22 Health System CEOs in New South Wales to Know
Last updated August 2026.
Health systems in New South Wales are large, local and deeply connected. They bring together hospitals, community services, emergency care, research, technology, pathology and primary care, so the people leading them have to make good decisions at several levels at once.
This list brings together 22 current chief executives and senior health leaders whose public roles make them worth knowing. It includes local health districts, statewide agencies, specialist networks and primary health organisations. The list is designed as a practical starting point for people who work with, learn from or serve health systems across New South Wales.
Why health system leadership matters
Health leadership is not only about running an organisation. It is also about connecting care, workforce, safety, information, community trust and long-term improvement. A good system leader has to keep those parts visible while making choices that staff and patients can understand.
The leaders below work in different settings, but their roles share a common thread. Each one sits close to decisions that shape how care is organised, how people experience the system and how leaders respond when the needs around them change.
1. Alison Zecchin
Chief Executive, Western Sydney Local Health District
Alison Zecchin is chief executive at Western Sydney Local Health District. The official appointment page says she brings more than 35 years in NSW Health and leads five hospitals and more than 14,000 staff.
Running a workforce of that size across five hospitals means the same decision has to work at a suburban emergency department and at a specialist unit at the same time. Her long tenure inside NSW Health gives her a practical sense of where that consistency actually breaks down.
2. Scott McLachlan
Chief Executive, Central Coast Local Health District
Scott McLachlan is chief executive at Central Coast Local Health District. The current executive page places him in the chief executive role and describes experience across public and private health systems.
Moving between public and private health leadership gives a chief executive two different pictures of the same patient journey. On the Central Coast, where the population is growing and ageing at once, that dual view helps balance capacity planning with day-to-day service pressure.
3. Tracey McCosker PSM
Chief Executive, Hunter New England Local Health District
Tracey McCosker PSM is chief executive at Hunter New England Local Health District. The current NSW Government team page records her as chief executive after more than 30 years in public health and statewide pathology leadership.
Hunter New England spans a large mix of city and regional services, and her background in statewide pathology adds a systems view of how test results, diagnosis and treatment need to connect cleanly across that footprint.
4. Leisa Rathborne
Chief Executive, South Eastern Sydney Local Health District
Leisa Rathborne is chief executive at South Eastern Sydney Local Health District. The district announced her appointment in January 2026 after senior work across clinical, operational and infrastructure settings.
Coming from infrastructure leadership as well as hospital operations, she starts the role with a view of the district that spans buildings, budgets and bedside care. That combination matters in a district juggling major capital works alongside daily service delivery.
5. Deb Willcox AM
Chief Executive, Sydney Local Health District
Deb Willcox AM is chief executive at Sydney Local Health District. The district executive page identifies her as chief executive and records earlier statewide leadership and her nursing and law background.
Pairing a nursing background with legal training is an unusual combination in health leadership, and it shows up in how clinical risk and governance questions get handled together rather than passed between separate teams.
6. Anthony Schembri
Chief Executive, Northern Sydney Local Health District
Anthony Schembri is chief executive at Northern Sydney Local Health District. The current executive page records him as chief executive since July 2023 after nearly a decade leading a major health network.
Almost a decade running a major health network before this appointment means fewer surprises in his first years at Northern Sydney, and more attention available for longer-term questions about workforce and digital capability.
7. Sonia Marshall PSM
Chief Executive, South Western Sydney Local Health District
Sonia Marshall PSM is chief executive at South Western Sydney Local Health District. The current district executive page identifies her as chief executive and traces her progression from intensive care nursing into senior health leadership.
Starting a career in intensive care nursing gives a leader a close view of what happens when a system is stretched. South Western Sydney is one of the fastest-growing parts of the state, so that grounding in frontline pressure is directly relevant to the choices ahead.
8. Jill Wong
Chief Executive, Mid North Coast Local Health District
Jill Wong is chief executive at Mid North Coast Local Health District. The district page identifies her as chief executive and describes responsibility across seven hospitals, community centres and a large regional workforce.
Coordinating seven hospitals and a wide network of community centres across a regional coastline means access and travel time shape almost every service decision, not just the clinical ones.
9. Tracey Maisey
Chief Executive, Northern NSW Local Health District
Tracey Maisey is chief executive at Northern NSW Local Health District. The current leadership page identifies her as chief executive and records her health leadership background across Australia and New Zealand.
Health leadership experience gained on both sides of the Tasman gives a useful outside reference point when comparing how regional communities in Northern NSW are served against other systems facing similar distance and workforce challenges.
10. Mark Spittal
Chief Executive, Western NSW Local Health District
Mark Spittal is chief executive at Western NSW Local Health District. NSW Health identifies him as chief executive of Western NSW Local Health District, a role he has held since early 2022 after more than 30 years across New Zealand and NSW health systems.
Western NSW is one of the largest and most sparsely populated districts in the state, so decisions here are tested constantly against distance, workforce shortages and the practical limits of centralised planning.
11. Margaret Bennett OAM
Chief Executive, Southern NSW Local Health District
Margaret Bennett OAM is chief executive at Southern NSW Local Health District. The current district page identifies her as chief executive and records earlier leadership at Northeast Health Wangaratta.
Her earlier leadership role sat just across the Victorian border, which brings a useful comparative view to a district that shares many of the same regional health challenges around access, workforce and distance.
12. Emma Field
Chief Executive, Murrumbidgee Local Health District
Emma Field is chief executive at Murrumbidgee Local Health District. The 2026 appointment announcement says she has led the Health Emergency Operations Centre and major statewide health programmes.
Having led an emergency operations response gives a leader direct experience of rapid, high-stakes coordination. That kind of grounding is a useful asset when running a district with major hospitals, regional health services and community-based care spread across a wide area.
13. Wendy Hoey
Chief Executive, Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network
Wendy Hoey is chief executive at Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health Network. NSW Health identifies her as chief executive of the network, a role grounded in her clinical background as a mental health nurse and more than 20 years in senior health leadership.
Leading health services inside secure settings brings together clinical care, safety and public accountability in a way few other health roles have to manage at once. That combination makes clear communication and consistent process especially important.
14. Cathryn Cox PSM
Chief Executive, Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network
Cathryn Cox PSM is chief executive at Sydney Children’s Hospitals Network. The network annual review identifies her as chief executive and describes the network’s work across children’s hospitals and services.
Paediatric health leadership carries a particular kind of pressure, because every clinical decision is also a conversation with an anxious family. That reality shapes how the network approaches quality, communication and family experience together.
15. Dominic Morgan ASM
Commissioner and Chief Executive, NSW Ambulance
Dominic Morgan ASM is commissioner and chief executive at NSW Ambulance. The NSW Health annual report identifies him as Commissioner and Chief Executive and records more than 35 years in ambulance and health leadership.
Three and a half decades in ambulance and health leadership means he has seen how emergency response demand shifts over time, from major incidents to the steady daily pressure of an ageing and growing population calling for help.
16. Richard Taggart
Chief Executive and Chief Information Officer, eHealth NSW
Richard Taggart is chief executive and chief information officer at eHealth NSW. eHealth NSW says he commenced in January 2025 after more than 20 years across health information and digital leadership.
Digital health only helps clinicians and patients when the systems behind it are reliable and simple to use. Two decades focused on health information leadership gives him a practical rather than theoretical view of where that reliability tends to break down.
17. Jean-Frédéric Levesque
Chief Executive, Agency for Clinical Innovation
Jean-Frédéric Levesque is chief executive at Agency for Clinical Innovation. The agency executive page identifies him as chief executive and records his medical and research leadership background.
A research and medical background means new clinical models are tested against evidence before they reach frontline services statewide, which matters in an agency whose job is to turn good ideas into practice that clinicians can actually adopt.
18. Michael Nicholl
Chief Executive, Clinical Excellence Commission
Michael Nicholl is chief executive at Clinical Excellence Commission. The commission executive page identifies him as chief executive and records a long clinical and safety leadership career.
Safety leadership is judged by what does not go wrong, which makes it one of the harder parts of health leadership to communicate clearly. A long career built specifically around clinical safety gives that communication real substance.
19. Tracey O’Brien AM
NSW Chief Cancer Officer and Chief Executive, Cancer Institute NSW
Tracey O’Brien AM is NSW Chief Cancer Officer and chief executive at Cancer Institute NSW. The NSW health article identifies her as NSW Chief Cancer Officer and chief executive of the Cancer Institute.
Holding both a statewide clinical title and an institute leadership role means cancer prevention, screening, treatment and research have to be considered together rather than as separate programs competing for attention.
20. Wendy Hughes
Chief Executive, HealthShare NSW
Wendy Hughes is chief executive at HealthShare NSW. The eHealth board page identifies her as chief executive of HealthShare NSW.
Shared services such as supply, food and patient transport rarely make headlines, but a single missed delivery or delay can stop a ward from functioning. That behind-the-scenes reliability is what her leadership role is ultimately judged on.
21. Vanessa Janissen
Chief Executive, NSW Health Pathology
Vanessa Janissen is chief executive at NSW Health Pathology. The current leadership page identifies her as chief executive and records her long public pathology and forensic science experience.
A background spanning both public pathology and forensic science brings a strong appreciation for chain-of-custody accuracy and turnaround pressure, two things that quietly influence almost every diagnosis made across the state.
22. Brad Porter
Chief Executive Officer, Western NSW Primary Health Network
Brad Porter is chief executive officer at Western NSW Primary Health Network. The current organisation page identifies him as chief executive and records more than 25 years across health and emergency services.
Primary health networks sit outside the hospital system but carry real weight in keeping people well before they need one. His background across health and emergency services gives him a practical view of where community care and acute care need to meet.
What these leaders show us
The people in this list work across different parts of the system, but several patterns stand out. Local leaders have to make statewide priorities useful in specific communities. Specialist leaders have to connect expertise with access and safety. Digital, pathology and shared-services leaders have to make the wider system easier for clinical teams to use.
The common lesson is practical. Health leadership works well when the big goal is translated into a small number of clear choices, with ownership close to the work and feedback moving in both directions.
How to use this list
Use this list as a starting point for further reading, thoughtful introductions and better questions. Check each organisation’s current leadership page before making contact, because health roles can change and acting arrangements can move quickly.
If you are planning a leadership conversation, start with the system around the person. Ask what their organisation is trying to improve, who feels the pressure first and what would make the next step easier for staff and the community.
Frequently asked questions
Who leads health systems in New South Wales?
Leadership is shared across local health districts, statewide agencies, specialist networks, ambulance services, pathology, digital health and primary health organisations. The chief executive is important, but effective system work also depends on clinical, operational, safety, workforce and community leaders.
Are these all hospital chief executives?
No. The list includes hospital and local health district leaders as well as leaders of statewide agencies, specialist networks, digital health, pathology and primary health organisations. That wider view reflects how care is connected across New South Wales.
How current is the list?
The package was prepared in August 2026 using current public organisation pages and recent official announcements. Roles can change, so the source link beside each entry should be checked again before any public tagging or direct outreach.
Can you help our health leadership team?
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Final thought
The strongest health systems are built by leaders who can hold the whole picture while staying close to the people affected by each choice. These 22 leaders offer different examples of that work across New South Wales.
Related reading
For a wider leadership lens, read Working Genius FAQ. For practical strategy support, see leadership consultant and the team offsite enquiry page.
About the author
Jonno White is an Australian leadership consultant, keynote speaker and author. He helps leaders build organisations people would move cities to work at, with practical ideas that teams can use on Monday morning.