Tessa Olson | CEO, COVE Animal Health
Tessa Olson's family spent nearly 90 years building Pieper Veterinary into a Connecticut institution. She rebranded it as COVE Animal Health and scaled it into a 20-hospital network across five states, backed by Chicago Pacific Founders. She explains what she screens for before a hospital joins, and where consolidation hollows a good practice out.
Tessa Olson's family built Pieper Veterinary into a Connecticut institution. Last year, after nearly 90 years, it rebranded as COVE Animal Health — now a network of 20 hospitals spanning primary care, emergency, and specialty medicine across five states. Tessa didn't plan on running it; she spent years in film production before coming back to the family business.
In this conversation, she talks about the rebrand, what she looks for when bringing a new hospital into the network, her partnership with Chicago Pacific Founders, and where she thinks industry consolidation has helped veterinary medicine — and where it's hollowed practices out.
You grew up in a veterinary family, but was there ever a point when you considered taking a completely different path, or did you always know you wanted to be part of the family business?
Yes, for many years I had a career in California in film production. I never anticipated going into vet med. As the business grew and as I could see my parents challenged and excited about the business, I started to get more involved. My first veterinary job was at a small Cat Clinic in San Francisco. I fell in love with the industry and the people and felt I could really make an impact.
On a separate note, I have truly loved working with my family. A saying I've heard once: “family business isn't for sissies.” It's true. But it can be so rewarding to have such a dedicated, loyal team. I came back to the business because I enjoyed working with my family and I was proud of what they had built.
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