Gloria Austin, Brown & Toland's Chief Executive Officer, Announces Retirement

SAN FRANCISCO, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Gloria Austin, Brown & Toland's Chief Executive Officer since 2000, announced that she will retire near the end of 2010. Austin informed the Brown & Toland Board of Directors of her decision in September 2009 to allow sufficient time to begin the search for the organization's next CEO.

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Brown & Toland, a multi-specialty clinically integrated independent practice associations (IPA) based in San Francisco, consists of more than 800 primary care physicians and specialists serving more than 160,000 HMO and 175,000 PPO members throughout the Bay Area. Brown & Toland has an experienced leadership team that will work closely with Austin and the group's Board of Directors through the CEO transition and continue current plans to expand Brown & Toland's role in the market in 2010 and beyond.

"Thorough planning and preparations are being given to a leadership change," said Austin. "By the time I leave, Brown & Toland will have executed a new partnership with California Pacific Medical Center (CPMC), implemented a management agreement with Alta Bates Medical Group, and deployed an enterprise-wide electronic health record (EHR) to more than 200 physicians.

"I have been Brown & Toland's CEO for 10 years and it is the right time for me personally to make this change. I've had a wonderful experience as CEO. The organization has accomplished a great deal and I am proud to have been part of it. Also, I am confident that Brown & Toland has the necessary leadership and momentum to continue to succeed for many years to come."

Austin took the helm of Brown & Toland in 2000 and led the organization through a financial turnaround. She also worked closely with the Board and senior leadership to help Brown & Toland establish new strategies and implement new technologies across the network, bringing efficiencies to physician offices and improving quality for patients.

These innovations have helped Brown & Toland build a national reputation for clinical integration and technological innovation such as connecting physicians with an enterprise-wide electronic medical record, helping make Brown & Toland a leader in providing quality care for its members.

Joel Klompus, M.D., Brown & Toland's President, said, "Gloria's leadership has resulted in nine consecutive years of financial success. She has strengthened relationships with our external stakeholders, and she led the effort to create a new partnership with CPMC. Additionally, she has created a positive company culture that has resulted in high employee morale and low turnover. She is very strategic and she and her team have executed consistently."

In October 2009, Neal Birnbaum, M.D., Brown & Toland's Chairman of the Board, began the transition process by appointing a succession subcommittee of the Board; the subcommittee has retained Integrated Healthcare Strategies to help them work through a succession process and develop a list of potential candidates. Dr. Birnbaum said the Board knew this day would come. "We will make certain this is a smooth transition," he said.

Prior to coming to Brown & Toland, Austin worked as Corporate Executive Vice President and President of California for the Talbert Medical Management Company. She also was at FHP, Inc., for more than 18 years, ultimately serving as that organization's Senior Vice President, Corporate Healthcare Delivery. In that role, she was responsible for FHP's staff model HMO operations, including 58 medical centers, two hospitals, and two skilled nursing facilities in five states.

In addition to her tenure as CEO of Brown & Toland, Austin also sits on the board for the California Association of Physician Groups (CAPG), and served as Chairperson for CAPG in 2005. She also is a member of the CEO Mid Market Council of The Conference Board in New York and was named as one of the San Francisco Bay Area's "100 Most Influential Women in Business" in 2005, 2006, 2007, and 2008. She was named Alumnus of the Year for Pepperdine Graziadio School of Business and Management for 2006.

About Brown & Toland

Brown & Toland is one of California's largest and most successful physician networks. A leader in providing innovative technological solutions for its physicians, Brown & Toland has earned numerous awards for quality and disease management. Brown & Toland has more than 800 physicians caring for 160,000 HMO and 175,000 PPO members.

SOURCE Brown & Toland