Chicago-based EMR vendor, Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. has announced that Dennis Chookaszian has been named the company’s new Chairman for its Board of Directors. Chookaszian has been a director on the board since September 2010 and replaces the outgoing Chairman, Phil Pead, who was recently fired.
Previously, Chookaszian served as Chairman and CEO of mPower, Inc., a financial advice provider focused on the on-line management of 401(k) plans. He also previously served as Chairman and CEO of CNA Insurance Companies, along with several management positions within the company.
Before serving as the Chairman of Allscripts’ Board of Directors, Pead was the president and CEO of Eclipsys, the EMR vendor that Allscripts acquired in August of 2010. Other previous Eclipsys-based board members, Catherine M. Burzik, Eugene V. Fife, and Edward A. Kangas, informed Allscripts that they had resigned as directors of the Board, after it was announced Pead was terminated.
Last week, Allscripts’ stock took a dive, falling 42 percent, upon news of Pead’s departure, along with the company’s first-quarter financial earnings results. The company noted that bookings were $194.6 million, down from $212.4 million in the first quarter of 2011.
The news of Chookaszian’s promotion to Chairman of the Board, along with Allscript’s announcement that the Board of Directors has authorized management to repurchase an additional $200 million of Allscripts common stock, bringing the total repurchase authorization to $400 million, has bumped up the stock. It was up 80 cents to $11.10 per share, or 7.73 percent.
