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Finger Lakes Medical Equipment CEO to Head ESDC

By Jonathan D. Epstein

March 8, 2011
 
 Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Monday nominated the CEO of a privately owned medical equipment maker based in the Finger Lakes region to become head of the state’s lead economic development agency.

Cuomo tapped Julie A. Shimer, president and CEO of Welch Allyn in Skaneateles Falls, as the new chairwoman of the Empire State Development Corp. The nomination is subject to approval by the State Senate.

In her new role, she will work alongside ESDC President and CEO Kenneth Adams, former president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State, and Lt.Gov. Robert Duffy, the former Rochester mayor. Adams is from New York City.

“Her extensive experience in the upstate and downstate business communities will be essential to the reconstruction of New York’s economy,” Cuomo said. “Attracting and retaining business in New York is job No. 1, and Julie and the rest of the ESDC team will work tirelessly to make that happen.”

Adams and Shimer jointly succeed Dennis M. Mullen, who held all three titles, as well as

commissioner of economic development, under the Paterson administration. He stepped down last month after a brief transition period. Cuomo broke up the roles as part of his plan to revamp the agency. Adams is also commissioner of economic development.

M&T Bank Corp. Chairman and CEO Robert G. Wilmers had held the role of chairman of ESDC as a part-time, unpaid position until he stepped down in June 2009.

Shimer is a nationally recognized leader in computer networking and wireless communications, who became the first female CEO of Welch Allyn in 2007 after five years on the board. The 95-year-old privately held company makes stethoscopes, defibrillators, blood pressure monitors and other medical equipment and diagnostic solutions for doctors, hospitals and medical students.

Shimer is credited with helping the company win accolades as a workplace in Ireland and Mexico, develop a new platform of connected devices and break ground on a $30 million expansion of its global headquarters.

Before joining Welch Allyn, Shimer was president and CEO of Vocera Communications, a wireless communications company in Cupertino, Calif. Previously, she was vice president and general manager of networking products at 3Com Corp., a vice president at Motorola and an executive at AT&T Bell Laboratories and Bethlehem Steel. She is a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers and the Society for Women Engineers.

She received her bachelor’s degree in physics from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy and her master’s and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. She also holds a patent.

The appointment was met with praise by at least one local business leader.

“Both the entrepreneurial community and business leaders share the governor’s commitment to the critical importance of attracting business and spurring investment in New York,” Jeremy Jacobs, chairman and CEO of Delaware North Companies, said. “With her professional experience in leading her own company, Julie appreciates the need for an improved business climate and a stronger competitive position for New York in the global marketplace.”

jepstein@buffnews.com