New chief appointed at Cerner

KANSAS CITY – Cerner Corporation has appointed Dr. David Feinberg (pictured) as president and chief executive officer, effective October 1, 2021. Dr. Feinberg, 59, joins Cerner from Google, where he has served since 2019 as the vice president of Google Health. In this role, he led Google’s worldwide health efforts, bringing together groups from across Google and Alphabet that used artificial intelligence, product expertise and hardware to tackle some of healthcare’s biggest challenges.

Dr. Feinberg succeeds Brent Shafer, who previously announced his decision to transition from chairman and CEO. Dr. Feinberg will serve as a member of the Board of Directors. Cerner’s current president, Donald Trigg, will leave Cerner.

Cerner’s Board of Directors also announced that it will separate the roles of chairman and Chief Executive Officer and has appointed William Zollars as independent chairman, also effective October 1, 2021.

Prior to Google, Dr. Feinberg served as president and CEO of Geisinger Health, a physician-led health system, and one of the nation’s most innovative health services organizations.

At Geisinger, Dr. Feinberg led an operational turnaround, and pushed the use of new platforms and tools, including an IT system called a Unified Data Architecture that allowed the company to integrate big data into existing data analytics and management systems.

During his Geisinger tenure, Dr. Feinberg also introduced programs and services to put a greater focus on precision medicine and better patient care. Before leading Geisinger, Dr. Feinberg worked at UCLA for more than 20 years and served in a number of roles, including president, CEO and associate vice chancellor of UCLA Health Sciences, vice chancellor and CEO for the UCLA Hospital System, and CEO of UCLA’s Ronald Reagan Medical Center.

Throughout his career, Dr. Feinberg has been driven by a passion to leverage technology to better-enable providers to deliver the very best clinical care.

“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,” said Mitch Daniels, member of the Cerner Board and chair of the Nominating, Governance and Public Policy Committee. “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.”

“I am honored to join Cerner and look forward to working closely with Cerner’s talented associates as we continue to profitably grow the business by driving global healthcare transformation,” Dr. Feinberg said.

“Throughout my career, I’ve been guided by the goal of improving patient health and reducing the complexity of the healthcare system. 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.”

“Cerner will be well-served under Dr. Feinberg’s capable leadership,” Mr. Shafer said. “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. I am delighted to work closely with Dr. Feinberg as we begin the transition.”