Cerner prepares for exits of three senior executives
Michael Nill who works as Cerner Corp.'s Executive Vice President and COO plans to step down from his role on 10th January, the company shared in a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
Besides Nill, Joanne Burns, Chief Strategy Officer at Cerner, also plans to step down from the company, early next year. Last week, Jeff Townsend, Cerner Executive Vice President and Chief of Innovation had also left the company as he retired from his role. In June, Cerner's Chief People Officer Julie Wilson had also retired and left the company after working with it for 24 years.
With multiple senior exits, now the the electronic health record giant plans to bolster the leadership team.
"Going forward, as part of Cerner's positioning for the future, the company is looking to bolster the leadership team with an emphasis on cloud platform and transformation experience," mentioned Cerner in the filing.
Nill, who worked at Cerner for 23 years will continue to receive pay from the company for two years beginning in January, based on his annual base salary and his annual target cash bonus, among other factors. However, he will have to comply with Cerner's restrictive covenants, including a noncompete agreement.
On the other hand, Townsend who retired from his role on Friday after working with the company for 30 years has transitioned to a new role. He will now act as an executive senior adviser. As per Cerner's filing, he will primarily work on completing and transitioning his current responsibilities. The adviser role includes a base salary of $100,000 per year, with his initial term expiring in June 2020.
Cerner is in the phase of huge transformation.
It is working on implementing a new operating model designed to improve efficiency and profitability, as part of an agreement it struck in April with Starboard Value, an activist investment fund that owns roughly 1 percent of the company's outstanding stock.
Further, it aims for a new operating model to improve the company's adjusted operating margin through 165 cost-cutting, portfolio management and business simplification initiatives.
In such a crucial phase of business, Cerner requires a strong leadership team. Roles like Strategy Officer, Innovation Officer and COO in fact become all the more critical considering Cerner's current business priorities. How Cerner identifies these new leaders to help drive its next phase of growth is to look forward to.