SHSMD Announces Winner of 2024 Leadership Excellence Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

SHSMD Announces Winner of 2024 Leadership Excellence Award

CHICAGO (August 8, 2024) – The Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD), a professional membership group of the American Hospital Association, has announced that Ben Dillon, CEO of Geonetric, a Cedar Rapids, Iowa-based digital experience agency working with hospitals and health systems, has been named the recipient of its 2024 Leadership Excellence Award. This award honors strategic leaders in the health care field who excel in the areas of innovation, enhancement of the strategy profession, career achievement and leadership.

Dillon started his career at Geonetric in 2000, one year after its founding, serving in a number of roles including eHealth evangelist and chief strategy officer before becoming CEO in 2023. He is a 2022 Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame inductee and an eHealthcare Strategy & Trends editorial advisory board member. He is a sought-after speaker and writer, known for sharing new ideas in digital marketing, monitoring health care industry trends, and empowering organizations across the country to embrace online strategies that engage health consumers.

Dillon served on multiple volunteer committees with SHSMD and was a member of the SHSMD Board of Directors from 2011 to 2019, serving as president in 2018. Outside of the health care space, he is a co-founder, board member and mentor for the Iowa Startup Accelerator — now known as NewBo.Co — a non-profit expanding the state's entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem.

Dean Browell, PhD, Chief Behavioral Officer of Feedback, a digital ethnography and strategy agency in Richmond, Va., and board member during Dillon’s tenure, shared: “Ben Dillon has been on the forefront of digital in health care since it became such an ongoing concern in the last several decades. But what’s more, he’s been an informative and friendly source of trend watching and information in an increasingly hostile and confusing landscape.”

Alan Shoebridge, AVP, National Communication of Providence in Portland, Ore., and president of the 2023 SHSMD Board, said: “Overall, I can't think of many people who have given back to the profession as much as Ben has over his career."

Dillon will receive the award Monday, October 14 during the 2024 SHSMD Connections Annual Conference in Denver.

About SHSMD
The Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development (SHSMD), a professional membership group of the AHA, powers the strategy professions of health care, including marketing, digital engagement, communications, strategic planning and business development. As the largest membership association in its sector, SHSMD empowers members to overcome challenges, anticipate future trends and drive change toward a vision of healthier people and communities through bold, actionable and inclusive strategies. For more information, visit the SHSMD website at shsmd.org.