Castlight Health Appoints Independent Board Members David Ebersman and Robert Kocher

SAN FRANCISCO, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Castlight Health, the premier company enabling consumers, employers and health plans to take control of health care costs through easy-to-use shopping tools with unbiased pricing, quality and patient experience information, is pleased to announce that David Ebersman, chief financial officer (CFO) at Facebook Inc., and Robert (Bob) Kocher, M.D., Venrock partner and former special assistant to the President for health care and economic policy, have joined its board of directors.

"David and Bob have spent decades as agents of positive change in the health care ecosystem," said Giovanni Colella, M.D., Castlight Health co-founder and CEO. "David brings not only a wealth of experience in finance, but also a deep knowledge of companies through their various stages of development, while Bob is an expert in health regulation and policy. They are perfect additions to our already renowned and established board."

Ebersman is the CFO of Facebook Inc., responsible for the finance, accounting, investor relations, real estate and information technology functions. Prior to Facebook, Ebersman worked at Genentech for nearly 15 years, most recently as CFO and executive vice president. Before joining Genentech's finance organization in 2006, he was senior vice president of Product Operations. He joined Genentech as a business development analyst. Previously, he was a research analyst at Oppenheimer & Company Inc. Ebersman has an B.A. in Economics and International Relations from Brown University. His years of business development, finance and consumer experience will provide Castlight Health with additional expertise in creating the best possible health care shopping platform for consumers, health plans, and employers.  

"Given Castlight's market position, they have the opportunity to provide a compelling offering to help consumers locate the right health care alternatives," noted Ebersman. "I hope to be helpful to the strong team already in place."

Kocher is one of the nation's leading experts in health care policy and most prominent motivators of reform. Before joining Venrock as partner, Kocher served in the Obama Administration as special assistant to the President for health care and economic policy and a member of the National Economic Council. He helped shape the Affordable Care Act, focusing on cost, quality and delivery system reform, and was a key driver of the Heath Data Initiative, among other health care programs and innovations.

Kocher was also a partner at McKinsey and Company, where he led the McKinsey Center for Health Reform. He has extensive experience working with all health care constituencies to improve operating performance, clinical outcomes, operations and patient experience. He received his M.D. from George Washington University and completed his residency in internal medicine at the Harvard Medical School and Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston.

"By reducing unnecessary variation in health care costs and aligning economic incentives with patient outcomes, we can dramatically improve the productivity, performance and affordability of our health system,"  said Kocher. "Castlight Health's focus on true cost and quality transparency in health care will help us reduce the billions of dollars spent unnecessarily on health care in our country."

Ebersman and Kocher join a distinguished group of board members, including Bryan Roberts, Ph.D., partner at Venrock; Ann Lamont, managing partner at Oak Investment Partners; David B. Singer, partner at Maverick Capital; Christopher P. Michel, managing director of Nautilus Ventures; and Giovanni Colella, M.D., co-founder & CEO of Castlight Health.

About Castlight Health

Castlight Health enables employers, their employees, and health plans to take control of health care costs and improve care. Named #1 on The Wall Street Journal's list of "The Top 50 Venture-Backed Companies" for 2011, Castlight Health helps the country's self-insured employers and health plans empower consumers to shop for health care. Castlight Health is headquartered in San Francisco and backed by prominent investors including Venrock, Oak Investment Partners, Maverick Capital, Morgan Stanley Investment Management, Wellcome Trust, Cleveland Clinic, and U.S. Venture Partners. For more information, please visit our web site at http//: www.castlighthealth.com or call (888) 227-8544.

SOURCE Castlight Health