PearlCare Search Group Recruits CIO for Callen-Lorde Community Health Center

April 24, 2019 – The chief information officer is considered among the most strategic roles within any organization, and for the healthcare sector the role is regarded as an especially critical asset.
According to executive search consultants who specialize in recruiting them, the best CIOs have the power to dramatically differentiate a company’s offering in the market, while a poorly performing one can be the single point of failure within an organization. Search firms have been providing a helping hand. Recently, Chicago-headquartered PearlCare Search Group placed Melvin Masula as chief information officer of Callen-Lorde Community Health Center. Geoff Zodda, chief solutions officer, IT search, led the assignment for PearlCare.
Callen-Lorde is in a phase of planned growth and is looking to significantly improve and expand the use of technology in its patient care operations and throughout its enterprise, said the search firm. The health center wants a dynamic, emotionally intelligent, forward leaning, “big picture thinking” technology leader who has significant history and demonstrated experience in innovation and customer service, most likely within the healthcare industry, and has the ability to effectively collaborate with all stakeholders.
“Melvin was their pick, as he encompasses a combination of great leadership and healthcare technical knowledge, to go along with excellent soft skills,” said Mr. Zodda.
Mr. Masula has 28 years of professional service in the IT industry. Previously, he was director of IT at WellLife Network, a non-profit dedicated to the wellness of New Yorkers faced with disabilities, mental illness and addiction. Before that, he was director for the information technology services for Steel Building Corp.
New Position
In his new role, Mr. Masula will have overall leadership responsibility for management of all aspects of information technology, including electronic health/dental records, electronic practice management systems and all software used in conjunction with those systems. He will also be in charge of the architecture, design, implementation, operation, security and support of the organization’s technology infrastructure services including end user computing solutions, network, servers, storage, messaging, telecommunications, database administration and other technology platforms across the enterprise.
Callen-Lorde Community Health Center provides quality health care and related services targeted to New York’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender communities — in all their diversity — regardless of ability to pay. To further this mission, the organization promotes health education and wellness, and advocates for LGBT health issues. Callen-Lorde’s grassroots heritage dates back nearly 50 years to the St. Mark’s Community Clinic and the Gay Men’s Health Project, two volunteer-based clinics that provided screening and treatment for sexually-transmitted diseases.
With corporate offices in Illinois, New York, Florida, Connecticut and Pennsylvania, PearlCare Search Group provides serves the healthcare, technology and non-profit industries. The firm was established in 2004.
CIO Recruiting
The chief information officer is considered among the most strategic roles in any organization. Executive search consultants who specialize in recruiting for the position say that the best CIOs can dramatically differentiate a company in the market, while a poorly performing one can be an organization’s weakest link. Still, headhunting within the function remains challenging, and skilled C-suite IT professionals are among the toughest to find.
It only makes sense that CIO hiring and recruiting information technology teams are on the rise. Nearly a quarter (22 percent) of U.S. CIOs plan to expand their IT teams, according to the Robert Half Technology “IT Hiring Forecast Trend Report.” It represents a three-point rise from the beginning of last year and an eight percentage-point jump from one year ago.
In recent months, a number of organizations have turned to executive search firms to help them find top flight CIOs. Here are a few of the top assignments tracked by Hunt Scanlon Media:
Harris Search Associates, based in Dublin, OH, is considered one of the top search boutiques in this thriving area. The firm recently placed Amy Belew as chief information officer for the University of Tennessee at Martin. Managing partner Jeffrey Harris led the assignment.
Following a nationwide search, global search firm Odgers Berndtson recently placed Stan Waddell as the new associate vice president and chief information officer of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, PA. Partners Jennifer Biehn, Monica Burton and Kathy Ulrich led the assignment.
Save the Children has retained Boyden to lead its search for a chief information officer. The incoming leader will be responsible for delivering technological change over the next two to three years. U.K. managing partner Nick Robeson is leading the assignment.
New Zealand-based executive recruiting firm Ichor Leadership Search placed Alastair Turrell into the position of CIO at the Department of Corrections. Mr. Turrell was most recently director of the software division at Datacom, a strategic leadership role he held over a decade.
Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media