NEWS HR

May 5, 2022

Bupa’s A/NZ chief information officer Sami Yalavac has been given the role of interim managing director of Bupa Australia’s health services portfolio. A Bupa spokesperson said that previous incumbent Dwayne Crombie has “returned to New Zealand as managing director of our aged care business”. Yalavac has been Bupa’s A/NZ CIO since January 2016, with responsibility across all Bupa private health insurance, care homes, optometry, dental, telehealth and “all other Bupa business in the region”. His appointment to the acting managing director role became public by way of a low-key edit to his LinkedIn profile.

May 2, 2022

There are three new faces on the Waitaki District Health Services board. A Waitaki district councillor, a former Southern DHB commissioner and a former long-serving chairman of Te Runanga o Moeraki have been appointed as directors to the board. The Waitaki District Council this year advertised three vacancies on the board of the council-controlled organisation, created by the resignations of Mark Rogers, Andrew Blair and Andrew Wilson. Mr Rogers, who chaired the board, stepped down at the end of his three-year term for personal reasons, while Mr Blair and Dr Wilson cited workloads in their other roles as contributing to their decisions. Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said the council received “several strong” applications for the roles. After discussions in a publicly excluded council meeting, Melanie Tavendale, Trevor McGlinchey and Kathy Grant were appointed to the board.

May 2, 2022

There are three new faces on the Waitaki District Health Services board. A Waitaki district councillor, a former Southern DHB commissioner and a former long-serving chairman of Te Runanga o Moeraki have been appointed as directors to the board. The Waitaki District Council this year advertised three vacancies on the board of the council-controlled organisation, created by the resignations of Mark Rogers, Andrew Blair and Andrew Wilson. Mr Rogers, who chaired the board, stepped down at the end of his three-year term for personal reasons, while Mr Blair and Dr Wilson cited workloads in their other roles as contributing to their decisions. Waitaki Mayor Gary Kircher said the council received “several strong” applications for the roles. After discussions in a publicly excluded council meeting, Melanie Tavendale, Trevor McGlinchey and Kathy Grant were appointed to the board. Mrs Tavendale is a Waitaki district councillor, and deputy mayor, at present, but has announced she will not be seeking re-election this year. Mr Kircher said under the council’s policy, councillors could be appointed to the boards of council-controlled organisations if they had the “requisite skill set to add value to the overall board”. “[Mrs Tavendale] was appointed with particular regard for her governance strengths, her strategic and analytical skills, and her strong connections to our community.” Ms Grant served as the Southern DHB commissioner from 2015 to 2019, and has governance experience on the boards of commercial companies and not-for-profit organisations. “Her recent role as the lead commissioner running the Southern DHB gives Kathy a unique view of the health sector, and connections within that sector, which we expect to help our local health services transition through the current health reforms,” Mr Kircher said.

April 7, 2022

Waikato disability advocate John McIntosh died in Waikato Hospital in Hamilton on Sunday after a short illness. The 74-year-old was last year made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit for his services to people with disabilities. McIntosh was described in his citation as a regional leader in raising awareness for disability and ageing issues. He was born with scoliosis – or curvature of the spine – and his parents were told he was unlikely to live past 40. McIntosh joined Life Unlimited Charitable Trust, a national provider of health and disability services, in 2003 and was responsible for the development of four disability resource centres (now called Mobility Centre stores) throughout the Midland region.

March 30, 2022

ProCare has appointed Kirti Desai as its new General Manager Digital, Data and Technology. Kirti will join ProCare on 26 April and will form part of the Group’s Executive Leadership Team.

March 30, 2022

New Zealand registered charity and specialist provider of services to older people, The Selwyn Foundation, announces that its Chief Executive Officer, Garry Smith, is to retire after ten years in the role. Mr Smith was appointed in April 2012, after nine years as CEO of Auckland District Health Board. A chartered accountant with immense experience in the broader health sector, he is credited with transforming The Selwyn Foundation’s service delivery and customer approach, extending its client base, and expanding its range of charitable programmes and outreach initiatives in support of a greater number of older people and vulnerable seniors living in the community.

March 22, 2022

Cancer diagnostics company Pacific Edge (NZX: PEB, ASX: PEB) today announced the appointment of Tony Barclay as an Independent Non-Executive Director.

December 10, 2021

Cerebral Palsy Alliance – Accommodation North is set to defend a s.394 (application for unfair dismissal remedy) set for hearing before Commissioner Ryan (Video using Microsoft Teams) in Sydney (Purevjav)