Neal Patterson, chairman of the board, chief executive officer and co-founder of Cerner, grew up on his family’s farm near Manchester, Okla. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance and his master’s degree in business administration from Oklahoma State University. In 1973, Neal began his professional career as an information system consultant with Arthur Andersen & Co.

His entrepreneurial journey began in late 1979, when he and two Arthur Andersen colleagues, Cliff Illig and Paul Gorup, formed Cerner. As CEO, Neal has spearheaded more than three decades of Cerner’s growth. Now in its 31^st year, Cerner is the largest stand-alone supplier of healthcare information technology, and continues to grow its identity as a health company. Few organizations have been able to sustain internally generated growth for as long a period as Cerner.

Widely respected for his vision and strategic thinking, Neal has the unique ability to articulate how information technology will transform healthcare. His commitment to this vision creates value for health systems, providers and their communities by reducing healthcare costs, increasing efficiencies and enabling improvements in healthcare quality and safety.

Cerner associates extol Neal for his passion and foresight, his ability to drive change within organizations, his entrepreneurial spirit, and his candid, uninhibited conversational style. It was Neal’s clear vision and entrepreneurial instincts that led him to bet the future of Cerner in the 1990s on the $400 million initial investment needed to develop its person-centric information architecture, Cerner Millennium^®.

Neal has five times been named as one of Modern Healthcare's “100 Most Powerful People in Healthcare,” and he is in demand as a speaker on healthcare topics and trends. He serves as a trustee of the Midwest Research Institute and is active in healthcare leadership networks and local entrepreneurial organizations.

Neal is co-founder and serves on the executive board of the First Hand Foundation (www.firsthandfoundation.org), Cerner’s non-profit foundation that provides financial assistance to children with critical healthcare needs. Outside of healthcare, Neal is co-owner of the Kansas City Wizards Major League Soccer team, and he serves as a lifetime director for the 111-year-old American Royal livestock, horse show and rodeo.