Judith R. Faulkner (born August 11, 1943) is an American

billionaire A billionaire is a person with a net worth of at least one billion (1,000,000,000, i.e., a thousand million) units of a given currency, usually of a major currency such as the United States dollar, euro, or pound sterling. The American busin ...

and the CEO and founder of Epic Systems, a healthcare software company located in Verona, Wisconsin. Faulkner founded Epic Systems in 1979, with the original name of Human Services Computing. In 2013, '' Forbes'' called her "the most powerful woman in healthcare", and on their 2020 list of the world's billionaires she was ranked 836th with a net worth of US$5.5 billion.

Early life and education

Faulkner was born in August 1943 to Louis and Del Greenfield. Faulkner's parents inspired her early interest in healthcare; her father, Louis, was a pharmacist, and her mother, Del, was the director of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility. She was raised in the Erlton neighborhood of

Cherry Hill, New Jersey Cherry Hill is a township within Camden County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the township had a population of 74,553, which reflected an increase of 3,508 (+4.94%) from the 71,045 counted in the 2010 census.

, and graduated from

Moorestown Friends School Moorestown Friends School (also known as MFS) is a private, coeducational Quaker day school located in Moorestown, in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2019–20 school year, the school had an enrollment of 652 student ...

in 1961. She received a bachelor's degree in mathematics from

Dickinson College , mottoeng = Freedom is made safe through character and learning , established = , type = Private liberal arts college , endowment = $645.5 million (2022) , president = J ...

and a master's degree in computer science from the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

Career

In 1979, shortly after receiving her master's degree, Faulkner co-founded Human Services Computing, with Dr. John Greist. Human Services Computing, which later became Epic Systems, began in a basement at 2020 University Avenue in

Madison Madison may refer to: People * Madison (name), a given name and a surname * James Madison (1751–1836), fourth president of the United States Place names * Madison, Wisconsin, the state capital of Wisconsin and the largest city known by this ...

, Wisconsin. The company was started with a $70,000 investment from friends and family but has never taken investment from venture capital or private equity and remains a privately held company. In fact, Faulkner prides herself in the fact that Epic is homegrown; they have never acquired another company, and Faulkner has stated they will never go public. Epic Systems now holds the medical records of over 200 million people. Faulkner and her family currently own 43 percent of Epic Systems.

Awards and recognition

* '' Forbes'' America's Top 50 Women In Tech 2018

Personal life

Faulkner lives in Madison, Wisconsin. She is married to Dr. Gordon Faulkner, a pediatrician. They have three children. In 2015, Faulkner signed The Giving Pledge, committing 99% of her assets to philanthropy.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Faulkner, Judith R. 1943 births Businesspeople from Wisconsin Dickinson College alumni University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni Living people American women chief executives American health care chief executives American technology chief executives Moorestown Friends School alumni People from Cherry Hill, New Jersey American billionaires Female billionaires 21st-century American philanthropists Wisconsin Democrats 21st-century American women