Dive Brief:
- Athenahealth has appointed Jeff Immelt as the company's new chairman of the board.
- Immelt served as CEO and chairman for GE for 16 years. He stepped down from the position in October.
- Immelt plans to purchase about $1 million of athenahealth common stock in the open market.
Dive Insight:
Athenahealth said it chose Immelt based on his healthcare knowledge, his experience with digital products and ability to scale large organizations. Immelt helped grow GE Healthcare from a $3 billion enterprise to $20 billion.
The Watertown, Massachusetts-based health IT company has been shaking up its senior management structure since May, when activist investor Elliott Management, led by billionaire Paul Singer, disclosed a 9.2% interest in the company.
In August, the company said it would establish the role of president, a title CEO Jonathan Bush previously held. Athenahealth launched the search for a board chair in the same month.
Last November, Marc Levine was named the company's new CFO.
Athenahealth reported 13% revenue growth in 2017, compared to 2016. However, bookings fell short of the company's goal, decreasing 15.9% year-over-year.