ieso Digital Health Appoints Kent Tangen as New CEO to Drive Digital Mental Health Innovation in the United States
ieso Digital Health, a leader in digital mental healthcare, proudly announces the appointment of Kent Tangen as its Chief Executive Officer. With over 25 years of experience building and scaling businesses across healthcare, financial services, retail, supply chain, media, and education, Kent joins the ieso mission to deliver exceptional mental healthcare to all who need it. His primary focus will be launching, distributing, and commercializing ieso’s products in the United States.
"Throughout my career, I’ve focused on using technology responsibly, and in the right ways, to solve complex problems," said Kent. "I can think of no greater humanitarian, healthcare or economic challenge of our time than solving the global mental health crisis. At ieso, we’re not just building technology for technology’s sake – we’re developing solutions that can help the one in five American adults who live with mental illness and the one in eight people worldwide who do."
Kent Tangen is a seasoned executive with a deep focus on building technology that aligns with human needs, ensuring that solutions are purpose-built for transformative impact. His career is marked by his ability to lead global teams through pivotal moments including mergers, acquisitions, digital transformation, and rapid growth – emphasizing speed, quality, and agility in managing complex customer and user journeys and delivering digital solutions at scale.
ieso’s digital-first product, the ieso Digital Program, is currently being piloted in the United States, on the back of a successful UK clinical trial. The program is built on the foundation of clinical rigor and the integration of clinical, scientific, and AI expertise that ieso is known for, analyzing more than 750,000 hours of anonymized therapy sessions from over 135,000 patients – one of the largest datasets of its kind. Through its unique data set, ieso has developed a deep understanding of the relationship between patient/therapist language and outcomes – and applied what it has learned about these “active ingredients” to develop its new program.
Dr. Andy Blackwell, Chief Scientist at ieso said of Kent’s appointment:
"Kent’s vision and expertise align perfectly with our goal to rewire mental healthcare. His leadership and deep technological background will accelerate our growth in the US market and beyond, strengthening our capacity to deliver AI-driven mental healthcare combined with human support that is evidence-based, effective, and accessible."
Andy Richards CBE, Chairman, ieso Digital Health added:
“The Board at ieso is delighted that Kent has agreed to lead ieso through its growth into the US market and to join the Board as CEO. As Chair I have been impressed by Kent’s clarity of thought and ability to execute and his deep sense of mission that aligns so clearly with that of the company. I look forward to working with Kent to change the world of mental health treatment forever.”
Dr. Alyssa Dietz, US Head of Clinical Strategy at ieso commented:
“As a clinician, I’ve seen how much people are hurting. ieso’s Digital Program is a breakthrough in mental health accessibility – lowering costs and expanding access to high quality care so more people get the care they need, when they need it. Under Kent’s leadership, we’re forming impactful partnerships with US payers and providers, especially in primary care, where busy providers aren’t always experts in mental healthcare.”
Kent’s approach at ieso centers on building strong relationships, listening to customer needs, and fostering an environment where innovation, respect, and new ideas thrive. As CEO, he is committed to using technology along with human support to bridge the widening gap between the demand for mental healthcare and the shortage of available therapists.
“Mental healthcare is facing a watershed moment,” said Kent. “The gap between those who need care and those who can access it grows wider every day. I’m thrilled to lead such a dedicated and brilliant team to radically improve the mental healthcare experience for patients, payers, and providers alike. At ieso, we're combining technology and human expertise to deliver lasting outcomes that meet the moment. The future of mental healthcare isn’t coming. It’s here.”
About ieso Digital Health
ieso is a venture-backed mental health technology company with an audacious goal: solve the global mental health access crisis. For 20 years, we’ve been one of the UK’s largest providers of online mental health treatment to the NHS, bringing therapist-delivered, text-based cognitive behavioral therapy to more than 135,000 NHS patients and building the world’s largest outcomes-indexed mental health data set. We create evidence-based mental healthcare products that are clinically effective, affordable, personalized, and scalable. Our AI-driven platform, built on insights from 750,000+ therapy hours and rigorous clinical research, delivers faster results, more affordably, and at scale. By integrating clinical expertise with responsible AI, we help payers, health systems, and employers offer immediate access to high-quality mental healthcare at a fraction of traditional costs.
Our research has been published in top journals like JAMA Psychiatry, Nature Mental Health, and Psychological Medicine; we’ve been featured in outlets like TechCrunch, The New Yorker, TED, Nature, and MIT Technology Review; and we were recognized by Newsweek as one of the World's Best Digital Health Companies 2024. With offices in Cambridge, England, and Boston, USA, ieso is backed by global investors including Morningside, IP Group, Molten Ventures, Ananda Impact Ventures, and Sony Innovation Fund. For more information, visit www.iesogroup.com.
