Dan Cobb was born in Japan in 1962. His Dad was in the US Navy and stationed in Japan, where he and his wife adopted Dan at six weeks old. At age ten, Dan’s family moved to southwest Missouri, where he had a very simple upbringing. Dan enjoyed playing sports, including football and track, and eventually went to Missouri State to study computer information systems.
During his senior year in 1983, two professors recognized his abilities and approached him about joining their home healthcare software startup. He liked the idea of contributing his skillset toa small company rather than programming in a cubicle farm at a vast corporation. “When you’re at a small startup, the success of the company depends on what you’re able to contribute,” Dan said. “That appealed to me.”
The company was far ahead of its time, one of the first to provide medical information software over personal computers. In 1996, the McKesson Corporation purchased it.
With that success under his belt, Dan cofounded another software company, HealthMEDX, in 1999. Dan designed the flagship product, which delivered long-term care software online. They were pioneers, as very few applications used the internet to provide healthcare software. HealthMEDX was purchased in 2011 byprivate equity firms. Dan stayed on for another year and retired in 2012.
To help support future generations in perpetuity, Dan recently established an endowed scholarship at Missouri State for a student seeking a degree in the Department of Information Technology and Cybersecurity.
He is also very active in the local community, serving on many non-profit boards and chairing three. Examples have included The Breast Cancer Foundation of the Ozarks, Mercy Health Foundation, Springfield Innovation, Inc., The Drew Lewis Foundation, Inc., Southwest Missouri Humane Society, the Missouri State University Foundation, and the Missouri Technology Corporation. He also mentors startup companies in the Springfield area.
Dan has two adult children. His daughter Nicci and her husband Eddy live in Portland, Oregon. His son Evan lives with his wife Becky in St. Louis.
Dan and his partner Michelle are avid travelers around the US and the world.
Some recent highlights include a trip to the Galapagos Islands and a tour of Europe with stops in Paris, Champagne, Mykonos, and Dubrovnik.
They look forward to visiting Iceland later this year and hope to see the Northern Lights.
Dan loves this phase of life, which allows him to give back to those in need and make time for traveling. We are awed by his accomplishments and proud to call him a client!
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