The Management Team is comprised of Physician businessmen who have successfully proven to deliver high-quality PPE, Visibility from Factory Floor... to Your Door ™ , since 1992. Seeing a need to get PPE to the front lines, this team of experts came together to form Reliable PPE LLC welcoming buyers to experience the proven Reliable process.
DR. DAVID HELFMAN (“DR. H”)
Partner
As Founder and CEO of Extremity Healthcare, Inc. "EHI" (Atlanta, Georgia), Dr. Helfman spent his entire career developing & re-creating the ideal "SuperGroup Model", allowing physicians to practice medicine and surgery of the lower extremity in a model that rewards them for their productivity & outcomes ensuring the best patient experiences.
Dr. H used his entrepreneurial and business skills to build what was really the first large-scale Podiatry Platform company in 2011. Proven successful in Georgia, Dr. H eventually started to expand the EHI model in 2015 via numerous mergers and acquisitions in Georgia, Florida, and Tennessee, utilizing the "EHI" platform and model.
Currently, the clinics under the EHI model treat about 46,000 New Patients per year and see about 24,000 Unique Patients every month. In addition, EHI has 5 Limited Purpose Single Specialty CON's, a JACCHO accredited anatomic and molecular pathology lab in Georgia, a molecular pathology lab in Florida, 1 Extremity Imaging Center in Tennessee, 1 Extremity Imaging Center in Georgia, three ACFAS accredited fellowships, and has recently started a clinical research division with two CITI principal investigators. Finally, EHI has partnered and formed a unique relationship with Emory Health Care, making it their preferred provider of podiatry services in affiliation with the Department of Orthopedics' Musculoskeletal practice.
This network is poised for plans to transform and consolidate an industry across the country by using proven, tested models of delivery that will elevate the bar on how lower extremity diseases are diagnosed and treated.
DR. JAY REUBENS ("DR. J")
Partner
Dr. Jay Reubens (“Dr. J”) is a seasoned thirty-year expert in PPE’s and an innovator of new products creating categories from start-up to the worldwide market.
In 1985, he founded DentalCare® and built a solo start-up business to an over 5,000 patient group practice. Concurrently, he served as Clinical Director at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital Dental Center. In the next decade, he increased clinic profits by 500% and sold his practice for seven figures to focus on a new career as an entrepreneur.
In 1995, envisioning the future for products that would improve poor behaviors and compliance with handwashing, Dr. J founded UltraClenz®, Inc. He developed the world’s first battery-operated touch-free dispenser for companies such as SC Johnson and 3M and installed his products in countless locations such as Dave Thomas’ office at Wendy’s and the White House Surgical Suite. Dr. J established fast-growing distribution channels in major markets such as Mckesson Medical, and in 2015, with his invention now used globally, UltraClenz was acquired for over eight figures by Ecolab.
In 2005, Dr. J’s passion included mentoring, and he founded Concept2Market to work side-by-side with start-up business CEOs. Immediately with his first client, Foodsafe LLC, he developed a strategic model capitalizing on new regulations in Florida that required all 500,000 food service workers to receive food safety training. Working side-by-side with the CEO, he recruited a statewide consultant field team of retired health inspectors who trained tens of thousands of restaurant staff from single units to chains on hand hygiene and proper food handling procedures.
In 2010, after four years of product development with a team of scientists, Dr. J developed the first alcohol-free hand sanitizer knowing how damaging alcohol hand sanitizers had been on both his hands and his former. In 2011, seeing safeHands as the ideal option to compete against Purell in what was a $200MM market, Dr. J founded safeHands, LLC and merged his FoodSafe business with this new company. Dr. J then established national distribution alliances with industry leaders in the institutional market such as Mckesson, Henry Schein, and Sysco and now Target, CVS, Walgreens, Safeway with Walmart Sporting, Albertsons and others. safeHands is currently the #1 hand sanitizer alternative to alcohol and is on a trajectory forecast to capture a minimum 10% share of the $900 MM domestic hand sanitizer market.
In 2015, Dr. J founded C2M to mentor entrepreneurs and was later recruited by the Venture Mentoring Team ( thevmt.org ) , the largest organization of its kind in the U.S. He quickly became the lead mentor for product related companies.
In 2020, with COVID 19, Dr. J identified a need to expand into the PPE market with C2M. He recruited a management team for the day-to-day operations of safeHands, founded safePaws ( safepaws4u.com ), and successfully built a buyer-seller model with numerous PPE’s sold to the front lines.
Dr. J has been interviewed on major networks, is a seasoned spokesperson and author of a book published on Amazon, “Taking on Career Change and an Industry Giant.” He is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts, Phi Beta Kappa, with a B.S. degree in Biology and minor in Business in 1979 and Boston University’s School of Graduate Dentistry, Honors, D.M.D. Degree in 1984.
DUNCAN HARTLEY
Partner
From 1990-1997, at the age of only 19. Duncan started as a Sales Associate with Garryson Limited, a world leader in abrasive discs, and quickly became the number one producer. The combination of his sales skills and multilingual in German, French, and Spanish led to a promotion to Export Manager of Europe & South Africa, which included a relocation to Johannesburg, where he expanded distribution with sales from om $0 to $3M in 2 years.
He was then promoted again and relocated to the U.S. in September of 1997 to build the newly opened U.S. division of Garryson.
From 1997-2000, Duncan was promoted to V.P. Distribution U.S. to expand the Garryson global footprint, which started in Atlanta and moved across the states to C.A., opening up warehouses, hiring staff, managing a national sales force, overseeing logistics, and the like successfully expanding the business ten-fold.
In 2001-2005, Duncan returned to the U.S. headquarters for Garryson in St. Louis. As the President of Garryson USA, he expanded the business as a private label until it sold in 2005.
In 2007-2022, Duncan founded Sundisc USA, growing that business each year ( through COVID-19) adding successful local distributorships for industrial supplies. He has formed close relationships with global leaders such as Fastenal, Grainger, and others, all key buyers for Reliable PPE.
Duncan’s experience in domestic and international sales, multilingual communication, distribution and logistics are valuable assets for Reliable PPE.
Dr. Ira Kraus
Partner
Dr. K has been in private practice in Chattanooga, TN, and North Georgia for 30 years. In 2015 he merged with Village Podiatry Centers, which is a large 56 person podiatry group. He is a Regional Medical Director and Director of Business Development. He is board certified by the American Board of Podiatric Surgery and is a fellow of the American Society of Podiatric Surgeons (ASPS), American Academy of Podiatric Practice Management (AAPPM), American College of Foot and Ankle Surgeons (ACFAS).
In 2016 he used his entrepreneurial and business skills with his partner to start and build the largest Medicare 60/40 safe harbor GPO-Talar Capital that services 4500 podiatric physicians and surgeons.
In 2020 Dr. K expanded into the PPE space with his partner and their company, Physicians Direct, LLC, utilizing his extensive contacts in healthcare to create a solid base of repeatable business primarily focused on gloves.
From 2006-2019 Dr. K served on the APMA Board of Trustees, culminating with his Presidency in 2017-2018. During that time, he was involved in a lot of lobbying and legislative work.
Dr. K is a well know speaker on advanced biologics for wound care and practice management. Because of his work with Extremity Health Care, Talar Medical, APMA, and his lecturing for large pharma, he has a strong relationship with leading healthcare and suppliers in the U.S.
C. Ballard Scearce, Jr.
Partner, General Counsel
Ballard is a graduate of Millsaps College in Jackson, MS, where he obtained a BBA in accounting and holds a juris doctor degree from Samford University, Cumberland School of Law in Birmingham, AL.
Ballard was previously associated with several other law firm and was a partner in an AmLaw 100 law firm for 15 years before starting his own firm where he currently serves as the Managing Director of The Scearce Law Firm, P.C. in Chattanooga, TN.
Ballard’s practice consists of general business matters, real estate and commercial lending. He serves as outside general counsel to dozens of companies and advised such business with issues ranging from formation, financing, employment matters, general contract negotiation and exit strategies. He also advises corporate clients with the review, negotiation and drafting of purchasing, supply, distribution, confidentiality and licensing and other supply chain and operational contracts. He regularly advises real estate developers and contractors/subcontractors as to construction, development and leasing matters. Ballard also represents several regional banks and advises their commercial lending departments with respect to a variety of issues.
Ballard is very active in his community serving on a variety of non-profit boards and is married with three middle and high school age children.