Emerging Industries | Technology
Founder and CEO
Epic Systems | Verona
In 1979, Judy Faulkner co-founded Human Services Computer, the health care technology company that would later become Verona-based Epic Systems. Launched in a basement in Madison with an investment of $70,000 from friends and family, the company grew to fill the 136th slot on Forbes’ 2021 list of America’s largest private companies. Epic’s electronic health records software is widely used in hospitals and clinics worldwide; the company says it holds the records of more than 300 million patients. Epic reported revenue of $3.8 billion this year.
The company prides itself on having built all of its software in house and having never made an acquisition; it also invests about a third of its operating expenses into research and development.
With her family, Faulkner, whose net worth is estimated at $6.6 billion, owns 47% of the company.
In 2015, she signed the Giving Pledge, agreeing to eventually give 99% of her assets to philanthropy.
Epic has had a massive impact on the Madison area, particularly over the past 15 years. It is credited with recruiting and helping retain young people after they graduate from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, helping mitigate the boomerang effect in the city. Today, the company employs roughly 10,000 people, making it the second-largest employer in Dane County behind the university.
Education: Bachelor’s, Dickinson College; master’s in computer science, University of Wisconsin-Madison