Leadership

Brad Healey was appointed Group Director Operations - Waitematā in December 2023. He was first employed as General Manager Diagnostics & Clinical Support at Waitematā in 2020 and is an accomplished contributor to the health sector with many years of substantial experience in senior leadership roles. Brad has worked at operational and governance levels - successfully leading the development of multiple new and innovative services at Waitematā and in his previous Manukau and Waikato-based positions. He thrives on complex challenges and his ability to facilitate positive relationships in a multidisciplinary environment has resulted in significant achievements for the benefit of our patients and the community that we serve.

Karen was appointed Acting General Manager for Specialty Medicine and Health of Older People in January 2023. She is a registered nurse and has spent the majority of her clinical experience in cardiology/coronary care environments. Karen moved into operational management at Waitematā in 2007 including roles in duty nurse management, outpatients, ICU, general surgery and cancer services. She also undertook 18 months as Acting General Manager for Surgical and Ambulatory Services over the COVID-19 period. Karen has a Post-Graduate Diploma in Business and a Masters in Health Science from the University of Auckland.

Dr Jonathan Christiansen became Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Waitematā DHB in August 2019 after nearly two years as Associate CMO.

He first worked for Waitematā DHB as an ED House Officer in 1994 and returned in 2003 to be a Consultant Cardiologist and General Physician after seven years of US-based specialist training.

Dr Christiansen previously held the role of Head of Division, Medicine and Health of Older People Services and is also a Clinical Senior Lecturer in Medicine at the University of Auckland.

He is the immediate past NZ President of the Royal Australasian College of Physicians and chaired its bi-national Education Committee for four years.

Tamzin Brott was appointed as the Director of Allied Health, Scientific and Technical Professions in January 2016. Tamzin trained as an Occupational Therapist in Wellington, and has since undertaken a Master of Health Science (MHSc Hons) and a Master of Business Administration (MBA Hons) from the Auckland University of Technology (AUT).

Tamzin began at Waitemata District Health Board in 1992. She comes to her current role following five years as the Head of Division Allied Health for Medicine and Health of Older People Services and Surgical and Ambulatory Services. Prior to this Tamzin worked in Child Health as an Operations Manager. Her experience includes a range of clinical and non-clinical occupational therapy roles across the adult health spectrum, with a large component of this time in community health.

Since February 2020, Tamzin has held the role of COVID-19 Executive Lead and has been responsible for leading the pandemic response in hospital and community settings across Waitematā. She is a Fellow of both the Australasian College of Health Service Management and Health Informatics New Zealand.

Naida has spent her whole adult life as an advocate for people. In May 1984 as a humble toll operator at Auckland City, Naida challenged the might of the then Post Office and won for us the right to use 'Kia Ora' across Te Ika a Maui and Te Waipounamu as a national greeting.

Naida started in 1990 when it was once the Auckland Area Health Board as a Bicultural Manager. Her role today is the Chief Advisor Tikanga. General Manager, He Kamaka Waiora, Māori Health across Waitemata and Auckland District Health Boards.
The Chief Advisor Tikanga (CAT) leads the organisation in managing relationships with mana whenua, and Mātā Waka. The CAT role supports the management of the DHBs obligation to Te Tiriti o Waitangi and provides cultural support to all staff which is available to patients and their whanau.

Penny was appointed inaugural Director of the Institute for Innovation and Improvement in 2016 following four years in her role as Clinical Leader of Quality. She graduated with Medicine and Law and has worked in clinical practice in anaesthesiology and in health law.

In 2009-10 Penny was a Harkness Fellow in Health Care Policy and Practice studying with RAND Health in Boston.

Dr Andrew's interests include health policy and regulation, patient safety, and quality in health care and performance measurement and improvement.

Dr Herman was previously Secretary of Te Marae Ora Cook Islands Ministry of Health leading health reforms and the establishment of health systems preparedness plans against COVID-19. Prior to her role in the Cook Islands, Dr Herman was a Medical Officer of Health at Auckland Regional Public Health Service, helping lead the response to the mumps outbreak.

She is a Public health Physician and General Practitioner and is a Fellow of the Australasian Faculty of Public Health Medicine, New Zealand College of Public Health Medicine, and Royal New Zealand College of General Practitioners. She has a Masters in Public Health and PhD in Epidemiology from the University of Auckland.

In 2016, Dr Herman received the Pasifika Medical Association Services Award for her services to Pacific peoples.

Stephanie joined Waitematā’s Specialist Mental Health and Addictions Service as General Manager in March 2021, before taking up her role as Acting Director in December 2022. Stephanie trained as an occupational therapist and worked clinically in mental health services.  She joined Waitematā in the late 1990’s and has held a variety of service improvement and operational roles - both in Mental Health Services and the Child, Women and Family Division.

Stephen was appointed Acting Director People and Culture in November 2022 having held the role of Associate Director Human Resources at Waitematā for the previous two and a half years. Stephen is a senior HR people leader with more than 20 years’ experience leading HR functions in the media, telecoms, ICT, education and central and local government sectors.  He combines deep HR generalist skills with strategic and business partnership expertise, leading and embedding large service and system changes and confidently dealing with ambiguity.

Geoff Goodwin was appointed Acting Chief Financial Officer in November 2022 having held the role of Deputy Chief Financial Officer at Waitematā for the previous two and a half years. Geoff has an extensive history of senior finance leadership across both the private and public sectors. Geoff is a qualified Chartered Accountant a Member of the Institute of Directors and has Bachelor of Commerce (Accounting) degree from the University of Auckland.

Debbie was appointed to the role of General Manager for Acute and Emergency Medicine in January 2023. Starting her career as nurse at North Shore Hospital, she worked for many years in the emergency department. Debbie has worked across many services as an operations manager. Most recently working for Ara Poutama NZ/Dept of Corrections as the Regional Operations Director for Health.  She thrives in a fast-paced environment and looks forward to serving the community in which she lives.

David has been the General Manager, Surgical and Ambulatory Services since May 2021. He joined Waitematā in March 2020 initially as the General Manager for Service Development after relocating from the UK. Originally trained in the law before embarking on a career in healthcare provision, David has worked in several senior leadership roles, these have included Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Local Chief Officer. Shortly after he arrived, David took on the role of Incident Controller during the second outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic having had significant experience in the UK in COVID planning and preparation, prior to coming to NZ. Outside of health, David served the community for over 10 years as a Justice of the Peace in the UK.

.

Paula has been the General Manager Child, Women and Family and the Site Manager at Waitakere Hospital since mid-2021 when she joined Waitematā. Trained initially as a physiotherapist, Paula worked primarily in adult rehabilitation and community across the Auckland region before becoming an Operations Manager at Starship, where she realised she could make a real difference for children and their families. She has held clinical leadership and management roles across the health sector, has a Diploma in Management and an Executive Masters in Business Administration.