JON SCHOONMAKER NAMED CHIEF, TECHNICAL PROGRAMS AND OPERATIONS, SAFE-BIOPHARMA ASSOCIATION

FT. LEE, N.J. (March 4, 2008) – Jon Schoonmaker has been named Chief, Technical Programs and Operations for SAFE-BioPharma Association, the non-profit association that created and manages the SAFE™ digital identity and digital signature standard for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries.

In his new position, Mr. Schoonmaker has responsibility for the technical and operational aspects of the SAFE digital identity and signature standard including those dealing with SAFE member companies, Vendor Partners, consultants and suppliers. He will participate in the leadership of SAFE-BioPharma and represent the organization with a variety of its alliance partners.
 
“Jon Schoonmaker has a wealth of experience and expertise in the health IT and IT security arenas. His background and skills will be extremely valuable to SAFE as we continue our fast-paced growth and development, “said Mollie Shields-Uehling, president and CEO, SAFE-BioPharma Association.

The SAFE™ standard was established by the biopharmaceutical industry to help it transform to a fully electronic environment from inefficient paper-based business and regulatory processes. SAFE provides a high level of trust assurance for digital identities, which are uniquely bound to corresponding digital signatures. 

Mr. Schoonmaker has held several significant posts in IT security, including, most recently, with Lockheed Martin Corporation and Northrop Grumman Corporation. He worked for BAE Systems, served as an industry consultant and founded two companies, QuikCycle, Inc. and Integrated Desktop Computing, Inc. He participates in The George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services.

Mr. Schoonmaker earned an MBA in Finance from the W. Simon School at the University of Rochester and a BS in Economics/Operations and Information Systems, from The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He is a Certified Management Accountant through the Institute of Management Accounting.

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About SAFE-BioPharma Association
SAFE-BioPharma Association is the non-profit association that created and manages the SAFE™ digital identity and signature standard for the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. The SAFE standard is used to mitigate legal, regulatory and other business risk associated with business-to-business and business-to-regulator electronic transactions. It facilitates interoperability between disparate information systems by providing a secure, enforceable, and regulatory-compliant way to verify identities of parties involved in electronic transactions. SAFE’s vision is to be a catalyst in transforming the biopharmaceutical and healthcare communities to a fully electronic business environment by 2012. The Association’s members include Amgen, AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Genzyme, GlaxoSmithKline, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Pfizer, Procter & Gamble, Roche and Sanofi-Aventis. For more information, visit www.safe-biopharma.org.

SAFE™ is a trademark of SAFE-BioPharma Association. Any use of this trademark requires approval from SAFE-BioPharma Association.