General Electric and Microsoft announced Wednesday they have completed the formation of Caradigm, the 50/50 joint health IT venture first announced this past December.

Officials say Caradigm will draw on both companies' strengths to develop an open intelligence platform and new clinical applications aimed at enabling better population health management.

[See also: GE, Microsoft launch new health IT company.]
 
The firm's board of directors and leadership team is composed of executives from both parent companies. Caradigm will be led by CEO Michael Simpson, who joins the company from GE Healthcare.

In addition, GE and Microsoft on Wednesday announced the appointment of Lauren Salata as chief financial officer and Michael Willingham as quality assurance and regulatory affairs executive for Caradigm.

[See also: GE Healthcare, Microsoft name their new company.]

Salata previously served as the chief financial officer and compliance officer of Care Innovations, an Intel and GE company based in Roseville, Calif. Willingham joins Caradigm from Philips Healthcare in Bothell, Wash., where he served as senior director of quality and regulatory affairs.

“The combination of people and technology from GE Healthcare and Microsoft will allow us to drive the dramatic change that is needed in healthcare,” said Simpson. “By forming Caradigm, we can offer innovative healthcare solutions, including an open platform and tools that enable software developers around the world to address the complexities of population health today.”

[See also: Newsmaker Interview: Michael J. Simpson - Caradigm CEO.]

Caradigm will be headquartered in Bellevue, Wash., with offices in Salt Lake City; Andover, Mass.; Chevy Chase, Md.; and other cities around the world.