The Chicago-based Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society (HIMSS) has named Harold “Hal” Wolf III as its new president and CEO, to succeed H. Stephen Lieber.
Lieber announced back in December his plans to step down as HIMSS CEO after more than 17 years.
Wolf, considered a digital health veteran, has extensive experience working in healthcare and technology, and among his many areas of expertise are integrated care models, mhealth, product development, marketing, distribution, information technology and innovation implementation.
For the past two years he has served as director, national leader of information and digital health strategy at the Chicago-based advisory and analytics services firm The Chartis Group. In that role, Wolf led the firm in supporting providers and healthcare organizations in the development of integrated information, operations, digital health and precision medicine strategies.
Before joining The Chartis Group, Wolf was senior vice president and chief operating officer of Kaiser Permanente’s Permanente Federation, representing more than 16,000 physicians. In that role, Wolf was responsible for the development and implementation of critical care delivery strategies, data management and governance, population care management environments and the implementation of unique innovations and large-scale programs that impacted end-to-end operations, according to the HIMSS press release. Prior to Kaiser Permanente, Wolf worked as chief information officer for the e-business, corporate systems and wholesale division of Quest Communications/USWest.
Wolf also has served HIMSS for four years: two as an advisor to the board and two additional years as a member of the board of directors, recently as vice chair. He serves as a board member and officer of the International Care Delivery Alliance.
In a press release, HIMSS officials said this of Wolf: “As an advisor, thought leader and consultant, he continues to lead internationally in the realm of health policy and technology adoption to increase access and improve care outcomes. A key architect in the development of content, research and user interfaces for video on demand and broadband, Wolf is a pioneer in consumer engagement. He has contributed his unique approach and insights to the birth of the digital health era, combining traditional enterprise strategies with an end-to-end organizational view, while keeping the patient as the central focus.”
“Hal Wolf brings to his new role as president and CEO of HIMSS the powerful combination of broad, deep and relevant knowledge, expertise, experience, energy and accomplishments, along with a deep love of and longstanding commitment to HIMSS. His track record of innovation and success spans premier healthcare delivery organizations, digital strategy groups, media companies, global endeavors and more,” Michael Zaroukian, M.D., Ph.D., HIMSS board chair, said in a prepared statement.
“He sees and creates opportunities, brings people together, and facilitates their success in creating new and better products and services. We are excited that he will be focusing his full energy and efforts to lead HIMSS, as it advances its vision of improving health through information technology and its mission to globally lead endeavors optimizing health engagements and care outcomes through information technology,” Sebastian Krolop, M.D., former HIMSS Board Chair, said in a statement.
“As an advisor, thought leader and consultant, he continues to lead internationally in the realm of health policy and technology adoption to increase access and improve care outcomes. His role and accomplishments on the HIMSS board have shown him to be a powerful voice and advocate for the organization and its mission,” HIMSS officials said in the press release.
“It is a great privilege and honor to be chosen to lead HIMSS, an organization whose purpose is to improve healthcare and care outcomes,” Wolf said. “Across the globe, healthcare is challenged to harness the power of information and technology, to solve for the unique environments of each health system and to support the personalization of care to the individual. In alliance with the growing membership of HIMSS and the expansive capabilities of our organization, our collective task is to enable innovation across the full healthcare ecosystem.”
Wolf holds a Bachelor of Science in Business from Wake Forest University, and a Bachelor of Science in Textile Management from North Carolina State University.
