Sporting KC Sporting KC and Cerner owner Neal Patterson dies

ChiefsCountry · 07-09-2017, 11:22 AM

http://www.kansascity.com/news/busin...160386359.html

‘A profound loss’: Cerner CEO Neal Patterson dies from cancer at age 67

Neal Patterson, co-founder and CEO of Cerner Corp. and a principal owner of Sporting Kansas City, died Sunday at age 67, according to a statement from Cerner.

The company said that Patterson died of unexpected complications from a soft-tissue cancer for which he had been treated previously.

The company named Cerner vice chairman and co-founder Cliff Illig as chairman and interim CEO.

Patterson and Illig had worked closely together during the 38 years since they co-founded the company, which has grown to become the largest private employer in the Kansas City area and the biggest freestanding medical records company in the country.

“This is a profound loss,” Illig said in a statement provided by Cerner. “Neal loved waking up every morning at the intersection of health care and IT.”

The son of Oklahoma tenant farmers, Patterson grew a reputation as a believer in hard work while building Cerner into an electronic health records giant. He started the company with two partners after graduating with an MBA from Oklahoma State University and after a stint working for the accounting and consulting firm Arthur Andersen & Co.

Patterson and his partners positioned Cerner for explosive growth at time when the health care industry, which occupied a huge portion of the national economy, was moving its records into digital formats — Cerner’s core business.

The company became the largest of its kind in the U.S., headquartered in North Kansas City with seven locations in the Kansas City area. The company has about 12,800 workers in the Kansas City area and about 24,000 worldwide.

Earlier this year, the company opened a new campus in south Kansas City on a sprawling property stretching from 87th to 95th streets immediately east of Interstate 435.

Cerner has its world headquarters at 2800 Rockcreek Parkway in North Kansas City. The company also has its Continuous office campus near the Legends in Kansas City, Kan., as well as smaller facilities elsewhere in the metro area.

In 2012, Patterson joined the Forbes 400 list, named as a billionaire and one of the richest people in the U.S.

Over the years, he became known as a stern taskmaster with a bottomless appetite for work.

In 2001, he made national news when his strongly worded email to employees, complaining that they were not working long enough hours, was leaked and picked up by The New York Times.

Last year, after he was diagnosed with cancer and announced plans to take time off, he surprised the audience of the Cerner Health Conference in Kansas City by showing up on stage to give a speech.

Patterson was also one of the five owners of the Sporting Kansas City soccer team.

He and Illig were the two principal investors in OnGoal LLC, the group that purchased the franchise from Lamar Hunt in 2006. The five-man ownership group since rebranded to Sporting Club.

Sporting Club is credited with helping to prevent the soccer franchise from moving out of Kansas City. Before it purchased the then-Wizards, the ownership group met regularly with the Heart of America Soccer Foundation — a campaign to “Save the Wizards.”

“It’s not the Heart of America that did it — Neal and Cliff saved the Wizards,” Greg Cotton, the former chairman of the board for Heart of America, told The Star in a 2013 article.

The Sporting Kansas City brand was adopted in late in 2010, and the ownership group was instrumental in opening Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan., a soccer-specific stadium that helped turn around the franchise. The venue has seen 97 consecutive MLS sellouts.

“RIP Neal Patterson — part of our ownership group and a man who helped make our soccer dreams in this city come true,” Sporting Kansas City’s supporter group, The Cauldron, tweeted Sunday morning.

POND_OF_RED · 07-09-2017, 01:22 PM

Damn. That sucks. Thank you for all that you did for this wonderful city Mr. Patterson. R.I.P.

**MahiMike** · 07-09-2017, 01:59 PM

Colleague of mine used to work at Cerner. Said it was a sweat shop. Pretty bad.

Prison Bitch · 07-09-2017, 04:48 PM

At 12k local employees, Cerner is easily the biggest employer in KC

RIP

BWillie · 07-09-2017, 05:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MahiMike

Colleague of mine used to work at Cerner. Said it was a sweat shop. Pretty bad.

Heard the same. Friend of mine works there ,but he said Work hard, get rewarded. More than I can say about alot of jobs

Chief_For_Life58 · 07-09-2017, 05:15 PM

He lived am awesome life. Rip

Chief_For_Life58 · 07-09-2017, 05:15 PM

Cerner employs so many people in kc. Very good for the local economy.

|Zach| · 07-09-2017, 07:58 PM

Had quite an impact on this city.

KChiefs1 · 07-09-2017, 08:44 PM

I remember hoping these guys would buy the Royals.

RIP

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**jjchieffan** · 07-10-2017, 10:38 PM

I'm not from KC. But I am familiar with Cerner. Cerner bought up the IT department at Cox Hospital in Springfield a few years ago. I'm not sure how that all worked other than the IT department employees were no longer Cox employees, but rather Cerner employees that were contractors for Cox.

**wazu** · 07-10-2017, 11:25 PM

Met Neal one time when I worked there. He asked if I knew how many letters were in the Chinese alphabet. I said no I don't.

07-09-2017, 11:22 AM
ChiefsCountry The Insider Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Lake of the Ozarks Casino cash: $2308752	Sporting KC and Cerner owner Neal Patterson dies http://www.kansascity.com/news/busin...160386359.html ‘A profound loss’: Cerner CEO Neal Patterson dies from cancer at age 67 Neal Patterson, co-founder and CEO of Cerner Corp. and a principal owner of Sporting Kansas City, died Sunday at age 67, according to a statement from Cerner. The company said that Patterson died of unexpected complications from a soft-tissue cancer for which he had been treated previously. The company named Cerner vice chairman and co-founder Cliff Illig as chairman and interim CEO. Patterson and Illig had worked closely together during the 38 years since they co-founded the company, which has grown to become the largest private employer in the Kansas City area and the biggest freestanding medical records company in the country. “This is a profound loss,” Illig said in a statement provided by Cerner. “Neal loved waking up every morning at the intersection of health care and IT.” The son of Oklahoma tenant farmers, Patterson grew a reputation as a believer in hard work while building Cerner into an electronic health records giant. He started the company with two partners after graduating with an MBA from Oklahoma State University and after a stint working for the accounting and consulting firm Arthur Andersen & Co. Patterson and his partners positioned Cerner for explosive growth at time when the health care industry, which occupied a huge portion of the national economy, was moving its records into digital formats — Cerner’s core business. The company became the largest of its kind in the U.S., headquartered in North Kansas City with seven locations in the Kansas City area. The company has about 12,800 workers in the Kansas City area and about 24,000 worldwide. Earlier this year, the company opened a new campus in south Kansas City on a sprawling property stretching from 87th to 95th streets immediately east of Interstate 435. Cerner has its world headquarters at 2800 Rockcreek Parkway in North Kansas City. The company also has its Continuous office campus near the Legends in Kansas City, Kan., as well as smaller facilities elsewhere in the metro area. In 2012, Patterson joined the Forbes 400 list, named as a billionaire and one of the richest people in the U.S. Over the years, he became known as a stern taskmaster with a bottomless appetite for work. In 2001, he made national news when his strongly worded email to employees, complaining that they were not working long enough hours, was leaked and picked up by The New York Times. Last year, after he was diagnosed with cancer and announced plans to take time off, he surprised the audience of the Cerner Health Conference in Kansas City by showing up on stage to give a speech. Patterson was also one of the five owners of the Sporting Kansas City soccer team. He and Illig were the two principal investors in OnGoal LLC, the group that purchased the franchise from Lamar Hunt in 2006. The five-man ownership group since rebranded to Sporting Club. Sporting Club is credited with helping to prevent the soccer franchise from moving out of Kansas City. Before it purchased the then-Wizards, the ownership group met regularly with the Heart of America Soccer Foundation — a campaign to “Save the Wizards.” “It’s not the Heart of America that did it — Neal and Cliff saved the Wizards,” Greg Cotton, the former chairman of the board for Heart of America, told The Star in a 2013 article. The Sporting Kansas City brand was adopted in late in 2010, and the ownership group was instrumental in opening Children’s Mercy Park in Kansas City, Kan., a soccer-specific stadium that helped turn around the franchise. The venue has seen 97 consecutive MLS sellouts. “RIP Neal Patterson — part of our ownership group and a man who helped make our soccer dreams in this city come true,” Sporting Kansas City’s supporter group, The Cauldron, tweeted Sunday morning.
Posts: 49,608

07-09-2017, 01:22 PM	#2
POND_OF_RED The talking stonehead Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Blue Springs, MO Casino cash: $1773146	Damn. That sucks. Thank you for all that you did for this wonderful city Mr. Patterson. R.I.P.
Posts: 5,692

07-09-2017, 01:59 PM	#3
MahiMike He's Mahomie! Join Date: Aug 2001 Location: Jax, FL Casino cash: $10023443	Colleague of mine used to work at Cerner. Said it was a sweat shop. Pretty bad. __________________ 99.9%
Posts: 17,387

07-09-2017, 04:48 PM	#4
Prison Bitch Rabbi Goldmann Join Date: Nov 2012 Casino cash: $5450159	At 12k local employees, Cerner is easily the biggest employer in KC RIP
Posts: 87,025

07-09-2017, 05:15 PM	#6
Chief_For_Life58 Veteran Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: KC Casino cash: $9925938	He lived am awesome life. Rip
Posts: 3,859

07-09-2017, 07:58 PM	#8
\|Zach\| For The Glory Of The City Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: Kansas City Casino cash: $5326768	Had quite an impact on this city.
Posts: 53,435

07-09-2017, 08:44 PM	#9
KChiefs1 I’m a Mahomo! Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Mid-Missouri Casino cash: $6771021	I remember hoping these guys would buy the Royals. RIP Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk __________________
Posts: 54,038

07-10-2017, 10:38 PM	#10
jjchieffan Supporter Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Highlandville, MO Casino cash: $3392247	I'm not from KC. But I am familiar with Cerner. Cerner bought up the IT department at Cox Hospital in Springfield a few years ago. I'm not sure how that all worked other than the IT department employees were no longer Cox employees, but rather Cerner employees that were contractors for Cox. __________________ Genesis 1:1 In the beginning, God created the Heavens and the Earth. Following the historical accounts and the genealogy from that point on, the age of the Earth is approximately 6000-7000 years old. The Big Bullshit Theory is a lie. It and the evolution theory go against real science. Satan has used our public school system to brainwash everyone into believing these lies. Be not decieved.
Posts: 12,610

07-10-2017, 11:25 PM	#11
wazu ... Join Date: May 2002 Location: Kansas City, MO Casino cash: $2192295 VARSITY	Met Neal one time when I worked there. He asked if I knew how many letters were in the Chinese alphabet. I said no I don't.
Posts: 27,774