In 2021, John took up the position of Chief Operating Officer for NHS Scotland. Prior to this he was the Chief Executive of NHS Ayrshire and Arran for nine years. John has worked in several roles across NHS Scotland over the last 39 years working in Tayside, Glasgow, Dumfries and Galloway and Ayrshire and Arran. The last 20 years were in Chief Executive roles. Throughout his career John has been involved in many national programmes including financial shared services, diagnostics, technology enabled care, health and safety, waiting times. John has also held the position of Regional Chief Executive lead for the West of Scotland from 2016 to 2021.

John has a BA(Hons), MBA, DipHSM and a Certificate in Health Economics.

John is passionate about leadership and believes that we need to support and develop leaders to flourish in the 21st century. Working in complex ecosystems John feels that we need leaders that are able to adapt and build effective networks that will enable high quality services for citizens. John believes that compassionate leadership is a strength that supports a healthier, engaged and high performing workplace.

In this talk you will hear about John’s exceptional career journey as well as insights into the challenges being faced by NHS Scotland, and what he thinks needs to be done to address these challenges.

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