Former ABC President Fili-Krushel Will Join Healtheon/WebMD
03/28/2000
Dow Jones On Line
(Copyright ¸ 2000 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.)
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- Patricia Fili-Krushel, the departing president of Walt Disney Co.'s ABC TV network, will join fast-growing Internet health company Healtheon/WebMD Corp. as president and chief executive officer of its consumer division.
At Healtheon/WebMD (HLTH), Fili-Krushel will oversee development of consumer offerings and programming, including the WebMD Health portal site, the Health Network cable channel and other joint efforts with News Corp., which is an investor in Healtheon/WebMD, Dow Jones Newswires reported.
During her seven-year tenure at ABC, Fili-Krushel rose through the ranks to become the highest-ranking female executive in the broadcast industry. Fili-Krushel had second thoughts about plans to relocate to Los Angeles as Disney is requiring of most senior ABC managers, The Wall Street Journal reported. ABC is moving much of its corporate operations from New York to Burbank, Calif., where Disney (DIS) is based.
Healtheon/WebMD is based in Santa Clara, Calif., but the job opportunity is expected to keep Fili-Krushel in New York.
For ABC, the timing of Fili-Krushel's departure isn't good. The network is ordering new comedies and dramas for next fall and as president, she played an important role in that decision-making process. Disney has been hit by a steady stream of executive departures and Fili-Krushel's departure may reignite criticism that the company has a hard time keeping top management.
Healtheon/WebMD has been busy digesting new business units and pumping money into sales and marketing. Healtheon/WebMD doesn't expect to fully integrate its professional Web site with doctors' existing practice-management software - a step it is counting on to attract more physicians and significantly boost transaction revenue - until the third quarter of this year.
Healtheon/WebMD was created Nov. 11 from the merger of Healtheon Corp. with WebMD, Mede America and Greenberg News Networks, known as Medcast. The company is still completing a dizzying array of acquisitions. |
