Health NZ disestablishes chief people officer role: reports

Chief of data and digital also disestablished as part of executive restructuring

BY Dexter Tilo 16 Oct 2024

Health New Zealand has disestablished two executive roles, including its chief people officer, as part of a broader restructuring of its executive leadership team, according to reports.

Health NZ chief executive Margie Apa confirmed the reports to news outlets last week.

"I am disestablishing the positions of Chief People Officer and Chief of Data and Digital," Apa said as quoted by Stuff. "The people in those roles have made enormous contributions to Health NZ, and these have been difficult decisions."

The chief people officer role was held by Andrew Slater, who joined the organisation in April last year from Telehealth Services.

The chief of data and digital, on the other hand, was held by Leigh Donoghue and was previously described as "critically important" in changing systems to implement health reforms.

The change in the agency's executive leadership team is part of the next phase of "resetting enabling services to better support regions," according to Apa's statement.

Prior to this, the first step was installing Regional Deputy CEOs, which had been in place since August.

"These changes are all part of the wider HNZ reset to ensure we get back on budget, live within our means, and deliver faster and easier access to healthcare for New Zealanders," Apa said.