New CEO of SNOMED CT appointed

The International Health Terminology Standards Development Organisation (IHTSDO), owners of the SNOMED CT terminology, has announced that Jennifer Zelmer will take over as chief executive officer (CEO) as of February 2008.

Daniel Forslund, board member from Sweden and chair of the selection committee of the management board, said that the committee unanimously selected Zelmer based on her impressive track record of working in an international and political environment, and her extensive experience in successfully leading and motivating teams within a new organisation.

Zelmer has been working at the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) since 1995, most recently as vice president for research and analysis. She also held a position at the University of Toronto since 2002, where she has been in charge of developing and delivering a graduate course on the strategic use of health information.

Zelmer will be responsible for helping the organisation to achieve its goals by owning, distributing, operating and developing suitable SNOMED CT health terminology products, within its member nations – Australia, Canada, Denmark, Lithuania, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States.

She said: “I look forward to joining the IHTSDO and to working with partners from around the world to leverage the potential of information to contribute to better health and health care”.

Martin Severs, chairman of the IHTSDO’s management board, said: “We are truly delighted to recruit Jennifer Zelmer as new CEO of our organisation. A person with Jennifer’s experience and skills in senior management, economics and research within the health information field is perfect in the role for developing and further strengthen our recently established international organisation.”

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