As a healthcare executive, Dean was the Chief Executive Officer of Sharp HealthCare in San Diego for some 20 years. In retirement, he served on the board and as president of the International Visitors Council, as the San Diego Diplomacy Council was then known.
Dean is a graduate of UC Berkeley and the Goizuetta School of Business at Emory University. He also studied at Harvard Business School and Christ Church Oxford. His community service includes emeritus membership in the San Diego Rotary Club and its International Committee, as well as volunteering with several Balboa Park organizations.