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C T I N N O V A T O R S , 2 0 2 5 4 5 Bold Vision Goodroot founder Waterbury sets out to confront the inefficiencies, rising costs of U.S. health care >> By Norman Bell ere's no mistaking the joy in Michael Waterbury's voice as he recalls his introduction to the world of health insurance. It was 1995 and managed care was just becoming a thing. Oxford Health Plans was gearing up to grab a share of this new market, and Waterbury was among the recent college grads who signed on. From day one, he recalls feeling the energy in the building and the sense of importance in what they were doing. But there was also chaos. He likened it to flying the plane while building it. For the next 20 years, across multiple jobs and employers, he had a front-row seat — and oen a hand — as the contours of managed care came into focus. It wasn't always pretty, efficient or patient-centric. But it was profitable. Very profitable. By the time he set off to build his own healthcare empire in 2015, Waterbury had crystallized a vision of fixes he believed the system needed. He had seen too many middlemen and misaligned incentives, and too little focus on the patient. He believed there was room — and a pressing need — for businesses that could make the system more transparent, efficient and, ultimately, less costly. So he started building. Today, Waterbury is CEO of Canton-based Goodroot, an umbrella company that provides capital, finance, legal, HR, sales and marketing support to scale healthcare technology startups. Goodroot has helped launch 10 companies so far that have offered services ranging from benefit navigation and pharmacy benefit consulting to health engagement. Nearly a decade in, Waterbury said he's taken on no debt and no outside capital. He also estimates the Goodroot network has saved more than $1 billion for patients and providers, though he concedes that's just a drop in the bucket compared with the size of the U.S. healthcare market. "It's time to swing for the fences," he said, hinting at a new initiative to confront what he calls the unsustainable costs of U.S. health care. Twist of karma Waterbury knows about swinging for the fences. At Newtown High School, he was captain of the baseball, basketball and soccer teams. In weighing his options for college, Waterbury bet on his baseball skills and signed on to a Division I scholarship offer from the improving University of Richmond program. What followed, he acknowledges, was his first taste of failure. As a freshman, he rarely played and was schooled in the fine arts of Michael Waterbury President & CEO Goodroot Inc. Education: Bachelor's degree in business management, University of Richmond Age: 52 WATERBURY PHOTOS | STEVE LASCHEVER Goodroot CEO Michael Waterbury stands outside the company's Collinsville office, where he leads a network of startups focused on lowering healthcare costs and improving transparency. Continued on next page