Delivering an Executive Search to Appoint a Visionary Chief Executive Officer for a Major Health Provider
The Brief
Future Leadership™ was engaged by a leading health organisation in Victoria to appoint a Chief Executive Officer following the resignation of a long-serving leader. The organisation operates as a private not-for-profit provider of public tertiary health services and is part of a national health group with a strong values-based mission.
The appointment came at a pivotal time. The organisation had recently undergone significant transformation and growth, including its leadership role in Victoria’s COVID-19 response. The new CEO was expected to consolidate these achievements while steering the organisation back to ‘business as usual’ principles. At the same time, the CEO would lead major strategic initiatives, including:
- A significant rebuild of a major research centre.
- A planned development of consulting suites and offices.
- The establishment of a new Home Division focused on innovative models such as Hospital in the Home.
- Expansion of private hospital facilities in Melbourne.
The ideal candidate needed to demonstrate operational excellence, strategic foresight, and the ability to lead a high-performing executive team through change. They also needed to align with the organisation’s faith-based values of compassion, justice, integrity, and excellence.
Future Leadership™ had a strong understanding of the organisation based on work completed over a period of over ten years prior to commencing this search.
Key steps included:
- Briefing and Strategy Development
The dedicated consultant team conducted a detailed briefing with the CEO of the national hospital division and senior stakeholders to clarify expectations, organisational challenges, and the attributes of the ideal candidate. - Search Focus and Candidate Identification
A national search strategy across Australia and New Zealand was implemented, targeting high-calibre candidates from public health services, private and not-for-profit health organisations, and aligned sectors such as professional services. The search leveraged trusted networks, known candidates and proprietary databases to develop a strong initial candidate pool. The search was supported by online advertising through platforms including Seek, LinkedIn, and the Future Leadership website. - Internal Candidate Management
A critical element for the health service was the management of any internal candidates who expressed interest int the role. Internal applicants were treated with sensitivity, ensuring transparency and fairness throughout the process. - Candidate Assessment
Shortlisted candidates underwent rigorous evaluation, including behavioural based interviews, psychometric assessments using Hogan and Swift tools, and 360-degree reference checks. - Final Evaluation and Selection
Future Leadership coordinated all panel interviews and facilitated candidate presentations to the selection committee, ensuring the process aligned with organisational values and strategic objectives.
The search process was designed to ensure cultural alignment, strategic capability, and readiness to lead through complexity and reform. Future Leadership™ provided ongoing support with candidate management, scheduling, documentation, and stakeholder engagement.
Future Leadership Capability Framework
Strategy and Purpose
Develops and leads strategy for the function/organisation, taking a broad and long-term perspective. Understands and considers context.
Communicates and gains buy-in to the function/organisation goals, direction and vision, promoting change initiative
Governance and Compliance
Establishes, champions and measures the effectiveness of an organisation’s regulatory and reporting systems. Identifies and evaluates risks, develops strategies to mitigate risk.
Stakeholder Relations
Establishes rapport with stakeholders, builds and sustains trusted and collaborative relationships. Identifies and draws on relevant and diverse perspectives and integrates them to support productive interactions.
Adaptability and Resilience
Demonstrates positivity, curiosity, and the ability to pivot when confronted with change, pressure, adversity and disruption. Responsive to strategic environmental, social and corporate challenges and opportunities.
Culture and Engagement
Fosters a positive culture, creating a sense of belonging and inclusiveness. Creates an environment that encourages diverse perspectives and facilitates a psychologically safe environment.
The Outcome
The appointee is an accomplished healthcare executive with over 15 years’ leadership experience across major Melbourne hospitals. Their career highlights include serving as Executive Director Acute Services at St Vincent’s Hospital Melbourne and Interim CEO at Peter MacCallum Cancer Centre. With a proven track record in strategic transformation, operational excellence, and performance turnaround, they have notably lead pandemic responses and major service reforms.
The candidate excels in stakeholder engagement, with key outcomes including securing significant funding, and implementing innovative clinical models. Their achievements span successful delivery of capital projects, establishment of centres of excellence, and driving organisational growth. With expertise in change management, data integrity, and clinical governance, they demonstrate resilience and adaptability in complex environments. Their collaborative approach and ability to foster high-performing teams positioned them as a strong leader for the future of the health service.
