Chip Conk, CEO
Montecito Medical
Summit Producer
Chip Conk is CEO of Montecito Medical and is responsible for the company’s vision and extraordinary growth. He plays a central, hands-on role in the company’s success, and under his leadership Montecito has transacted on over $6.5 billion in medical real estate and emerged as one of the nation’s top privately held acquirer of medical office buildings, and in each of the past seven years, GlobeSt.com named the company as a “Key Influencer in Healthcare Real Estate.”
Chip is nationally recognized in the industry. In 2021, he was named Healthcare Real Estate Executive of the Year by Healthcare Real Estate Insights (HREI). He also has received The Developer & Builder Alliance Visionary Award for Real Estate Development.
Bruce Cohen, MD
Foot & Ankle Specialist, OrthoCarolina
Summit Chair
Dr. Bruce Cohen has served in a leadership capacity throughout his tenure with OrthoCarolina, including serving as Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Operations Committee as OrthoCarolina established itself as a nationally recognized model for patient success and value-based care. He served as CEO of OrthoCarolina from 2016-2023.
He currently is a Professor of Orthopedics at Atrium Health – Carolinas Medical Center. He also has acted as a principal investigator in numerous active research projects through the OrthoCarolina Research Institute (OCRI).
A.J. Bahou, Chair of Artificial Intelligence Practice
Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP
A.J. Bahou is a healthcare attorney and chair of Bradley's Artificial Intelligence Practice, where he advises healthcare companies, physician practices, boards, and executive teams on the legal, regulatory, and commercial risks of deploying AI across the enterprise. His practice spans AI governance and policy design, vendor and licensing agreements, IP strategy, M&A diligence, and litigation risk, helping clients move from AI experimentation to defensible, audit-ready deployment.
A rare combination of practicing attorney and trained engineer, A.J. is both a transactional lawyer and a trial lawyer, having represented plaintiffs and defendants in federal courts across the country, including the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit and the U.S. Supreme Court. His engineering background covers AI/ML, computer hardware and software, medical devices, and cybersecurity systems, letting him engage directly with CTOs, data science teams, and AI model developers on the technology behind the legal questions. He regularly counsels clients on data privacy, cybersecurity, and the evolving patchwork of federal, state, and international AI regulation, with particular depth in healthcare and life sciences, including software as a medical device.
A.J. chairs the Artificial Intelligence Task Force for the Tennessee Bar Association and leads the AI Cohort for the Nashville Healthcare Council's Leadership Healthcare Program. He holds a B.S. in Engineering from Tennessee Tech, a Master's in Electrical and Computer Engineering, summa cum laude, from Johns Hopkins, and a J.D., magna cum laude, from the University of New Hampshire.
Mike Freiburg, SVP
Capital Markets, Montecito Medical
Mike Freiburg leads the capital raising initiatives at Montecito Medical, as well as strategic capital decisions for MontecitoPLUS. Mike also works as a family office advisor to the owners of Montecito.
Mike has spent almost 20 years in financial services where he worked for large institutions such as Truist and J.P. Morgan. In his previous roles, Mike advised high net worth families, family offices, foundations, and endowments on complex financial situations.
He remains active in the Nashville community where he serves on the board of trustees for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and volunteers for other non-profits.