Tom Penque

Chief People Officer, Executive Vice President

Tom Penque serves as chief people officer of CareQuest Institute for Oral Health. As a member of the executive leadership team, Tom leads CareQuest Institute in fostering an inclusive, engaging, and high-performing culture that aligns with the mission and values. He also drives initiatives to attract, develop, and retain top talent while championing employee well-being, diversity, equity, belonging, inclusion, and innovation. 

Tom has more than 30 years of experience developing effective human resource and people strategies across diverse industries, including health care. Before joining CareQuest Institute, Tom served as chief human resource officer (CHRO) of Definitive Healthcare, where he successfully built and scaled a world-class talent organization from 300 to 1000 employees. As CHRO, Tom increased learning engagement hours overall and behavior change measures with managerial and leader programs. He also brings extensive experience in colleague engagement, having early in his career been recognized for his ability to build teams, develop operational structures, and manage employee relations while in an accountant role. 

Tom earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Boston College and his master’s degree in marketing from Babson College.