8 SUD, Addiction Treatment Executives to Watch
By Ashleigh Hollowell | September 21, 2026
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This is an exclusive BHB+ article.
The word “hesitation” has been repeatedly used by addiction treatment industry analysts, investors and providers to describe the palpable anxieties brought on by Medicaid changes in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, which are set to take hold in just a few short months. That shared outlook by leaders across the sector has led to a year of tamped-down deal activity in the substance use disorder (SUD) market. In the first half of 2026, M&A advisory firm Mertz Taggart reported only seven closed addiction treatment transactions, down from 18 in the same period in 2025. Outside of market and policy uncertainties, the sector’s previous consolidation wave has also left fewer sizable acquisition targets than there once were. Transactions have continued to decline in the sector since 2024, according to the Braff Group.
SUD executives are navigating that landscape as they also face intensified federal scrutiny as the Trump administration continues to crack down on fraud, waste and abuse across healthcare. In its largest-ever investigation earlier this summer, the Department of Justice charged 39 behavioral health providers. Among those, only nine cases were brought against addiction treatment and SUD providers, but they carried the majority of alleged fraud across all behavioral health cases at $142,891,408.
They are also navigating what the onslaught of artificial intelligence tools may mean for their workforce, medication, treatment, and the future of care altogether.
That combination of policy headwinds, Medicaid changes, market uncertainty and intense fraud investigations has understandably shaken things up across several organizations’ C-suites this year as they aim to future-proof operations. Much of that context is behind Behavioral Health Business’ 2026 list of executives to watch throughout the remainder of 2026 and into 2027.
Cooper Zelnick, CEO, Groups Recover Together
Zelnick has been CEO for exactly one year. In that time, he led the Burlington, Massachusetts-based addiction treatment provider through its first-ever acquisition. Zelnick also hinted that more transactions could be on the horizon. The transaction closed on March 31 between Groups and another New England-based company Better Life Partners.