Alan Rencher is a technology executive at Henry Schein One, an innovative technology company that provides industry-leading practice management, marketing, and patient engagement solutions. Previously, Alan worked in executive technology leadership roles at MasterControl, Target, Melaleuca, and various other technology companies. Alan enjoys solving complex problems with incredible tech and even better people. Alan holds various engineering and computer science degrees. Alan resides in Highland, Utah, with his wife and four children.
Recently, in an exclusive interview with CIO Magazine, Alan shared valuable insights highlighting his blend of technical and business acumen, shaped by his background in computer science and mechanical engineering. Alan emphasized the transformative role of AI in dentistry, noting its potential to enhance clinical outcomes, automate Revenue Cycle Management, and improve operational efficiency for dentists. He also shared personal hobbies and interests, his favorite quote, future plans, words of wisdom, and much more. The following excerpts are taken from the interview.
Hi Alan. Can you describe your educational background in engineering and computer science – how did it shape your career path?
My educational background, rooted in both computer science and mechanical engineering, has given me a unique perspective on technology and its practical applications. For example, my training in these disciplines has taught me the importance of approaching challenges analytically and appreciating the interplay between hardware and software in solving complex problems. Combining technical expertise and business acumen, which I have continued refining through education and professional experience, has been invaluable in my career. My ability to bridge the gap between innovation and real-world impact has served me incredibly well in my career, empowering me to approach and tackle problems from multiple angles and lead teams with both confidence and humility.
What do you love the most about your current role?
My role as the Chief Technology Officer of Henry Schein One is both challenging and rewarding. A market leader in improving oral health outcomes and helping to simplify dentistry, Henry Schein One helps make dentists more efficient, increasing the number of patients they see and total treatments they perform. Our position with the market also creates significant opportunities; notably, the pace of innovation is always accelerating and always deepening. While keeping pace with the velocity of innovation can be challenging, it is also extremely rewarding. As the market leader, we have an obligation to provide more than 70,000 dentists’ offices around the world with the best technology that they expect and trust from Henry Schein One.
How do you see technology transforming industries like healthcare in the next 5 years?
AI is creating significant automation and efficiency. However, the technology is also creating significant new risks and challenges. At Henry Schein One, we think about AI and transformation in two ways.
First, AI is a force multiplier that makes our products more automated and simplifies tasks for dentists — for example, improving clinical outcomes through AI-powered diagnosis. Detecting cavities with greater accuracy than a human dentist reduces follow-on treatments, while automating large portions of the revenue cycle streamlines operations. Together, these applications create more efficient, higher-quality clinical experiences for both patients and dentists.
Second, we’ve aggressively embraced AI in our software engineering and quality processes, driving major gains in velocity, quality, and speed to market. While competitors are also accelerating with AI, as the market leader, we’ve leaned in fully and are seeing exponentially stronger results.
In the next five years, I expect to see AI radically improve the outcomes of dentists clinically, operationally and administratively. We are just scratching the surface and it is very exciting!
What do you believe are essential qualities for a technology leader in today’s business environment?
In today’s business environment, a technology leader must be an effective problem solver, able to break down complex challenges and guide teams toward practical solutions. In my line of business and generally, it is essential to maintain a hyper focus on customer outcomes, especially when people’s health is involved, ensuring that every initiative and decision is driven by the value it delivers to those we serve. Execution is equally important; having great ideas is not enough unless you can translate them into results through disciplined follow-through and collaboration. However, a vital quality for a leader is humility. When you listen to diverse perspectives, keep open to feedback, and recognize that the best solutions often come from collective effort, you build trust and credibility. By combining vision, adaptability, and a relentless commitment to both customers and execution, technology leaders can and have a responsibility to create environments where innovation thrives and teams achieve their best work.
What personal or professional philosophies have contributed to your success, and how have you applied these principles in your career?
Relentless effort and steady improvement are the two philosophies that have shaped my career. I learned the first from my parents, who modeled the kind of quiet, consistent hard work that does not need an audience. From them, I absorbed a simple rule: show up, do the hard thing first, and do not quit when it gets uncomfortable. The second took root during my time living and working as a missionary in Brazil. Immersed in a new language and culture, I discovered that perseverance is most powerful when paired with humility, listening first, meeting people where they are, and taking the next right step even when the path is uncertain.
Those principles map directly to how I lead technology teams. We practice quick, agile delivery not because shipping fast is trendy, but because small, well-aimed increments compound into outsized value. We keep our promises by breaking work down to what we can confidently deliver, then wow customers with visible progress: ship, measure, learn, and iterate. When something does not land, we treat it as feedback, not failure. The point is not to be perfect at launch; it is to be better by Friday than we were on Monday, and better next month than we are today.
In practice, that means tackling the riskiest assumption up front so we can learn early and reduce surprise later. Every release should suggest the next improvement and invite a conversation with customers. We proactively follow up, share what changed because of customer input, and celebrate the people who surfaced the insight. And if we miss a sprint goal or a KPI, we do not miss the next one—we diagnose, adapt, and regain momentum.
Brazil also taught me endurance with empathy. Hard work is not just about grinding; it is about staying present for people—teammates and customers—especially when circumstances are noisy or ambiguous. That lens helps us make better choices: simplicity over cleverness, clarity over volume, and outcomes over activity.
Put simply, my philosophy is this: work hard on the right things, keep moving in small steps, and earn trust through consistent follow-through. That approach has served me from the streets of Brazil to product rooms and boardrooms, and it continues to guide how our team at Henry Schein One turns ideas into impact.
Is there a particular person you are grateful for who helped get you to where you are?
I have tremendous gratitude for all the spectacular people in my personal and professional lives who have helped me become who I am today. I will also say that I have learned far more from failure than I have from success.
What are some of your passions outside of work? What do you like to do in your time off?
I really enjoy spending time with my wife, children and numerous nieces and nephews. We really like outdoor things and trying new things. Recently, I took my kids to the UK and it was very fun to see them experience that country. I have also participated in almost 70 triathlons, most of them sprint and Olympic distance races. Training for those is extremely time-intensive and requires a significant amount of discipline. These days, I really enjoy long bike rides. I live in Utah and we have beautiful road and mountain bike trails that get a ton of miles from me!
What is your favorite quote?
“Lift where you stand.” – Dieter F. Uchtdorf. This quote means that wherever you are, whatever you are doing, look around and find ways to help. It can be anything for anyone. No job or task should be beneath you. No job or task is too great that you can’t figure it out. Just go do it!
What is your biggest goal? Where do you see yourself in 5 years from now?
My biggest goal is to create a “three-way win” where our customers, our team members, and the company all succeed together. For customers, that means delivering solutions that make their lives easier and their practices more efficient. For our team, it is about fostering an environment where we can grow, innovate, and enjoy the work we do. For the company, it is about driving sustainable success through meaningful impact.
In five years, I see myself solving even bigger, more complex problems at a larger scale. Problems that continue to move the needle for dental practices. By then, and hopefully sooner, I envision we will have successfully automated away the mundane, low-value tasks that consume time today, freeing teams to focus on what matters most: delivering exceptional patient care and creating outstanding experiences.
And while we are doing all this, I want us to have fun. Innovation and progress should be exciting, energizing, and rewarding. If we can build solutions that make a difference and enjoy the journey together, that is success in my book.
What advice would you give to professionals looking to build a career in technology leadership?
Serve your teams and your customers. Technology leadership starts with problem solving: define the problem precisely, identify constraints, and make trade-offs explicit. Use data, think in systems, and run disciplined postmortems so your team learns faster than the problem changes. Pair that with humility. Admit what you do not know, invite diverse perspectives, and revise your approach when evidence shifts. The best leaders hire people smarter than themselves and create psychological safety so those people can win. No task is beneath you. Credibility comes from serving the team by jumping into on-call when needed, writing documentation, clearing blockers, and doing unglamorous work that keeps the system healthy. Also serve your peers across HR, marketing, sales, and accounting. Become a student of their business so you can connect technology to outcomes and add value anywhere you can. Round it out by translating tech choices into business impact, staying close to customers, and investing in talent through coaching and clear expectations. Over time, your impact is measured by the problems your teams can solve without you in the room. Serve your teams and your customers.