Robert Hubert is president and CEO of EKOS (Bothell, Washington), bringing to EKOS more than 20 years of marketing, sales, and general management experience in a broad range of medical device companies, from start-up to Fortune 10.

Tod Christenson wears many hats. He is a partner in the Global Corporate Consultancy of Antea Group, an international environmental engineering and sustainability consulting firm, serving as leader of the group's Value Chain Optimization Practice. He has served since 2006 as director of the Beverage Industry Environmental Roundtable, a coalition of 17 global beverage companies working to advance environmental sustainability across the beverage sector. In his newest role, he also serves as director of the Healthcare Plastics Recycling Council (HPRC), a consortium of twelve global medical products manufacturers, waste management service companies, resin manufacturers, and plastic recyclers whose mission it is "to inspire and enable plastics recycling solutions in the delivery of healthcare."

Tod Christenson wears many hats. He is a partner in the Global Corporate Consultancy of Antea Group, an international environmental engineering and sustainability consulting firm, serving as leader of the group's Value Chain Optimization Practice.

The recent hubbub about ex-University of Arkansas football coach Bobby Petrino, which centered on the latest examples of his propensity for lying to his superiors, got me to thinking. Not so much about how proven prevaricator Petrino finally lied his way into the ranks of the unemployed, although I did enjoy reading statements such as this classic from SI.com writer Michael Rosenberg: “The . . . university is shocked to discover that its lying-weasel football coach is a lying weasel.” Rather, the extensive coverage of the circumstances of Petrino’s self-inflicted fall from grace led me to revisit a question that...

Julie Shimer, president and CEO of Welch Allyn (Skaneateles Falls, New York), hands over reins of the company to new President/CEO Stephen Meyer this month after announcing plans in January to retire this year. Shimer was the first female CEO of the company, a maker of medical diagnostic and monitoring equipment and software solutions, assumed that role in 2007 after serving as a member of the firm's board of directors beginning in 2002.

Julie Shimer, president/CEO of Welch Allyn (Skaneateles Falls, New York), will hand over reins of the company to new President/CEO Stephen Meyer this month after announcing plans in January to retire this year. Shimer was the first female CEO of the company, a maker of medical diagnostic and monitoring equipment and software solutions, assuming that role in 2007 after serving as a member of the firm's board of directors beginning in 2002.

Amir Belson, MD, is a serial entrepreneur who has thus far founded nine companies, including NeoGuide Systems (Los Gatos, California), a company that developed platform technology for minimally invasive surgical procedures and was acquired by Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, California) in 2009. His latest start-up firm is Zipline Medical (also Los Gatos), which is developing a technology platform designed to facilitate noninvasive surgical skin closure with suture-like outcomes at the speed of staples.

Amir Belson, MD, is a serial entrepreneur who has thus far founded nine companies, including NeoGuide Systems (Los Gatos, California), a company that developed platform technology for minimally invasive surgical procedures and was acquired by Intuitive Surgical (Sunnyvale, California) in 2009. His latest start-up firm is Zipline Medical also Los Gatos), a wound closure company.

As I read through one particular healthcare-related news item recently, the lyrics to the old “If you’re happy and you know it” song just plain took over my subconscious thinking. You know the one I’m talking about: “If you’re happy and you know it, then your face will surely show it.” It may not come as any great surprise that smiles aren’t adorning the faces of too many doctors these days, what with Medicare payment cuts, the looming impact of healthcare reform, skyrocketing malpractice premiums and other lesser complaints and concerns. But all that notwithstanding, it was just short of...

Eric Topol, MD, is a pioneer of the use of genomic and wireless digital innovative technologies to reshape the future of medicine. Widely known for his genetic research, he is a practicing cardiologist at Scripps Clinic (La Jolla, California), and director of the Scripps Translational Science Institute after previously chairing the Cleveland Clinic's top-ranked department of cardiovascular medicine. In his newly published book, "The Creative Destruction of Medicine," Topol advocates that patients, as healthcare consumers, rise up to demand control of their care through a digital-based true partnership with physicians.