and ongoing service needs. Rachel strives to build teams that share the same spirit and determination that she has exhibited throughout her career.

Rachel has a passion for solving problems. She can hear the details of a problem and immediately begin to form paths for resolution or best practices. She prides herself on her ability to connect with others authentically and with honest intent. As a seeker of continuous improvement, Rachel looks for opportunities to positively impact our clients and further develop the talented group of VBA employees whom she works with on a daily basis.

Personal History

Rachel adores her family and friends and spends as much time with them as possible outside of work. She seeks opportunities to pull everyone together whether it be for weekend breakfasts, holiday meals or a ride in the car to talk and sing along to whatever song fits the mood. When asked, she’ll tell you she is most proud of the life she has created with her husband Ryan and their children, Mason and Madison. Their life has been guided by faith and assurance that we are passengers on a ride we did not design, and we’re just blessed to live it.

Maggie Lecher

Chief of Staff

Joined VBA: 2024

Professional Information

Maggie joined VBA in March 2024 as the Chief of Staff. In this role, she is focused on VBA’s strategic planning, operational cadence, and cross-functional projects to ensure alignment and execution of the company’s goals and objectives. Her responsibilities include advising on communication strategies, managing high-value initiatives, and providing insights to enhance organizational effectiveness.

Maggie brings a wealth of experience in finance and business strategy to her role. Prior to joining VBA, Maggie was the Vice President of Finance at Datassential. She has also provided financial expertise and operational guidance as the Manager of Financial Planning and Analysis at Connecture and as a Financial Analyst for Kohls department stores.

Maggie holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of Wisconsin – Madison, where she majored in finance, investment and banking, and real estate.

Personal Information

Outside of work, Maggie enjoys spending time with her family and friends, going on walks with her dog, and trying out new restaurants in the Milwaukee area with her husband, Mike.

Scott Topper

Senior Vice President of Professional Services and Client Experience

Joined VBA: 2024

Professional History

Scott joined VBA in February of 2024 as the Senior Vice President of Professional Services and Client Experience. He is responsible for overseeing the strategy and execution of all client-facing and operational functions at VBA, including implementation, training, support, and integration services.

Prior to joining VBA, Scott was the Global Vice President of Customer Solutions at Snapsheet, an enterprise SaaS vendor in the property and casualty insurance space. In that role, he was responsible for the strategy, implementation, pre-sales, and channel partnerships functions. He built and scaled SaaS implementation and service delivery models and established the company’s first pre-sales and channel partnership functions.

Before Snapsheet, Scott spent six years as a management consultant at PwC, where he led cross-functional project teams in the strategy and delivery of enterprise software, new operating models, and innovative client experience initiatives for Fortune 500 companies.

Scott brings over 15 years of experience leading global teams in program and project management, strategy, professional services, SaaS-based implementations, and client service. Scott has consistently demonstrated his capability to scale programs and teams, optimize processes, and foster environments of collaboration and growth.

Scott earned his bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Michigan and an MBA in strategy and finance from the Michigan Ross School of Business.

Personal Interests

In his free time, Scott enjoys spending time with his family, including cheering on his daughters in various extracurricular activities and playing with his family’s two dogs. He also enjoys working out, listening to podcasts, and rooting for his favorite Chicago and Michigan sports teams.