Ron Palmich developed IBM's Multimedia Operations Division from scratch in the 1980s-when nobody knew what "multimedia" meant. He has now been recruited to Emory Healthcare, where he will serve as the system's new chief technology officer, Information Services.
Palmich has joined John L. Waller, associate vice president/chief information officer, and Eric Fliegel, executive director of Information Services, to create the "Office of the CIO" for the health system. Palmich is providing overall technical direction-including architecture and re-engineering-and leadership in infrastructure definition. He also is serving as an inhouse technical consultant and is providing the support to carry out Information Services initiatives.
"Ron is a world-class technology manager and a seasoned businessman," Waller said. "His recruitment significantly enhances our ability to apply information assets to help create a more efficient and service-oriented health care environment."
Along with many other notable achievements during his 37 years with IBM, Palmich also participated in the design and assembly of systems for the Boeing 727, 737 and 747 airliners. He developed the strategies, business case, software and support organization that became the foundation for IBM's Computer Integrated Manufacturing initiative.
Most recently Palmich served as director of the 1996 Olympic Games Project Office, and was charged with overseeing IBM's Olympic involvement. In that role Palmich was responsible for finding solutions to meet the technological needs of the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games. One of several monumental aspects of that position was supervising design and upgrades to the Olympic website, which received more than 188 million hits.
-Lorri Preston