LENEXA, Kan., Aug. 30 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Mediware Information Systems, Inc. said it named three new senior executive officers and separately extended the employment contract of Chief Executive Officer George Barry, who has held the position since January 2001 when he was recruited to execute a major overhaul of operations and turn the company into a growing and profitable enterprise, which it is today.
The company said Mr. Barry’s new contract extends his employment agreement with the company for two years, until August 2006. Mr. Barry has also assumed interim line responsibilities for the company’s Operating Room Division.
Mediware Chairman Lawrence Auriana said, “Bud has done a tremendous job in putting Mediware on the right course of expanding product functionality, enhancing customer service, and greatly improving our financial performance. We are delighted he’s agreed to continuing the transitions he began three and a half years ago.”
The new executive additions include: (1) Frank L. Poggio who was named general manager of the Mediware Blood Bank Division, replacing Don Jackson who is focusing his activities on cord blood stem cell and biologics information systems; (2) Robert Tysall-Blay, the new president of Mediware International based in the United Kingdom; and (3) Robert C. Weber who was appointed general counsel and chief legal officer, a new position.
Frank L. Poggio: Mr. Poggio is a 34-year veteran of the health services industry, including the presidency of Citation Computer Systems, Inc. which was later acquired by Cerner, Inc. , a $1.6 billion (market cap) supplier of health care information technology. Citation specialized in laboratory information systems. More recently, he was president of Kelzon Consulting Group, a developer of business plans to increase market share and grow sales of vertical market software and healthcare organizations. In earlier positions he was the founder and president of Health Micro Data Systems, Inc., which was merged into Citation, and chief information officer of the University of Wisconsin Hospitals and Clinics, where he was responsible for 250 employees and a budget in excess of $10 million. A graduate of Iona College and the Harvard Business School’s executive program for health administration, Mr. Poggio has published more than 30 articles and served for eight years on the faculty of the University of Wisconsin Graduate School of Business.
“Frank has lived on both sides of the aisle as a vendor and also as a buyer of mission critical healthcare IT systems. The length and diversity of his experience gives him special capabilities to strengthen and grow our customer service and technology franchises,” said CEO George Barry.
Robert Tysall-Blay: Mr. Blay, who reports to Mike Crabtree, president of Mediware Pharmacy Worldwide, has 30 years experience in the healthcare field, 10 years in medical lab science within the UK’s National Health Service (NHS), and 20 years in sales and marketing of healthcare IT systems. He is currently heavily involved in product roll-out activities in the UK, where Mediware is strongly positioned in the NHS’s new National Programme for Information Technology. He earlier established the International Division of Sunquest Information Systems (now Misys Healthcare International) where he spent nine years in a variety of posts, including sales and marketing manager and UK managing director. Working primarily for US-based companies, he gained healthcare experience in seven countries including the US, UK, Germany, France, Denmark and the Middle East. His healthcare IT experience includes the areas of lab, radiology, PACS, pharmacy, decision support and electronic patient record systems.
“Rob’s experience in clinical applications gives him invaluable insights into customer needs, helping Mediware to develop an especially strong footprint in the UK and select European countries,” said Mr. Crabtree.
Robert C. Weber: Mr. Weber served with domestic and international law firms for the past six years, most recently in the Chicago office of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he specialized in asset and stock sale agreements and private equity investments. Most recently he was corporate counsel of Epic Systems, a private medical records software company, where he drafted and negotiated multi-million dollar software agreements and third-party vendor relationships. Earlier positions included four years at Chicago-based Jenner & Block and legal internships in the Office of the Governor of Wisconsin under Tommy Thompson, the Wisconsin Office of the Commissioner of Securities and the US Small Business Administration. He earned his BA degree at the University of Wisconsin and a JD degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Law, where he graduated Cum Laude.
“Rob’s knowledge and experience in corporate governance, capital structures and M&A supplement Mediware’s key resources as we build our core businesses for the next set of opportunities,” said Mr. Barry.
In addition, Mark Williams has assumed the responsibilities of corporate controller, reporting to Ms. Jill Suppes, chief financial officer. Mr. Williams, a CPA, has eight year accounting and auditing experience, most recently at Ernst & Young LLP.
Mediware provides clinical information systems for hospitals and integrated healthcare delivery systems. Its products include HEMOCARE LifeLine(TM), Hemocare(R), LifeLine(R), LifeTrak(R), and HCLL(TM) (blood bank), WORx(R), MediMAR(TM), MediCOE(TM), Pharmakon(R), and Digimedics(TM) (pharmacy), Surgiware(TM), and Perioperative Solutions(TM) (operating room), as well as the JAC Stock Control System (pharmacy) in the United Kingdom. Mediware has over 1,100 systems installed in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and elsewhere.
Certain statements in this press release may constitute “forward-looking” statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, as the same may be amended from time to time (the “Act”) and in releases made by the SEC from time to time. Such forward-looking statements are not based on historical facts and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors disclosed in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2004, which may cause the actual results of the Company to be materially different from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. The Company disclaims any obligation to update its forward-looking statements.
Contact: George Barry Thomas Redington 913/307-1000 203/222-7399 212/926-1733
Mediware Information Systems, Inc.
CONTACT: George Barry of Mediware, +1-913-307-1000; or Thomas Redington,+1-203-222-7399, or +1-212-926-1733, for Mediware
