John Ehlinger
John S. Ehlinger is a seasoned investor, executive and M&A growth strategist with extensive experience in the healthcare and service sectors. As a partner with Astria Elevate, John leverages his broad operational expertise—which includes complex revenue cycle management, financial strategy and product development—to drive value creation in lower- and middle-market companies.
Prior to Astria Elevate, John held multiple leadership roles at Great Elm Capital Group, Inc., a publicly-traded investment holding company, where he was an operating partner and led value-creating strategic planning for its portfolio companies. As operating partner and executive leader of one of those subsidiaries, Great Elm Healthcare, LLC, he executed initiatives that grew revenue by over 37% during the global pandemic, turned the company cash flow positive, and completed six acquisitions and integrations. This work culminated in the company’s sale to a strategic buyer. In Great Elm’s investment subsidiary, John led Chapter 11 and out-of-court corporate restructurings and achieved positive return outcomes in high-stakes financial scenarios. John’s career also includes roles as an Investment Officer at Ajax Partners and as the COO and CFO at Wellsense Technologies, where he commercialized an innovative medical technology in the U.S. and Europe. Prior to these roles, John was a partner at a special situations and distressed-debt focused hedge fund, where he managed special situations investments that drove above-market returns and enabled the firm to grow AUM over six-fold to approximately $2B.
John has an MBA and AB from Columbia University and serves on the Advisory Council for Newton-Wellesley Hospital, a part of the Mass General Brigham system.