Breaking: Allscripts fires Tullman, hires former Cerner exec Black as CEO

Allscripts Healthcare Solutions today gave into considerable investor pressure and fired CEO Glen Tullman. Former Cerner COO Paul M. Black has been named CEO. Lee Shapiro has been removed from his position as company president, but will stay on as a consultant to Black for as long as six months, the company says.

Allscripts also said that this decision ends the company’s “evaluation of strategic alternatives.” This means there will be no sale or merger.

Here is the text of the press release:

Glen Tullman Steps Down as CEO and Board Member
Board of Directors Concludes Evaluation of Strategic Alternatives

CHICAGO, Dec. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – Allscripts Healthcare Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:MDRX) today announced that it has named Paul M. Black as its President and Chief Executive Officer, effective immediately.  Mr. Black is the former Chief Operating Officer of Cerner Corporation and is currently an Allscripts board member.  He replaces Glen Tullman, who will step down from his positions as Chief Executive Officer and board member.  Lee Shapiro also will step down as President, effective immediately, and will serve as a consultant to Mr. Black for up to six months.  In addition, the Company announced that the Board has formally concluded its evaluation of strategic alternatives.

“We want to thank Glen Tullman for building Allscripts into one of the leaders in the evolving healthcare IT industry,” said Dennis Chookaszian, Allscripts Chairman of the Board. “Glen began at the Company in 1997 when it was unprofitable, turned Allscripts around and achieved record revenues and profits in 2011.  Along the way, Glen also grew the workforce to more than 7,000 employees. I also want to thank Lee Shapiro for his many important contributions to Allscripts, particularly with respect to our M&A strategy and international expansion.”

Commenting on the selection of Paul M. Black as President and CEO, Mr. Chookaszian said: “Paul possesses a unique blend of operational, healthcare and IT sector expertise, and we are pleased that he has agreed to lead the Company at this critical juncture. Paul’s deep domain expertise in healthcare technology, industry relationships, and understanding of Allscripts’ solutions and client base make him the ideal choice.  Together with our recently appointed Chief Financial Officer Rick Poulton, we are confident that we have a leadership team in place that can execute on our strategic initiatives, capitalize on the many global opportunities that lie ahead, and lead Allscripts through its next phase of growth.”

Commenting on the strategic alternatives process, Mr. Chookaszian stated: “The Board conducted a thorough and rigorous review of strategic alternatives.  The Board concluded, however, that the best course at this time is to develop Allscripts’ long-term potential under the direction of our new management team.”

Incoming Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Black said, “I look forward to building on the many successes achieved by the Allscripts team.  Without underestimating the challenges ahead, we have compelling open-platform solutions, an impressive global client base, and a very dedicated and talented team.  We will improve the execution of our strategic vision, deliver on our worldwide client commitments, and continue to innovate. Our focus will be on creating long-term value for our shareholders.”

Glen Tullman added, “It’s always been Allscripts’ goal to revolutionize healthcare and I am proud that Allscripts’ employees have moved this industry forward in both the US and abroad – enabling more people to access our healthcare systems, adding thousands of jobs, and developing an industry that will be one of the biggest

future growth engines of the U.S. economy. Allscripts’ team has shown great resilience and dedication, and I appreciate their hard work to build Allscripts into a leading provider of clinical software, connectivity and information solutions. I am confident that Allscripts is in good hands and has a bright future ahead.”

In addition to currently serving as an Allscripts board member, Mr. Black has served on the Board of The Truman Medical Centers for 12 years, most recently as Chairman, and as a director of Haemonetics Corporation (NYSE:HAE), a global healthcare company dedicated to providing innovative blood-management solutions.

Mr. Black spent more than 12 years with Cerner Corporation and retired as its Chief Operating Officer in 2007.  He helped build Cerner into a market leader in healthcare information technology solutions with more than $1.5 billion of annual revenues. For most of his career at Cerner, Mr. Black was Chief Sales Officer, playing an instrumental role in the company’s double-digit organic growth.  Prior to Cerner, Mr. Black was with IBM from 1982 to 1994, in a number of senior sales, marketing and professional services leadership positions. Since 2007, he has been a Senior Advisor with New Mountain Capital in New York and served as a Director with several New Mountain portfolio companies.  Mr. Black recently has served as an operating executive with Genstar Capital, responsible for expanding Genstar’s healthcare and software practices, with specific focus on healthcare technology.

He received a B.S. from Iowa State University and an MBA from the University of Iowa.

Conference Call

Allscripts will conduct a conference call tomorrow, Thursday, December 20, 2012, at 8:30 AM Eastern Time to discuss today’s announcement.   Investors can access the conference via the Internet at http://investor.allscripts.com.  Participants also may access the conference call by dialing (877) 303-0543 (toll free in the US) or (973) 935-8787 (international) and requesting Conference ID #83012880.

A replay of the call will be available two hours after the conclusion of the call, for a period of four weeks, at http://www.allscripts.com or by calling (855) 859-2056 or (404) 537-3406 – Conference ID #83012880.

About Allscripts

Allscripts (NASDAQ: MDRX) delivers the insights that healthcare providers require to generate world-class outcomes. The company’s Electronic Health Record, practice management and other clinical, revenue cycle, connectivity and information solutions create a Connected Community of Health™ for physicians, hospitals and post-acute organizations.  To learn more about Allscripts, please visit www.allscripts.com, Twitter, YouTube and It Takes A Community: The Allscripts Blog.

 

Full disclosure: I serve on the advisory board of Health eVillages with Tullman. I have had no contact with him regarding his fate at Allscripts or the company’s recent troubles.