The new appointees come from a range of background across the medical and health technology sectors, and will bring an impressive array of expertise in guiding NICE to deliver its strategic objectives and implement its new strategy.
The six new non-executive directors are:
- Dr Mark Chakravarty, former global Head of Communications and Patient Advocacy at Novartis Pharmaceuticals
- Jackie Fielding, former Vice President of Medtronic UK/Ireland
- Professor Gary Ford, Chief Executive Officer of the Oxford Academic Health Science Network (AHSN)
- Professor Sir Bruce Keogh, Chair of the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust
- Alina Lourie, former Managing Director of the publishing arm of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society
- Dr Justin Whatling, Vice President for International Public Sector Health for Cerner (Europe)
Sharmila Nebhrajani, Chairman of NICE, said: “I am delighted to welcome these six outstanding individuals to the NICE Board. They join us at an exciting and important time as we launch a new strategy and begin to transform the way we work. Each bring a wealth of experience from careers in innovation and data science, life sciences and medtech, and digital publishing - all critical elements of our future work. I look forward to working with them in the coming weeks and months.”
The new appointees are due to take up their Board positions from 1 April 2021, and will boost the number of non-executive directors on the NICE Board from five to eleven.
Professor Gillian Leng, NICE Chief Executive, said: “I am really pleased to welcome six new non-executive directors to the NICE Board. Alongside our existing Board members, they bring a fantastic perspective and breadth of experience to help guide and shape the implementation of our new strategy. It will be a privilege to have their input and I look forward to working alongside them.”
About the appointees:
Dr Mark Chakravarty is a business leader and a physician with 20 years’ experience across organisations including Novartis, Procter & Gamble and the NHS. Most recently he was the global Head of Communications and Patient Advocacy at Novartis Pharmaceuticals. He is also a member of the NICE Appeal Panel and was a member of the NICE Technology Appraisal Committee from 2003 to 2012.
Dr Mark Chakravarty said: “I am delighted to be joining NICE at time when innovation in technology and biomedical science has the potential to have an unparalleled impact on humankind. NICE’s role to support evidence-based decision making at the frontline of health and social care has never been more critical. I am honoured to be joining the board and look forward to supporting the management and staff in their ambitious program to transform the way the NICE produces, presents and updates its guidance and advice.”
Jackie Fielding has been in the healthcare industry for around 30 years and for the last decade was Vice President of Medtronic UK/Ireland. She has held a number of external posts alongside her role in Medtronic including Chair of the British Cardiovascular Intervention Association, council member of British Cardiovascular Intervention Society, and Vice Chair at the Association of British HealthTech Industries. Jackie is an advocate for authentic leadership, diversity and inclusion.
Jackie Fielding said: “I am honoured to be joining the NICE board as a Non Executive Director. In my previous role at Medtronic I had various interactions with this world renowned organisation and I am very excited to get involved at a strategic level and work with the team at NICE.”
Professor Gary Ford has been a leading figure in stroke care for many years and developed the first thrombolysis protocol for acute stroke in England as well as the Face Arm Speech Test (FAST), now used to increase public and professional awareness of stroke. He remains a practicing clinician as a consultant stroke physician at Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and is also Professor of Stroke Medicine at the University of Oxford. Gary was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Oxford Academic Health Science Network (AHSN) in 2013, and is Vice Chair of the national AHSN Network.
Professor Gary Ford said: “I am delighted to join the NICE Board and bring my experience in clinical service transformation and implementation of evidence and innovation. Now, more than ever, the NHS requires high quality guidance and information to help services recover from the impact of the pandemic.”
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh held the chair of Cardiac Surgery at University College London before being appointed Medical Director of the NHS and Director General in the Department of Health and then National Medical Director of NHS England. For a decade he was the professional lead for doctors in the NHS and was responsible for clinical policy and strategy, clinical leadership and innovation across the service. In the Department of Health he was the sponsor for NICE, the Healthcare Commission and the National Patient Safety Agency. Sir Bruce has also served on the boards of the Commission for Health Improvement and Healthcare Commission between 2002-2007. He is currently Chair of the Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust.
Professor Sir Bruce Keogh said: "I'm delighted to join the NICE Board. Over the last two decades NICE has laid the foundation for globally recognised analysis of the effectiveness of different treatments, and I am proud to join an organisation that has helped the NHS to become one of the most evidence-based national healthcare systems in the world."
Alina Lourie has had a long career in publishing and information within the private sector, including 16 years at Thomson Reuters. Latterly she was Managing Director of the publishing arm of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society. Currently, Alina holds a portfolio of Board and advisory positions across a number of professional and academic bodies, including The Institute of Engineering and Technology, The Royal Society of Chemistry and Manchester University Press.
Alina Lourie said: “I am delighted to be joining the NICE Board at this important time – and I look forward to using my experience to support NICE in its aim to make its valuable content even more accessible and useful at the point of care.”
Dr Justin Whatling has over 20 years’ experience in using technology and informatics to transform outcomes for patients. A medical doctor by training, he is currently Vice President for International Public Sector Health for Cerner outside of the USA. Justin is also a visiting professor in health informatics in the Faculty of Population Health Science and Institute of Digital Health at UCL. He has a strong interest in entrepreneurship and developing professionalism for health informatics and has run summer schools for health tech start-ups with the British Computer Society and techUK.
Dr Justin Whatling said: “I am delighted to have been appointed to the board of NICE and look forward to contributing my health informatics experience to the growing evidence-based, data-driven needs of our rapidly evolving health and social care system.”