Cerner named David Feinberg, MD, its president and CEO, effective Oct. 1, the Kansas City, Mo.-based EHR vendor announced Aug. 19.
Seven notes:
1. Dr. Feinberg will succeed Brent Shafer, who announced his decision to step down as CEO and chair in May.
2. Dr. Feinberg brings more than 25 years of healthcare experience to his new role at Cerner. He most recently served as vice president of Google Health, where he has led the tech giant's global healthcare efforts since 2019. His move to Cerner comes as Google is reportedly dissolving its health division and splitting its health projects and teams across several areas of the company, Insider reported Aug. 20.
3. Before joining Google Health, Dr. Feinberg was president and CEO of Geisinger; during his tenure at the Danville, Pa.-based health system, he oversaw an operational turnaround and led the system's use of a new IT system called Unified Data Architecture, which integrates big data into existing data analytics and management systems, according to the news release.
4. Prior to Geisinger, Dr. Feinberg spent more than 20 years at UCLA in a number of leadership roles, including president, CEO and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences, and vice chancellor and CEO of UCLA Hospital System.
5. In light of Dr. Feinberg's appointment, Cerner's current president, Donald Trigg, will depart from the EHR company.
6. Cerner's board of directors also said it will separate the roles of chair and CEO under the new leadership and that William Zollars will be the company's independent chair, also effective Oct. 1.
7. Mr. Zollars has been a member of Cerner's board since May 2005 and has served as lead independent director since April 2019. He is the former chair, president and CEO of YRC Worldwide, now known as YRC Freight, which provides transportation and global logistics services.
"Over the past few months, our board conducted an extensive search for a CEO candidate with the expertise and ability to effectively capitalize on the opportunities in the market we serve," Cerner board member Mitch Daniels said in the news release. "With his exceptional track record of leading and innovating programs to improve patient care, technology experience, and industry expertise, we believe Dr. Feinberg is the ideal CEO to lead Cerner in its next chapter of growth and success."