Company History and Future

INNOVIA and Columbia MedCom Group

INNOVIA Education Institute, LLC, founded in 1988, is a wholly owned subsidiary of Columbia MedCom Group (CMCG), a Maryland-based holding company led by President and CEO Susan Torroella. In 2003, CMCG reorganized itself into a parent company composed of 2 subsidiaries, INNOVIA Education Institute, LLC, and Medicalliance, Inc.—creating a firewall separating INNOVIA's CME activities from Medicalliance's promotional services. CMCG, among the first medical communications companies to undertake such a separation, continually reviews INNOVIA's structure and organization.

Accreditation Status

INNOVIA was first accredited by the ACCME in 2001 and received a four-year reaccreditation in 2003. ACCME reaccredited INNOVIA in 2007 for another four-year term with exemplary status in three elements spanning all three Essential Areas—Purpose and Mission (Element 1.2), Educational Planning and Evaluation (Element 2.2), and Administration (Element 3.1).

CMCG and Its Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP)

In May 2005, CMCG and its subsidiaries became the only 100% employee-owned medical education company in the United States when its executive core acquired full ownership of its stock in a leveraged employee stock option plan (ESOP) transaction. The ESOP structure ensures that INNOVIA employees plan for the best long-term interests of the company and its employee owners. Thus, employee ownership reinforces a corporate culture of quality, accountability, and fiduciary responsibility.

CMCG and Its ECO Task Force

As a forward-thinking, employee-owned company, CMCG has already committed to maintaining a healthy workplace and an environment that respects work/life balance. In 2006, the CMCG employee-owners formed the ECO Task Force, a volunteer workgroup of employee-owners charged with examining and implementing measures to save energy, resources, and money. Ultimately, we hope to demonstrate that reducing our environmental impact as a business will also pay dividends through substantial savings on energy and office-supply costs.