Former Netscape CEO Named Chair of Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees

Tuesday, September 06, 2005

ROCHESTER, Minn. — The Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees has elected Jim Barksdale, a Mississippi businessman and former president and CEO of Netscape Communications Corp., to serve as new board chair following the trustees' annual meeting in February 2006.

Barksdale succeeds Bert Getz, current Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees chair and the CEO and director of Globe Corp. of Scottsdale, Ariz., whose term is expiring.

"Bert Getz helped set a strong course for Mayo Clinic," says Denis Cortese, M.D., Mayo Clinic president and CEO. "I am confident that Jim Barksdale, working closely with Mayo Clinic senior leadership, will see that Mayo successfully accomplishes its goals as we follow the course established under Bert's tenure."

Barksdale has over 35 years of operational leadership experience for companies including Netscape, AT&T Wireless Services Inc. and Federal Express Corp. He launched his career at IBM and is currently president and CEO of Barksdale Management Corp., a philanthropic investment company.

He is a member of other boards, including Time Warner Inc., Federal Express, Sun Microsystems Inc. and TechNet.

"Mayo Clinic is uniquely positioned to create the future of medicine by bringing new medical discoveries into standard medical practice," says Barksdale. "I look forward to working closely with Dr. Cortese and senior Mayo Clinic leadership to ensure that Mayo Clinic reaches its full potential as a single, but multistate and multicampus, national and international medical organization. Reaching that full potential will include securing Mayo Clinic's ability to support its education and research missions."

Getz says of incoming trustee chair Barksdale, "I'm glad Jim will be taking on this responsibility. His business background is impeccable. During his tenure on the Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees, he's endeared himself to others and has proven his ability in working collegially with everyone."

Mayo Clinic Board of Trustees is a 30-member group of public representatives, Mayo Clinic physicians and administrators responsible for overseeing patient care, medical education and research operations at Mayo Clinic facilities in Arizona, Minnesota and Florida.

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