Breaking News: HIMSS’s Steve Lieber Announces He Will Retire in 2017

The Chicago-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) announced on Dec. 19 that H. Stephen (Steve) Lieber, HIMSS’s president and CEO, will retire at the end of 2017, at which time he will have served in that role for 17 ½ years.

According to the news announcement that HIMSS released on Monday afternoon on its website, “Lieber, 63, assumed this role in April 2000 and has led HIMSS through a period of significant change in healthcare and information technology. During his tenure, HIMSS has become an influential association voice, thought leader, resource and advisor driving global transformation of health and healthcare through the best use of IT. Lieber has been a significant figure within HIMSS, the American healthcare community and globally as governments, care delivery organizations, clinicians and others have embraced health IT as a primary asset in addressing problems associated with the cost, quality and access of health and care. Under his leadership,” the announcement stated, “HIMSS has built a global operation annually reaching hundreds of thousands of engaged healthcare professionals in more than 35 countries through its educational programs, public policy leadership, strategic advisory and assessment services, membership and community networks, and other services.”

HIMSS included in its announcement a statement from Dr. Sebastian Krolop, chair of the HIMSS Board of Directors and a partner in Philips Healthcare Transformation Services EMEA, based in Berlin, Germany. “Steve has provided the right balance of strategic and operational leadership necessary for HIMSS to transform from a small, US-only based professional society to a large, globally focused diversified organization,” Dr. Krolop said in the statement. “I would therefore like to take this opportunity to express my deepest gratitude to Steve for his passion, constant dedication and outstanding efforts.”

HIMSS has initiated a global search for a successor, retaining Egon Zehnder to lead the search process. The process is expected to be completed by summer with the new president and CEO serving alongside Lieber over the final months of 2017 to ensure a smooth transition, the HIMSS organization said.