NYeC to Honor GE Chairman & CEO Jeffrey Immelt and IBM Board Chairman Samuel Palmisano at Annual Gala; Maria Bartiromo to Emcee

NEW YORK, May 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) today announced that it will honor Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of GE, and Samuel Palmisano, Chairman of the Board at IBM, for their work advancing the cause of healthcare through technology at its 2012 Gala & Awards Ceremony, October 15th in New York City. The gala is held during NYeC's annual Digital Health Conference. Maria Bartiromo, business news broadcast journalist and anchor of CNBC's "Closing Bell with Maria Bartiromo," will emcee.

Hosted by the NYeC Board of Directors, the 2012 Gala & Awards Ceremony serves to recognize and honor achievement and innovation in the field of health information technology. Held at beautiful Pier 60, on Manhattan's West Side, the event convenes healthcare and technology industry leadership from across the state and nation.

"Mr. Immelt and Mr. Palmisano are pioneers who have changed the face of healthcare. Their dedication to advancing health IT has rapidly advanced innovation and collaboration within the industry and across the globe," said Herbert Pardes, MD, Executive Vice Chairman of the Board, New York-Presbyterian Hospital and New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, as well as a member of the NYeC Board of Directors. "We are delighted to have this opportunity to acknowledge their tremendous vision and leadership and thrilled Maria Bartiromo will help us do so."

Proceeds from the gala benefit technology-enabled healthcare initiatives, which aim to improve care and lower cost for all New Yorkers. To learn more about the gala, including about sponsorship opportunities, visit www.nyecgala.org.

Bios

• Jeffrey R. Immelt is the ninth chairman of GE, a post he has held since September 7, 2001. Since joining GE in 1982, he has held several global leadership positions, including roles in GE's Plastics, Appliance, and Healthcare businesses. In 1989 he became an officer of GE and joined the GE Capital Board in 1997. Several years later, in 2000, Mr. Immelt was appointed president and chief executive officer. Mr. Immelt has been named one of the "World's Best CEOs" three times by Barron's, and since he began serving as chief executive officer, GE has been named "America's Most Admired Company" in a poll conducted by Fortune magazine and one of "The World's Most Respected Companies" in polls by Barron's and the Financial Times.
• Samuel J. Palmisano is chairman of the Board of IBM and chair of IBM's Executive Committee. Mr. Palmisano began his career with IBM in 1973 in Baltimore, Maryland. Since then, he has taken on a series of leadership positions during his IBM career, including senior vice president and group executive of the Personal Systems Group in 1997, senior vice president and group executive of IBM Global Services in 1998, senior vice president and group executive of Enterprise Systems in 1999, president and chief operating officer in 2000, chief executive officer in 2002 and Chairman of the Board in 2003. He was president and chief executive officer through 2011. Mr. Palmisano has received a number of business awards, including the Atlantic Council's Distinguished Business Leadership Award in 2009 and the inaugural Deming Cup, presented in 2010 by the W. Edwards Deming Center for Quality, Productivity and Competitiveness at Columbia Business School.
• Maria Bartiromo is the anchor of several programs that air globally on the CNBC network, as well as a nationally syndicated columnist who appears in USA Today. She has covered Wall Street for 20 years, and in 1995, Bartiromo became the first journalist to report live from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange on a daily basis. Bartiromo has received numerous prestigious awards, including a 2008 News and Documentary Emmy for her "Bailout Talks Collapse" program, broadcast on NBC Nightly News; and a Gracie Award for "Greenspan: Power, Money & the American Dream," broadcast on CNBC. She also won a second Emmy Award for her 2009 documentary, "Inside The Mind of Google," which aired on CNBC. She was inducted into the Cable Hall of Fame Class of 2011, for her impact on the cable industry—the first female journalist to be inducted.

The New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC) is a not-for-profit organization, working to improve healthcare for all New Yorkers through health information technology (health IT). Founded in 2006 by healthcare leaders, NYeC is designated by the state and federal government to advance health IT throughout the State of New York. NYeC works to develop policies and standards, to assist healthcare providers in making the shift to electronic health records, and to coordinate the creation of a network to connect healthcare providers statewide. The goal of NYeC is that no patient, wherever they may need treatment within the State of New York, is ever without fast, secure, accurate, and accessible information. For more information visit www.nyehealth.org/

SOURCE New York eHealth Collaborative (NYeC)