Cerner has announced that Dr. David Feinberg will succeed Brent Shafer as the health information technology company’s CEO on October 1. Shafer’s decision to step away from the company has also spurred Cerner to name William Zollars as its new Independent Chairman.
Dr. Feinberg joins Cerner from Google, where he had served as the VP of Google Health since 2019. In that role he spearheaded the tech giant’s efforts to use AI, product expertise, and hardware to solve major healthcare issues. His departure has reportedly led Google to disband the health unit.
“Cerner will be well-served under Dr. Feinberg’s capable leadership,” Shafer stated. “Dr. Feinberg has had an exceptional career in healthcare, and his industry expertise, patient-centric mindset, and organizational leadership experience make him ideally qualified to lead the company through its next chapter.”
Prior to his time at Google, Dr. Feinberg was President & CEO of Geisinger, where he oversaw 13 hospital campuses, a 600,000-member health plan, and a collection of research centers. Before that, he spent over 20 years at UCLA and during his tenure served as CEO of UCLA’s hospitals, Associate Vice Chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences, and President of UCLA Health System.
“Throughout my career, I’ve been guided by the goal of improving patient health and reducing the complexity of the healthcare system," Dr. Feinberg commented. “I am thrilled to join a company that is so uniquely well-positioned to provide technology solutions that enable clinicians to take better care of patients while driving better clinical, operational, and financial outcomes for organizations of all sizes. I look forward to expanding opportunities for Cerner clients and associates while affecting real change in healthcare and enhancing value for our shareholders.”
Dr. Feinberg joins Cerner after a year of growth as the electronic health records giant released its Q2 2021 results earlier this month and revealed that its revenues jumped 10% year-over-year to almost $1.5 billion. Additionally, earlier this year the company finalized a $375 million deal to acquire data, analytics, and real-world evidence consultancy Kantar Health.
