Geonetric is thrilled to announce that CEO Ben Dillon has been named the 2024 recipient of the Society for Health Care Strategy & Market Development’s (SHSMD) Leadership Excellence Award.
The prestigious award honors leaders in healthcare marketing, communications, public relations, planning, and business development who have become standouts in their field and have demonstrated stellar achievements over the course of their careers.
In their recommendations, the nominators for this year’s Leadership Excellence Award highlighted Ben’s decades of digital experience, thought leadership, and work helping healthcare organizations across the country adapt to healthcare and marketing trends — all of which we’re proud to have a front row seat for here at Geonetric.
Regarding Ben’s expertise and insights in digital marketing, technology, and healthcare, nominators remarked that he’s been “an informative and friendly source of trend watching and information in an increasingly hostile and confusing landscape” and “a sherpa where we often felt caught in a storm we couldn’t control.”
Geonetric is honored to be led by Ben, who joined the agency in 2000, just one year after it was founded. In the years since, he has served as an influential voice in the field of healthcare marketing through his speaking engagements and writings. Ben became CEO of Geonetric in 2023.
In addition to his outstanding work at Geonetric, Ben was also a member of the SHSHMD Board of Directors from 2011 to 2019 and served as president in 2018. He has also been a part of SHSMD’s Digital Engagement Task Force, Nominating Committee, Editorial Advisory Board, Annual Conference Planning Committee, Social Media Trends Task Force, and Bridging World Core Team.
One award nominator who served on the SHSMD board with Ben praised his “leadership, commitment to advancing the profession, and how he lives the Society’s values of collaboration, accountability, respect, excellence and innovation.”
Nominators also appreciate Ben’s “candor, sincerity, inclusiveness, and dry sense of humor” in the way he shares industry updates, even when addressing “the most complex and challenging topics of the industry.”
In addition to his work with SHSMD, Ben is also a 2022 Healthcare Internet Hall of Fame inductee and an eHealthcare Strategy & Trends editorial advisory board member.
Outside of healthcare marketing, Ben is also a co-founder, board member, and mentor for the Iowa Startup Accelerator — now known as NewBo.Co — a non-profit expanding the entrepreneurial and innovation ecosystem in Iowa.
This well-deserved honor from SHSMD not only celebrates Ben’s outstanding professional achievements but also underscores the invaluable impact he has had on digital marketing, healthcare, and the Geonetric team.
From all of us at Geonetric, congratulations, Ben, on this prestigious recognition!