Executive Leadership Team

Frank Ingari

Mr. Ingari is an accomplished leader with more than 30 years of experience as an entrepreneur and senior information technology executive. Prior to joining the EGHC family of companies, he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Shiva Corporation, a pioneer in the remote access market, taking the company public with Goldman Sachs in 1994. He previously served as Vice President and General Manager of the spreadsheet division at Lotus Development Corporation, and as Senior Vice President at Atex, Inc., a division of Kodak. He was also founder and Chairman of Wheelhouse Corporation, an early application service provider in the customer relationship market.

Mr. Ingari has a broad range of Board experience including public companies such as Powersoft, Sybase, Individual and Microstrategy, as well as a number of private, venture-backed start-ups. In addition to his duties here, he serves on the Presidential Advisory Board of the Berklee College of Music.

Richard Jones

Mr. Jones is an accomplished health care business executive and certified public accountant. From 1990 through 1999, he served as Chief Financial Officer and Division President of Coventry Health Care, and was Division President of United Health Group from 1999 until 2003. Prior to joining the EGHC family of companies, Mr. Jones was an entrepreneur, investor and health care business consultant.

Gary Ferguson, PharmD, PhD

Gary Ferguson has more than 25 years of executive management expertise in the healthcare information technology field, specifically in home health care, call center services and medical informatics. Prior to joining ClearPractice, Dr. Ferguson was the President and CEO of NotifyMD, founder of a self-funded startup respiratory care DME company later acquired by Lincare Holdings, and a senior executive at Mediware Information Systems.

Debra Gribble, RN

Ms. Gribble has an extensive background in the development and successful management of Medicare managed care organizations. From 1995 to 2003, she served as Vice President of Coventry Corporation St Louis, responsible for the company’s government businesses and administrative service organization, and was a member of its Board of Directors. From 1985 to 1995, she was Director of Medicare Operations at United Healthcare. Earlier in her career, she practiced intensive care nursing and served as head nurse of the Cardiac Catheterization Unit at nationally-acclaimed SSM Healthcare. In her current role, Ms. Gribble is responsible for sales, contracting, business development and shared executive oversight of the Essence Healthcare business division.

Martha Butler, RN, MPH

Ms. Butler is a talented health care executive with more than 25 years of experience in managed care and medical group settings, with demonstrated expertise in process improvement, health center administration facilities management and information systems operations. From 2000 to 2005, she served as Executive Director of Esse Health, one of the nation’s largest independent physician groups. Previously, Ms. Butler held a number of management positions at Group Health Plan, and oversaw the ambulatory surgery department at St. Louis University Hospital.

Deborah Zimmerman, MD

Dr. Zimmerman has a long and distinguished history of medical leadership at health plans such as CIGNA, Group Health Plan and Health Partners of the West, having most recently served as Chief Medical Officer of Chesterfield, MO-based Mercy Health Plans. She is also an accomplished entrepreneur, having co-founded a successful disease and complex case management firm. In her current role, Dr. Zimmerman develops and implements strategies and programs that continue to improve the health status of Essence Healthcare members.

Joel Andersen

Mr. Andersen is a seasoned marketing executive with noted expertise in health care technology and managed care. Prior to joining the EGHC family of companies, Mr. Andersen served as Vice President of Marketing and Business Development at e-MDs, a national EMR and practice management software vendor. Prior to e-MDs, he held a variety of management positions with several health care technology companies including Trizetto, VantageMed and Mariner Systems.

Tony Butler

Mr. Butler is an information technology executive with a unique blend of management, leadership and technical skills developed through more than 24 years of experience in complex and distributed health care and military environments. In his current role, Mr. Butler provides expertise and leadership in information systems infrastructures, networking, management and administration, client/server applications, web development and data warehousing.

Gail Halterman, JD, MHSA

Ms. Halterman is a seasoned legal professional with demonstrated expertise in health care regulatory and compliance issues. She joined the company after a distinguished career in the health care group at Lathrop & Gage, LLP, a full-service national law firm. In her role as General Counsel, Ms. Halterman is responsible for legal strategy and operations, helping to ensure the company’s proactive adherence with the spirit and letter of all applicable laws and regulations.

Tom Murrill

Mr. Murrill is a talented human resources leader with an accomplished record of broad-based national and multinational business experiences. He most recently served as Senior Vice President of Human Resources for The Steak ‘n Shake Company, a 75-year-old iconic restaurant brand with 20,000 associated in 21 states. Prior to Steak ‘n Shake, Mr. Murrill served as Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer for Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., one of the world’s largest cruise vacation companies, where he was also responsible for the company’s real property development.