20 Healthcare Executives across regional Queensland
- Jonno White
- Aug 13
- 6 min read
Last updated: 13 August 2026.
If you want to understand who is leading health services across regional Queensland, start with the people responsible for hospitals, medical services, operations, nursing, finance and community access. This guide brings together current healthcare executives working across Queensland outside Brisbane, with a focus on public hospital and health services.
As of 13 August 2026, the list includes health service chief executives, medical leaders and senior operational executives across Cairns, Central Queensland, the Darling Downs, Mackay, Townsville, the South West, the Sunshine Coast, Torres and Cape and Wide Bay. The names are presented in a neutral order for easy navigation.
The profiles below are a practical starting point for understanding the breadth of executive work in Queensland health services. They highlight the mix of clinical judgement, operational discipline, system planning and community responsibility required across a large geography.
Why regional health leadership matters.
Regional health leadership is not simply metropolitan leadership at a greater distance. Executives working across regional Queensland balance specialist access, workforce pressure, community trust, rural and remote travel, local partnerships and the practical limits of geography.
The strongest examples connect clinical credibility with system design, use technology where it improves access, treat workforce capability as a service issue and keep governance close to patient safety. Those are useful ideas for anyone leading a health or medical organisation.
Distance makes practical design more important. Telehealth, rural medical training, remote service planning and community partnerships are part of how care becomes reachable.
1. Leena Singh
Chief Executive, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
Leena Singh is Chief Executive at Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service.
Leena Singh has held Chief Executive, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer roles across health services and other organisations.
2. Jenelle Matic
Chief Operating Officer, Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service
Jenelle Matic is Chief Operating Officer at Cairns and Hinterland Hospital and Health Service.
Jenelle Matic previously held senior roles including General Manager of Westmead Hospital.
3. Lisa Blackler
Health Service Chief Executive, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service
Lisa Blackler is Health Service Chief Executive at Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service.
Lisa Blackler has experience leading health service delivery in regional, rural and remote settings.
4. Heera Bhullar
Executive Director Strategy, Planning and Expansion, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service
Heera Bhullar is Executive Director Strategy, Planning and Expansion at Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service.
Heera Bhullar previously managed a substantial annual budget and a team of 12 senior leaders, then led healthcare transformation work at Ernst and Young.
5. Kate Chambers
Chief Finance Officer, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service
Kate Chambers is Chief Finance Officer at Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service.
Kate Chambers also served as Chief Financial Officer for the ACT Health Directorate and led its health funding and purchasing framework.
6. Dr Benjamin Pearson
Executive Director Medical Services, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service
Dr Benjamin Pearson is Executive Director Medical Services at Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service.
Dr Benjamin Pearson held Chief Medical Officer roles in New Zealand, leading medical workforce strategy and clinical governance.
7. Amy Holmes
Executive Director Clinical Governance, Quality and Safety, Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service
Amy Holmes is Executive Director Clinical Governance, Quality and Safety at Central Queensland Hospital and Health Service.
Amy Holmes helped establish Queensland Virtual Hospital and played a key role in Queensland Health’s COVID-19 response.
8. Anthony West
Health Service Chief Executive, Central West Hospital and Health Service
Anthony West is Health Service Chief Executive at Central West Hospital and Health Service.
Anthony West has focused on systems that bring mental health, maternity, child health, primary care and general practice closer to remote communities.
9. Annette Scott
Health Service Chief Executive, Darling Downs Health
Annette Scott is Health Service Chief Executive at Darling Downs Health.
Annette Scott was the Darling Downs COVID-19 incident commander and vaccination rollout lead, receiving the Public Service Medal in 2021.
10. Greg Neilson
Executive Director Mental Health, Darling Downs Health
Greg Neilson is Executive Director Mental Health at Darling Downs Health.
Greg Neilson pioneered telehealth mental health assessments for rural emergency departments in 2013, improving access to care across the Darling Downs and South West regions.
11. Professor Hwee Sin Chong
Executive Director Queensland Rural Medical Service, Darling Downs Health
Professor Hwee Sin Chong is Executive Director Queensland Rural Medical Service at Darling Downs Health.
Professor Hwee Sin Chong has contributed to local and national rural medical workforce initiatives through innovative medical training pathways.
12. Sean Birgan
Health Service Chief Executive, Mackay Hospital and Health Service
Sean Birgan is Health Service Chief Executive at Mackay Hospital and Health Service.
Sean Birgan was Queensland Health’s COVID-19 System Response Lead in 2022, coordinating the operational response.
13. Dr Charles Pain
Chief Medical Officer, Mackay Hospital and Health Service
Dr Charles Pain is Chief Medical Officer at Mackay Hospital and Health Service.
Dr Charles Pain led the state-wide Between the Flags and In Safe Hands safety initiatives while working at the NSW Clinical Excellence Commission.
14. Peta Bryant
Acting Chief Executive Officer, Townsville Hospital and Health Service
Peta Bryant is Acting Chief Executive Officer at Townsville Hospital and Health Service.
Peta Bryant negotiated Queensland’s share of the National Health Reform Agreement and oversaw the Mental Health Levy and Better Care Together strategy.
15. Dr Anthony Brown
Health Service Chief Executive, South West Hospital and Health Service
Dr Anthony Brown is Health Service Chief Executive at South West Hospital and Health Service.
Dr Anthony Brown has improved access to care in rural and remote communities across Queensland, Victoria and the Northern Territory.
16. Dr Peter Gillies
Health Service Chief Executive, Sunshine Coast Health
Dr Peter Gillies is Health Service Chief Executive at Sunshine Coast Health.
Dr Peter Gillies spent more than five years as a Health Service Chief Executive in Toowoomba before moving to the Sunshine Coast role.
17. Dr Marlene Pearce
Executive Director Medical Services, Sunshine Coast Health
Dr Marlene Pearce is Executive Director Medical Services at Sunshine Coast Health.
Dr Marlene Pearce oversees clinical research governance and provides professional leadership for medical officers across the health service.
18. Rex O’Rourke
Health Service Chief Executive, Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service
Rex O’Rourke is Health Service Chief Executive at Torres and Cape Hospital and Health Service.
Rex O’Rourke has led health and human services in rural and remote areas and worked with Aboriginal Community-Controlled Organisations across several jurisdictions.
19. Deborah Carroll
Health Service Chief Executive, Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service
Deborah Carroll is Health Service Chief Executive at Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.
Deborah Carroll established the first Clinical Governance, Risk and Quality Unit in regional Queensland while Nursing Director at Rockhampton Hospital.
20. Cameron Duffy
Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services, Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service
Cameron Duffy is Executive Director of Nursing and Midwifery Services at Wide Bay Hospital and Health Service.
Cameron Duffy has contributed to dementia care initiatives and workforce leadership partnerships with universities in regional Queensland.
Conclusion.
The executives in this guide show the breadth of leadership required across regional Queensland health services. Their work covers clinical care, medical administration, finance, operations, nursing, workforce, governance, technology, rural access and community partnership.
For readers, the practical lesson is to look beyond the title. Notice the systems each leader is trying to improve, the communities each role serves and the partnerships that make the work possible.
If this list helps you identify a question about your own leadership team, write it down and discuss it with the people who need to act on it. Clarity often begins with one honest conversation about what patients, staff and communities need next.
Related Reading.
For more on leadership teams, read Leadership team development, Leadership team alignment, and culture people will move cities to join.
About the Author.
Jonno White is a Brisbane-based leadership consultant, keynote speaker and Certified Working Genius Facilitator, and the author of Step Up or Step Out. He works with schools, corporates and nonprofits around the world.
Topic-matched support.
If your health or medical leadership team needs clearer priorities, stronger relationships or a more practical way to turn strategy into action, I can help through a keynote, workshop or facilitated leadership session. Email jonno@consultclarity.org.