Encyclopedia Dubuque
"Encyclopedia Dubuque is the online authority for all things Dubuque, written by the people who know the city best.”
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Affiliated with the Local History Network of the State Historical Society of Iowa, and the Iowa Museum Association.
HOUTZ, James
HOUTZ, James. (Sioux City, IA, 1936 --Scottsdale, AZ, May 16, 2018). A 1958 graduate of the University of South Dakota Business School. He worked for Burroughs and IBM after the Army, before setting out on his own in 1967. (1)
In August, 1967 Houtz founded CyCare Systems, Inc, in the basement of a radio station with just $1,500 in his pocket and ten shares of IBM stock. With the goal of establishing Dubuque County’s largest service bureau, Houtz gained such early clients as MEDICAL ASSOCIATES CLINIC PC (THE), THERMOLYNE CORPORATION, and the City of Dubuque. In the 1970s he decided to concentrate on service to the medical field. By 1977 CCS was the second-largest company in the United States providing computer services to medical clinics. It also ranked as Dubuque’s largest postal customer spending nearly $1 million annually in postage. In 1972 CCS moved into the DUBUQUE BUILDING that it purchased in 1978 to establish CYCARE PLAZA. The company became CyCare Systems in 1977.
Houtz was instrumental in helping CyCare pioneer many new innovations for healthcare automation. The company maintained a market share as high as 35% of all the large group physician practices in the US. CyCare went public in 1981 with a secondary offering in 1983, followed by its NYSE listing in 1988. (2) In 1987 the corporate headquarters moved to Arizona.
Houtz served as chairman and CEO for 29 years, until he sold it for $270 million to Atlanta- based HBO & Company in 1996. Following the sale of CyCare, Houtz started a venture capital firm, JaGrand Ventures, served as CEO of Integreat, Inc., CEO of Southwest Jet Aviation, and Southwest Jet Corporate Center. He served on numerous boards and was a published author of Seize the American Dream: 10 Entrepreneurial Success Stories and Saving America and Saving America. He was a mentor to many young entrepreneurs with great ideas and an overwhelming desire to achieve success. (3)
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Source:
1. Obituaries. Telegraph Herald, May 20, 2018, p. 22A
2. Ibid.
3. LinkedIn. Online: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimhoutz/
