11 Hospital CEOs and Leaders in South Australia

Last updated: 9 August 2026

Hospital chief executives shape the daily reality of care, from workforce culture and patient experience to the way a network responds to pressure. This list brings together 11 current CEOs and senior hospital leaders across South Australia, covering public local health networks and one major independent private hospital.

South Australia's hospital leadership landscape is wider than the Adelaide CBD. Local Health Networks connect major hospitals with regional and specialist services, while independent hospitals bring a different operating model. Looking across both settings gives readers a practical view of the people carrying responsibility for complex health organisations.

Wayne Champion is the Chief Executive Officer of Riverland Mallee Coorong Local Health Network. The 2024-25 annual report records Wayne Champion as CEO and links the role to a broad regional network of hospitals and health services.

The network's annual report makes the scale of the role visible: regional healthcare depends on leaders who can connect hospitals, community services and the realities of distance. Wayne Champion's entry is useful for anyone thinking about leadership across dispersed care systems.

Rebecca Graham is the Chief Executive Officer of Women's and Children's Health Network. The 2024-25 annual report identifies Rebecca Graham as CEO and notes that she has worked across every South Australian Local Health Network.

Rebecca Graham's path across every South Australian Local Health Network gives her a state-wide view of healthcare leadership. That breadth matters because the work of a children's and women's network sits inside a wider system of hospitals, specialist care and community expectations.

Roger Kirchner is the Chief Executive Officer of Yorke and Northern Local Health Network. The 2024-25 annual report identifies Roger Kirchner as CEO and describes responsibility for the provision, administration and performance of public health services in the network.

This is a role where operational leadership and public accountability meet. Roger Kirchner's current annual report provides a useful example of how a regional CEO carries responsibility for the delivery and performance of public health services.

Kerrie Mahon is the Chief Executive Officer of Southern Adelaide Local Health Network. The 2026 to 2028 action plan carries a message from Kerrie Mahon as CEO and places the role inside a current programme of culturally safe care and reconciliation work.

Kerrie Mahon's current message shows how the CEO role also includes culture, trust and long-term community relationships. The work is not separate from service delivery: it is part of how a network builds care that people can use and believe in.

Angela McCabe is the Chief Executive Officer of St Andrew's Hospital. The Australian Private Hospitals Association reports that Angela McCabe is the new CEO and brings more than two decades of senior leadership across private and public hospital settings.

Angela McCabe's experience across private and public hospital settings makes her a useful example of a leader moving between different healthcare operating environments. Her appointment also points to the importance of trusted relationships with clinicians, staff and the wider community.

Emma McCahon is the Chief Executive Officer of Central Adelaide Local Health Network. The 2024-25 annual report identifies Emma McCahon as CEO and describes her responsibility for the operational leadership of CALHN health services.

Emma McCahon's role highlights the practical centre of hospital leadership: keeping services connected, building workforce capability and making patient care safer and more coherent across a large network.

Bronwyn Masters is the Chief Executive Officer of Barossa Hills Fleurieu Local Health Network. The 2024-25 annual report identifies Bronwyn Masters as CEO and places the role within the network's strategic leadership and accountability to its governing board.

Bronwyn Masters represents the leadership work required when a network serves a mix of metropolitan-fringe and regional communities. The governing-board relationship matters because good hospital leadership needs both operational grip and clear accountability.

Karen Puvogel is the Chief Executive Officer of Northern Adelaide Local Health Network. The current official page identifies Karen Puvogel as CEO of a network that includes Lyell McEwin Hospital, Modbury Hospital and other health services.

Karen Puvogel leads a network that includes Lyell McEwin Hospital and Modbury Hospital as well as other health services. That combination makes the role a useful example of leadership across multiple sites, patient groups and service settings.

Craig Packard is the Chief Executive Officer of Flinders and Upper North Local Health Network. The 2024-25 annual report identifies Craig Packard as CEO of a network serving hospital and health needs across the Flinders and Upper North region.

Craig Packard's network operates across a large northern and remote part of the state. Hospital leadership in that context depends on service access, workforce resilience and a clear understanding of what each community needs.

Emma Poland is the Chief Executive Officer of Limestone Coast Local Health Network. The 2024-25 official snapshot identifies Emma Poland as CEO and describes a network spanning public hospitals, health services and residential aged care.

Emma Poland's role spans public hospitals, health services and residential aged care in the Limestone Coast. That breadth shows why regional hospital leadership is often about connecting the full local care system, not just one site.

Julie Marron is the Chief Executive Officer of Eyre and Far North Local Health Network. The official May 2025 board minutes identify Julie Marron as CEO; the network covers a very large regional area and delivers hospital, community and aged care services.

Julie Marron leads across a very large geographic footprint, where hospital, community and aged care services have to work together over long distances. It is a strong reminder that leadership in regional healthcare is also a question of access and connection.

If you are working with a hospital or health network, the most useful leadership question is often simple: what does this organisation need its leaders to make possible for patients, staff and communities? The people in this list work in different settings, but that question gives the list a shared centre.