Appointment of acting chief executive for Canterbury & West Coast DHBs

Following last week’s resignation of David Meates Chief Executive of Canterbury & West Coast DHBs the Board has started the process to recruit a full time permanent Chief Executive. This will involve a global search and is expected to take some months.

In the interim, the Board has appointed Dr Andrew Brant to take up the role of Acting Chief Executive of Canterbury & West Coast DHBs from early October 2020 until the end of the year.

Andrew is currently Acting Chief Executive at Waitematā DHB and isn’t available to come to Christchurch until early October.

To ensure things continue to move forward after David’s departure on 4 September, Dr Peter Bramley, current Chief Executive of Nelson Marlborough Health will start working alongside David from 26 August and will stay on to support Andrew Brant during his first few weeks in the role to ensure continuity and a smooth handover.

Both Andrew and Peter will be based in Christchurch during the week and it’s expected they will also travel to the West Coast as part of the Acting Chief Executive role.

Below are short bios for both Andrew and Peter.

The Board is very pleased we have been able to secure the services of two very experienced and highly qualified health managers, who are also clinicians. Both have a strong understanding of health in New Zealand and proven leadership skills.

The expectation is that they will continue to support the work underway in the Project Management Office, and both have provided on the ground leadership in key roles during the first phase of the COVID-19 Pandemic and they will provide support to the work of teams throughout our health system in Canterbury (and the West Coast) as we face this next phase of the pandemic.

They know they have big boots to fill.

Please join me in extending a warm Canterbury welcome to Peter and Andrew.

On behalf of the Board I want to thank them both – and their Chairs and DHBs - for making themselves available for this challenging role at time when there is so much change and many major projects in train.

Dr Peter Bramley, Interim Acting Chief Executive – starts 26 August for approx. 6 - 8 weeks

Peter has extensive management experience and an interesting career path. His academic career began at the University of Otago where he gained a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and physics. He worked for the Wellcome Medical Research Institute in Dunedin and at the same time completed a PhD in Medicine. Dr Bramley lectured in Biochemistry and Medical Physiology, first in Dunedin and then at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

Between 1999 and 2007 Peter held various senior management roles with the accounting software company, MYOB New Zealand Ltd. In 2008 he stepped back into health as Service Manager of Surgical Services at Southland Hospital in Invercargill.

At the end of 2010, Peter moved to Nelson and joined the Nelson Marlborough Health Executive Leadership Team as Service Director Medical and Surgical Services. In 2013 Peter became General Manager Clinical Services and in August 2016 stepped into the role as Acting CE. Peter has been the Chief Executive Officer of Nelson Marlborough Health (NMH) since April 2017.

Peter is an energetic and passionate people manager, with a strong focus on the importance of accessing healthcare close to home and growing a compassionate workforce in the health sector.

Dr Andrew Brant, Acting Chief Executive – from early October 2020 until the end of the year

Dr Andrew Brant is currently Acting Chief Executive Officer at Waitematā DHB and has commitments there until early October. His usual role is Deputy Chief Executive Officer at Waitematā. Andrew held the role of Chief Medical Officer from 2010 to 2019 after being the Head of Division for Medicine and Health of Older People’s Services.

Dr Brant was previously the Clinical Director of Medical Services at Wellington Regional Hospital, Capital and Coast DHB. He is a Respiratory Physician and is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians. He has a Masters in Business Administration from Cambridge University and a PhD from the Imperial College, London, UK.

Dr Brant has extensive experience in governance, strategy, planning, financial, operational and clinical issues. He has also had oversight of facilities projects, maintenance and major strategic capital programmes.

He’s interested in culture and values and the impact on an organisation; has led crisis management responses and championed priority DHB projects including introducing new technologies and new models of care.

Clinical Governance and Quality are also areas championed by Andrew. He’s led and governed many regional programmes including the development of the Northern Region Information Services Strategic Plan which provides the road map for IT over the next decade for the Northern Region DHBs.