New CEO for National Asthma Council
The National Asthma Council Australia (NAC) has appointed Bill Petch as the new CEO.
Petch has three decades of experience and a range of postgraduate qualifications in politics, social impact, leadership and marketing. He served as the CEO of the Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland from 2012–2016. In 2016, the Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland and Leukaemia Foundation of Australia unified to become one national organisation. Petch was responsible for the merger and became the CEO of the new entity, serving in this role till 2020.
Under his leadership, the first ‘State of the Nation’ report on blood cancer in Australia was released, together with the first national taskforce into blood cancer to improve equity of access to current treatments and new emerging therapies and to improve survivability and quality of life.
“The NAC Board is excited about this appointment as it believes Mr Petch will make an outstanding contribution to the leadership and future direction of the NAC,” said Board Chair Dr Joanna Wriedt.
Petch currently co-chairs All.Can Australia, part of the international multi-stakeholder advocacy organisation bringing industry and not-for-profits (NFPs) together to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of cancer care by focusing on and advocating for what matters to patients.
“This is an incredibly challenging time for all Australians and it is important for organisations such as ours to think more laterally and innovate in order to create a new future on the other side of the pandemic,” Petch said.
“Health care is currently one of the most disrupted sectors and there will be several seismic shifts in how the sector will operate and engage with stakeholders in the future.
“We have a huge opportunity to influence just what the new world will look like for the healthcare ecosystem and I want the National Asthma Council Australia to be a significant part of that innovation,” he said.
The NAC Board also acknowledged the significant contribution made by Rhonda Cleveland as the Acting CEO over the last 12 months.
Dr Wriedt said, “The Board is grateful to her and to the staff for their ongoing commitment and the way they have quickly adapted to the challenging COVID environment.”
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