Although Joe Zasa’s usual mode of transportation is by plane, he is the proud owner of an Aston Martin. While posing for the cover, he asked the photographer to take one of him with his car. “We did it on a lark,” Zasa said. “But I think I like it the best.”
“When I was in high school, I really wanted to go to W&L,” Zasa said. “So later on, it was the one and only law school I applied to. I went there to learn how to run companies and become an investment banker, investor or CEO. I thought law school would be an excellent background for business.” His preparation included classes on corporations, taxation and securities and regulations. The late Professor Tim Philipps, who taught “Timmy Tax,” was a particular favorite. “He was always very encouraging to students and helped instill and reinforce many of the values I bring to my business,” said Zasa. Although a summer clerkship at a firm specializing in health care piqued Zasa’s interest, his immediate plan after graduating was to hang his shingle in Birmingham for a few years. A call from his brother, Robert Zasa, changed that. “My older brother had a consulting business. When he raised venture capital money and asked me to do surgery center consulting with him, I moved to Los Angeles, and we started Premier Ambulatory Systems.” Less than four years later, their company landed in the number six spot on Inc. Magazine’s list of the 500 fastest-growing companies in the United States. Zasa served as in-house counsel, working on recruitment, business development and the structure of projects. The company’s extraordinarily fast growth led to purchase offers, and the brothers sold the firm. Zasa moved to Dallas, while his brother remained in Los Angeles. When the non-compete agreements from the sale expired in 1996, they decided to start over with a new company, ASD Management. Zasa continues to work closely with his brother and enjoys the partnership. “I find it to be very rewarding and enriching,” he said. “We’ve always gotten along well. We have a
philosophical alignment, and it’s good to have someone you can talk to.” ASD stands for ambulatory systems development, and Zasa’s centers provide patients with outpatient services for a variety of surgical procedures. A hospital or group of doctors typically owns the center, and occasionally the two groups will share ownership. The company has become the largest privately owned surgery center in the U.S., and Zasa credits good business planning and processes in successfully growing the firm. He also believes that his time in Lexington helped him understand the relationships that are key to his business success. “W&L is a unique and special place,” he said. “We had a team mentality and helped each other out. It wasn’t a competitive environment.” He’s carried that attitude to ASD, focusing on doing right by employees and patients. He calls it a “softer but more effective approach” to business and health care. ASD often gets a call when surgery centers are struggling financially. The company buys a portion of the surgery center and works with the doctors or hospital to get it back on track. “The key is to build a positive experience for the patients, their families and the doctor,” Zasa explained. “We end up turning around a troubled center because of our focus on operations.”
Today, ASD owns 31 centers around the country, including one in Roanoke and another in Christiansburg. Those centers are owned in partnership with the hospital chain Carilion. ASD’s status as a private company only allows it to take on centers that are a good fit. “I always say that water finds its own level,” Zasa said. “We attract clients who are a good fit for us—people who are in this for the long run to build a practice and offer high-quality, low-cost care.” Though setting up good business processes is important, Zasa noted that medicine is a business based on people and relationships. Each surgery center and each community has unique dynamics and needs. “How do you deliver what’s required in the local community?” he asked. “In Roanoke that’s ear, nose, throat and orthopedics. In the New River Valley we do all sorts of cases. All of the centers are different, and each physician or hospital is different.” Zasa is happy with ASD’s current size and doesn’t want it to grow much beyond 35 surgery centers. “We’re very hands-on and operationally focused,” he said. “In some ways we’re similar to W&L, where not everyone knows about us, but we compete with the big boys.”
The company has become the largest privately owned surgery center in the U.S., and Zasa credits good business planning and processes in successfully growing the firm. He also believes that his time in Lexington helped him understand the relationships that are key to his business success.
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