Beaverton, Oregon, USA. October 25, 2012 – Continua Health Alliance has appointed two new members to its Board of Directors to serve a one year term. This bring the total number of board members to 13.
Continua is the international industry organisation dedicated to advancing personal connected health by promoting end-to-end, plug-and-play connectivity of personal health devices and establishing industry standards for interoperability.
The new directors are Kaoru Hiraoka, general manager of Advanced Technology and Standardisation, Mobile Phones Unit, Fujitsu Ltd, and Thierry Zylberberg, executive vice president of the France Telecom-Orange Group, and director of Orange Healthcare.
“The addition of these new directors will further diversify the outstanding talents and wide-ranging experience that our directors already bring to Continua,” said Clint McClellan, Continua Board president and chairman, and senior director of Strategic Marketing, Qualcomm Life, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Qualcomm Technologies, Inc. “Each is a widely respected and experienced business leader in the personal connected health market and are developing systems today. They will provide our board and management team with new insight and perspectives as we work to facilitate more efficient connectivity, advancing our vision to create an ecosystem of plug-and-play products and services for health self-management and health care delivery.”
In addition, Continua announced that several board members were not standing for re-election. Completing their board terms are Christopher Wasden, Continua director and board treasurer, and Global Healthcare Innovation Leader, PricewaterhouseCoopers; Michael McGarry, Continua director and board secretary, and Director, Transformational Development, Ascension Health; Mark Phelps, Senior Program Director, Diagnostics and Monitoring, Medtronic; and Sakari Lang, PhD, Director, mHealth Ecosystem Development, Compatibility and Industry Collaboration, Nokia.
“Chris, Michael, Mark and Sakari have provided invaluable service and insights to Continua and we are very grateful for their counsel and commitment to the connected health ecosystem,” added McClellan. “I know the entire board of directors joins me in thanking them for their many contributions towards the long-term success of Continua.”
Kaoru Hiraoka has more than 30 years experience in mobile phones and computer systems product planning, development and support within Fujitsu. From 1988, he was a product manager of UNIX DB/DC system products and led the project of LAN and IP network introduction to Fujitsu. In 2000, he transitioned to the Mobile Phones unit. During this period, he developed the mobile phone-based intranet messaging system and other phone features. His current interest is mobile healthcare, focusing on improving people’s quality of life using ICT technology. He has been a Board Member of Open Mobile Alliance since 2006. He holds BS and MS degrees in Electronic Engineering from Osaka University.
Thierry Zylberberg is EVP of the France Telecom-Orange Group, and director of Orange Healthcare, the division that he created in 2007 in order to develop the group’s e-health activities in France and internationally. Thierry is a widely recognised thought leader on the transformational impact of new technologies on the healthcare ecosystem, and is regularly invited to present keynote addresses at major, international conferences around the world. Thierry has previously served as EVP in charge of Strategic Partnerships for the FT/Orange Group, SVP of Sales and Marketing for the Major Accounts Division at France Telecom and general manager of France Telecom Mexico. Thierry is a graduate of Stanford University, the École Polytechnique and the École Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications.
The following directors are also currently serving on the board:
– Clint McClellan, president and chair of the Continua board; Senior director, Strategic Marketing, Qualcomm Life
– Chuck Parker, Continua executive director
– Horst Merkle, Continua vice president; Director, Information Management Systems, Diabetes Care, Roche Diagnostics
– Paul Coebergh van den Braak, Continua second vice president, Intellectual Property and Standards, senior director standardisation, Philips
– Petra Wilson, Continua secretary; Senior director of the European Health and Care Team, Cisco’s Internet Business Solutions Group (IBSG), Cisco Systems
– Rick Cnossen, director, Personal Health Enabling, Intel Corp. Digital Health Group
– Kimio Minami, general manager, Healthcare Systems Development Office, Panasonic
– Joseph C. Kvedar, MD, director, Center for Connected Health, Partners HealthCare
– Youngsoo Kim, vice president, Corporate Strategy Planning Team, Samsung Electronics
– Ibrahim Sezan, chief technology officer and Director of AVDT, Sharp
– Marc Perlman, global vice president, Healthcare and Life Sciences, Oracle
– Jayant Parthasarathy, Innovation, Research and Development Group director, UnitedHealth Group
Continua Health Alliance (Continua) is an international, not-for-profit industry organisation enabling end-to-end, plug-and-play connectivity of personal health devices and services. These services will empower information-driven health self-management and facilitate the incorporation of health and wellness into the day-to-day lives of consumers. Continua is a pioneer in establishing standards-based guidelines and security for connected health technologies such as smartphones, gateways and remote monitoring devices through its Guideline releases.
The Alliance’s activities include a certification and brand support programme, events and collaborations to support technology and clinical innovation, and outreach to employers, payers, governments and care providers. With nearly 220 member companies reaching across the globe, Continua is comprised of technology, medical device and healthcare industry leaders and service providers dedicated to making personal connected health a reality. www.continuaalliance.org
