Media Release, 29 July 2014
The Catholic Health Australia Stewardship Board has reached a unanimous decision to appoint a former medico-legal lawyer and Catholic hospital and aged care executive as the new Catholic Health Australia chief executive officer, following an extensive executive search process.
Suzanne Greenwood, the current national chief executive officer of the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia, will commence as the Catholic Health Australia CEO in October. Currently based in Queensland, Mrs Greenwood will move with her husband and two children to Canberra to take up the CHA role.
CHA Stewardship Board chair Rowena McNally said “I’m delighted to welcome Suzanne Greenwood to CHA. Mrs Greenwood is an experienced CEO who has held senior positions within several Catholic Church organisations, she currently heads a national member association and has a professional background in health ethics, policy and regulation. This terrific mix of skills and experience well positions CHA for the years ahead.”
Prior to her role leading the Institute of Arbitrators & Mediators Australia, Mrs Greenwood was general counsel at the St Vincent de Paul Society of Queensland. From 2008 to 2011, she was corporate counsel and company secretary at St Vincent’s Health and Aged Care in Brisbane, also a CHA member. She was earlier a senior lawyer at Queensland Health.
Mrs Greenwood is a current board member of the Good Sams Foundation and is a previous board chair of Epilepsy Queensland. She also formerly chaired the Human Research and Ethics Committee at St Vincent’s Health and Aged Care in Brisbane, and was a member of the Queensland Health Human Research Ethics Committee. She has also served on several advisory committees with the Brisbane Catholic Archdiocese of Brisbane and the Brisbane Archdiocesan Development Fund Board.
Mrs Greenwood said “CHA’s role as the voice of the Church on health, aged care and community care matters is centrally important at this time. I am looking forward to working with Catholic hospital and aged care leaders, together with Catholic religious and Catholic Bishops, to continue CHA’s agenda for health equity.”
Ms McNally thanked the representatives of CHA members, of Catholic Religious Australia and of the Australian Catholic Bishops Conference who participated in the Stewardship Board-led recruitment process. Ms McNally also thanked Fish & Nankivell Executive Search for its support during the recruitment process.
CONTACT: Rowena McNally on 0419 732885
CHA represents the largest single grouping of non-government health, aged and community care services in Australia.