Versiti Board Announces New President and Chief Executive Officer

MILWAUKEE, Dec. 14, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Versiti, Inc., a healthcare organization focused on improving the health of patients and enabling the success of its health care partners in the fields of transfusion medicine, transplantation and blood related diseases, today announced that its Board of Directors has selected Chris Miskel as President and Chief Executive Officer following an extensive search.  Miskel will join Versiti effective February 1, 2017.

Miskel will provide leadership for Versiti and its four affiliates: BloodCenter of Wisconsin, headquartered in Milwaukee Wis., Indiana Blood Center headquartered in Indianapolis, Heartland Blood Centers, headquartered in Chicago, Ill, and Michigan Blood, headquartered in Grand Rapids.  Miskel succeeds current BloodCenter of Wisconsin and Versiti President and CEO Jacquelyn Fredrick, who announced that she would retire from the position effective February 3, 2017.

"Chris' passion for our mission, keen appreciation for research and science, and his business experience in the health care industry, make him uniquely qualified to lead Versiti during this transformative and exciting time in healthcare," said Versiti board chair Dick Fotsch. "We were committed to finding a new leader that would perpetuate the many successes that Jackie has led to keep Versiti at the forefront of a rapidly changing healthcare environment and to advance our mission of becoming a national leader in innovative solutions to meet the unique blood-related needs of our customers."

"Chris comes to Versiti from Baxter International/Shire and Eli Lilly and Company with broad ranges of experience and accomplishments in serving the health care community through innovation, including leading a global immunology franchise, new product development, strategy development, leading Lilly Australia and New Zealand, operations and business development in bio-medicines, merger and acquisitions and finance functions," said Peter Ziegler, search committee chair and immediate past chair of Versiti.  "Chris will be charged with expanding Versiti's long standing commitment to excellence in research, medicine, and innovation that has established Versiti and BloodCenter of Wisconsin as an internationally respected transfusion medicine, transplantation and blood-related diseases organization for the last 70 years." 

Miskel is a graduate of Butler University in Indianapolis with a degree in Business Administration.  He later earned his MBA from Harvard Business School. Miskel worked for Eli Lilly and Company from 1996 to 2013 and for Baxter/Baxalta/Shire from 2013 to 2016.

"It is an honor and privilege to be selected as the next CEO of Versiti," said Miskel. "I would like to express my sincere, heartfelt appreciation to Dick, Peter, and the entire search committee for this tremendous opportunity.  Versiti's mission is inspiring, and I'm thrilled to continue the extraordinary journey that Jackie has led with our exceptionally talented colleagues across Versiti."

About Versiti
Versiti is an organization of successful healthcare organizations whose vision is to improve the health of patients as the national leader in providing innovative and value-added solutions to meet the unique blood related needs of each of our customers.  Working together, Versiti offers hospitals a more comprehensive range of services, including transfusion medicine, transplantation, stem cell and cellular therapies, hematology, oncology and genomics. At Versiti, we are passionate about improving the lives of patients by helping our healthcare partners solve their toughest challenges.  Versiti's expertise and resources lead to new products, solutions and services to meet patient and hospital needs.  For more information, visit  www.Versiti.org.

About BloodCenter of Wisconsin 
BloodCenter of Wisconsin, part of Versiti, is a not-for-profit organization headquartered in Milwaukee, Wis., that specializes in blood services, esoteric diagnostic testing, organ, tissue and stem cell donation, medical services and leading-edge research. We advance patient care by delivering life-saving solutions grounded in unparalleled medical and scientific expertise. The collective efforts of Versiti affiliates result in improved patient outcomes, expanded access to care, and cost efficiencies for healthcare systems nationwide.  For more information, visit www.bcw.edu.

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SOURCE Versiti

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http://www.Versiti.org