Epic founder and CEO Judy Faulkner’s succession plan includes three health system chief executives who will ensure the company stays privately held and does not get acquired after she’s gone, she said Dec. 4 at a Forbes conference.
“We have three CEOs from our customers who are called the ‘trust protectors,’ and their job is to sue anyone who doesn’t follow the voting rules,” Ms. Faulkner said during a livestream of the Forbes Healthcare Summit in New York City.
In a follow-up communication with Becker’s, Ms. Faulkner declined to reveal the names of the CEOs or the health systems.
During the fireside chat, Ms. Faulkner was asked the one thing she would never give up.
“Our independence,” she said. “We’re not backed by venture capital, we’re not backed by private equity, and we’re not publicly traded, so that is what we would never give up.”
Ms. Faulkner, 82, has previously revealed that Epic’s voting shares — which all belong to her — will, upon her death, transfer to a trust governed by her husband and three children and five longtime senior managers at Epic.
“My estate plan, which covers the voting of my stock, has rules for voting, and it says you can’t ever vote to go public or to be acquired,” she said at the conference.
Epic is the largest hospital EHR vendor in the U.S., with revenue of $5.7 billion in 2024. Forbes estimates Ms. Faulkner’s net worth at $7.8 billion.
