Kunney Leads Desir's New Healthcare IT Search Practice

Christopher Kunney Vice President

Christopher Kunney may be new to the Desir Group but is hardly new to IT or to the healthcare industry. Indeed, he was recently asked to head up Desir's new Healthcare IT Search Practice by President Etheline Desir who believes that, with Kunney's leadership, "Desir Group will be able to respond to our clients' needs by expanding our portfolio of services in areas that are critical to their gaining a competitive edge to deliver enhanced quality care."

We asked Kunney to take a few minutes to comment on why he is uniquely suited to this new role.

Q: You've been in IT for over 25 years, starting as a programmer and systems analyst, and working your way up to an IT Director at Hewlett-Packard. What have you been doing since?

Christopher Kunney: I've probably done everything you can think of in IT. After HP, I joined Verso Technologies, a small professional services company that sold CRM solutions. As chief of operations, I was responsible for their technical infrastructure and support. I eventually left to run my own consulting company, focusing on developing e-commerce solutions and integrating back-office applications on the Web. When the dot.com bubble burst, I became an adjunct professor for a college here in Atlanta teaching technology and businesses classes.

Q: What motivated you then to move into healthcare?

CK: It was becoming an emerging industry that was getting a lot of press related to HIPPA and security initiatives that Congress had just passed. I was fortunate to join Piedmont Healthcare System as manager of support services. Within six months, I became their Director of Support, spent about six years in that role, and eventually left as the healthcare Systems VP and CIO. So I'd say my background is pretty diverse. I've touched a lot of different parts of IT and business in general, being an entrepreneur at one point and an educator at another. I think I bring a wide variety of perspectives to an organization.

Q: After your leadership role at Piedmont, you joined Desir Group. Why?

CK: Yes, [Desir President] Etheline Desir saw that there was a gap in their practice. When they worked with healthcare executives, they were very successful in filling CEO and CFO-type positions. But they needed immediate impact on the technology side of things -- hence the natural addition. Having worked as a technology leader and understanding the unique perspectives and the changing roles of CIOs, she felt I'd be well-suited to help grow that part of the firm.

Q. But you had had no experience in search, had you?

CK: Actually, I'm also the Executive VP of consulting services for HealthNovations, a healthcare IT consulting firm, that is now partnering with Desir Group. The two complement each other very well. HealthNovations works closely with providers as well as other technology solutions delivery organizations in defining healthcare strategies and implementing solutions that support the enhancement of care within physician practices and hospitals. As part of that effort, frequently, HealthNovations must be poised to provide senior leadership to some of their healthcare provider clients. And so we work closely with Desir Group as a search partner to provide the [IT] leadership talent. That gives HealthNovations an arm they didn't have previously. And, on the other side, as Desir Group works with their clients on searches, strategic needs -- from a healthcare IT prospective -- are identified. We can leverage HealthNovations' resources to provide those services as well while benefiting from Desir's excellent search team.

Q. Describe to me Desir Group's IT Healthcare Search Practice. Will you be searching specifically for CIOs -- or anyone in healthcare IT?

CK: We're not going down to the operations level yet, although we may consider that in the future. Right now our focus is on strategic leaders -- CIOs, chief medical information officers (CMIOs), chief technical officers, director-level resources, directors of application services and support, and so on.

Q. What are your goals for your new search practice?

CK: To establish Desir Group as the premier provider for technology leaders in the healthcare industry. They have been extremely successful in providing healthcare leaders in other parts of the sectors. And now we believe we can also make a difference in providing qualified candidates to help lead technology within healthcare as well.

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Desir Group is a retained executive search and consulting firm that partners with healthcare organizations to recruit and retain exceptional talent and develop high-performing teams.

The Desir Group helps clients achieve a sustainable competitive advantage by offering a qualified, diverse slate of candidates for C-level, senior executive, and middle management positions.

One of Desir Group's strengths is its ability to dig deeper into the fabric of our society to find talent that represents the broad community our clients serve.

• 82% of hospital CIOs have already cut their IT spending budgets in 2009 by an average of 10% with one in 10 making more drastic cuts of greater than 30%.
• 66% of CIOs say they expect to be asked to make further cuts in IT spending before the end of 2009.
• 64% of CIOs agree that it is impossible to balance demand with the need to cut costs.
• 50% of CIOs with more than 500 beds say that federal funding is "crucial" to their ability to implement EHRs.

June 7-13
National Vascular Nursing Week

June 11-18
National Nursing Assistant Week

June 15-19
National Healthcare Risk Management Week

Desir Group will participate in this event. Click here or call 1-770-431-4664 to set up an appointment to discuss our services.

June 18, 5pm-8pm HealthNovation Stimulus Forum Desir Group will be in attendance at this year's HealthNovation Stimulus Forum that will be held at the Ravinia Club (located in northern Atlanta/Dunwoody's prestigious Ravinia complex). The Forum will have presentations and a panel discussion from industry experts like Justin Barnes, chairman of the EHR Committee, and Davies Award-winning Dr. Bill McClatchey. Mike Mosquito, CEO of HealthNovation, is partnering with Desir Group to showcase the best solutions and strategies in the new, emerging markets of healthcare. Our new partnership with HealthNovation provides Desir Group with executive resources and technology vendors that design and deliver strategies across the healthcare marketplace.

July 1-31
Juvenile Arthritis Awareness Month

July 12-18
National Therapeutic Recreation Week

July 19-25
National Hospitality House Week

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