Our leadership team

Peter has extensive management experience and an interesting career path. His academic career began at the University of Otago where he gained a Bachelor of Science in biochemistry and physics. He worked for the Wellcome Medical Research Institute in Dunedin and at the same time completed a PhD in Medicine. Dr Bramley lectured in Biochemistry and Medical Physiology, first in Dunedin and then at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch.

Between 1999 and 2007 Peter held various senior management roles with the accounting software company, MYOB New Zealand Ltd. In 2008 he stepped back into health as Service Manager of Surgical Services at Southland Hospital in Invercargill.

At the end of 2010, Peter moved to Nelson and joined the Nelson Marlborough Health Executive Leadership Team as Service Director Medical and Surgical Services. In 2013 Peter became General Manager Clinical Services and in August 2016 stepped into the role as Acting CE.

Peter was the Chief Executive Officer of Nelson Marlborough Health (NMH) from 2017 to 2021, Chief Executive of Canterbury and West Coast DHBs from February 2021 and following transition to Te Whatu Ora on 1 July 2022, Peter has held the role of Interim Regional Director Te Waipounamu and Interim District Director Waitaha Canterbury and Te Tai o Poutini West Coast.

Peter is an energetic and passionate people manager, with a strong focus on the importance of accessing healthcare close to home, and growing a compassionate workforce in the health sector.

Tanya leads the Community & Public Health team who promote Health in All Policies, to support healthy environments. This involves developing policies to support communities and whānau to make living a healthy lifestyle the easy choice. She works with public health specialists, councils, government agencies, and community and NGO organisations.

Tanya is of Cook Islands Māori (Aitutaki) and Samoan (Siusega) descent. She has considerable experience in the health sector and in the Pasifika community and has worked for Canterbury DHB since February 2003 in a variety of roles but most recently as the Manager of the Policy Team and Health Protection Team (Environment). Tanya holds a number of governance roles across the health sector particularly focused on Pasifika and Public Health and is a public health consultant to the Ministry of Health in the Cook Islands.

Jo joined Canterbury DHB in November 2020 and stepped into the Interim Chief People Officer role in March 2022. Jo has an extensive HR leadership career spanning Organisational Development, learning, recruitment, generalist ER/HR and consulting positions in both the private and public sectors, as well as having held senior operational leadership roles in the NGO sector.

Her passion for people shows through her commitment to building an equitable and inclusive workplace, and in honouring Te Tiriti in all she does. Jo has formed strong relationships across our clinical and senior leadership teams and has been integral in the ongoing work to reshape our People and Capability function to become more accessible, responsive and customer focused.

Becky works closely with the Directors of Nursing and other nursing leaders across the Canterbury health system. As EDON she holds several portfolios including Care Capacity Demand Management, Infection Prevention & Control Nursing, Nursing Workforce Development, and Corporate Quality and Patient Safety teams. Becky is also the Canterbury DHB Executive Lead for Manawa Governance which includes simulation, research and education as well as for Te Papa Hauora (Health Precinct) Advisory Council.

Becky is a Registered Comprehensive Nurse and has worked in nursing since 1982, completing both a Postgraduate Diploma in Leadership and Management as well as a Masters in Health Science. She has previously been a Nurse Manager for Workforce Development, working with the EDON and Directors of Nursing for the past 15 years. Becky is a member of Nurse Executives of New Zealand, and the College of Nurses Aotearoa.

Tracey has previously held roles at Hawke’s Bay DHB and was Chief Executive of Wairarapa DHB for almost four years. She has also worked in health systems in Australia, the UK and the Middle East.

In Qatar she held various roles over a seven-year period, including the position of National Director of the Integrated Care Program for Hamad Medical Corporation & Primary Healthcare Corporation. 

She’s worked for the NHS England and in Scotland where she has supported the national electives and vaccination programmes.

Tracey’s passion is for developing teams to enable system-wide change to integrate services, systems and processes.  She has significant international experience in system transformation and integration.

Tracey is focused on supporting and enabling people to do their very best work to achieve common goals.  

Hector’s Iwi are Te Rarawa and Te Aupōuri. Hector is responsible for reducing health inequalities and improving health outcomes for Māori and Pacific Islanders, and works with Canterbury DHB’s Māori Health teams.

Hector was a Captain in the New Zealand Army and worked as a UN peacekeeper. He has held leadership and governance positions at Crown Public Health, CPIT [Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology] now known as Ara, Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Te Whānau Tahi, Villa Maria College, Christchurch Boys’ High School, The Lawyers & Conveyancers Disciplinary Tribunal, and the Ministry of Education Māori Advisory Committee. He has experience working in public health, health promotion, and Māori health.

Richard is an Anaesthetist by training and has occupied Clinical Leadership Roles for 10 years. He is a Fellow of the Australian and New Zealand College of Anaesthetists, and completed most of his Anaesthesia training in New Zealand.

The job of the Chief Medical Officer is to work alongside clinical and non-clinical colleagues to ensure that clinical care is safe and of a high quality. This work can range from responding to immediate serious incidents, such as mass casualty events, through to planning for health care in twenty years’ time, by advising on hospital design.

Karalyn is responsible for the Communications team, which interacts with the media and public, and keeps staff informed of what’s going on in the DHB. The Communications team is responsible for external and internal communications, which includes publications and health campaigns.

Karalyn has been in this role since 2011. Before that she was a senior advisor at the Ministry of Health. She has also worked at Hawke’s Bay District Health Board and the office of the Minister of Health. She is a member of the Public Relations Institute of New Zealand and International Association of Business Communicators.

James has held a number of senior executive positions in several successful and well-known organisations including ASB Bank, Telecom / Spark, and The Warehouse, and for the past six years in the health sector with Health Alliance, Mahitahi Hauora Primary Health Entity and The Order of St John. The majority of James’ senior positions have been in IT across several different industries.

With a proven track record of operational stability, programme delivery, and commercial stewardship, James is most proud of developing an autonomous senior leadership team aligned in vision and values. James believes our people strive for continuous success when leaders help them understand how their role contributes to the delivery of products and services and are engaged with the technology that can enable and accelerate their goals.

James leads the Information Services Group (ISG) for Canterbury and West Coast DHBs. In his role as Chief Digital Officer James also holds the Executive Portfolio for Innovation.

Born and bred on Auckland’s North Shore, James whakapapas to Northland (Ngapuhi, Karetu).

David Green is currently Acting Chief Financial Officer.

Jacqui joined the Canterbury DHB leadership team in November 2018. She is a qualified occupational therapist, and was previously Chief Health Professions Officer for the Scottish Government.

Her experience spans the public and private healthcare systems in the UK, and includes clinical leadership positions, founding and running of her own business, and advising the World Health Organisation. In 2015 Jacqui was made a member of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to healthcare and the health care professions.

Rob Ojala leads the facilities redevelopment for Canterbury & West Coast DHBs. Rob is an Emergency Physician by training and has been with Canterbury DHB for the past 20 years following completion of his specialist training in Melbourne. He has been clinical lead for facilities redevelopment for Canterbury DHB for 10 years prior to his current role. During this time he has overseen the delivery of the Burwood Hospital redevelopment and extensive change on the Christchurch Hospital campus with a new Outpatients Building being constructed, and Waipapa the acute services facility. During 2021 his focus is on the redevelopment of the remainder of Christchurch Hospital, redevelopments and new facilities for specialist mental health services on the Hillmorton campus along with a number of other facilities projects.

Rob also continues his clinical practice as an Emergency Physician at Christchurch Hospital’s Emergency Department.

Norma held the position of the Director of Midwifery within a transalpine role for Canterbury and the West Coast DHBs for four years, after moving from her previous 17 year national role with the College of Midwives into the DHB system and the operational space of a large tertiary facility that provides referral services for much of the South Island. At the same time Norma had responsibility for sustaining community units at Lincoln/Selwyn, Rangiora and Ashburton and the DHB contracted unit at St George’s Hospital in Christchurch, as well as responsibility for the remote rural maternity systems in the Chathams, Kaikoura and the West Coast and how to sustain care closer to home.

Since 2017, Norma has, with colleagues, driven the development of a Maternity Strategy for both Canterbury and the West Coast. The same pillars have been used for both DHBs but two very different strategies have emerged following hui in both DHBs. The solutions can often have the same overlying framework, but locally applied solutions which make sense to the local community are what make the difference within such frameworks.

Within her role, Norma sits on various multi-disciplinary groups in both DHBs that link to community and public health work, as well as Christchurch Campus and Greymouth Campus work.

Norma is a Registered Midwife and has worked in hospital and community settings since 1990, where māmā and their pēpi have always been at the centre of her work.

Pauline is responsible for promoting clinician-lead and management-enabled delivery of safe, effective and efficient healthcare at Christchurch Hospital as well as Lincoln Maternity Unit and the Rangiora Health Hub.

Pauline has a clinical background in Nursing and Midwifery, a Master’s Degree in Public Management, and a postgraduate qualification in Health Economics. Prior to beginning her current role in February 2011, Pauline was General Manager of Christchurch Women’s and Children’s Hospital.

A Registered Nurse, Kate has spent more than 20 years in healthcare mainly focused on the health and restorative care of older people. Most recently she was the Director of Nursing for Older Persons Health and Rehab, after returning to Canterbury DHB from her role as Relationship Manager for the Health Roundtable, where Kate was the organisation’s lead advisor to DHBs across New Zealand. She also spent six years as Nursing Director, Older People – Population Health for Canterbury DHB in addition to her practical experience working in and managing Aged Residential Care facilities.

Having completed an MBA in 2017, Kate brings a wealth of experience in change, leadership and system performance improvement to her new position.

Gloria has over 40 years’ experience in the Health sector as a Registered Medical Laboratory Scientist including in the roles of Charge Scientist, Quality Manager and Laboratory Manager. She has been a Director of Allied Health Scientific and Technical and has also held roles within Pharmacy, Radiology and Support Services. Gloria was a member of the National Directors of Allied Scientific & Technical and a Board Member of Health Workforce New Zealand and continues to be a member of the National Roundtable of Laboratory and Pathology Services.

Gloria’s passion for the Health sector and particularly pathology services leads her to work to assist with initiatives that will improve outcomes for the workforce and the community. As part of this a major focus is working with people to encourage, foster and allow them to reach their full potential. She supports a team approach with a focus on the right person with the right skills providing what is required to the right person at the right location.

Greg is responsible for the provision of specialist mental health services, both at Hillmorton and Princess Margaret Hospitals and in a range of community settings.

Greg worked in Canterbury DHB’s Planning and Funding team for 12 years and prior to this in Community and Public Health since 2004. Prior to this he gained a PhD in Population Health and worked in a range of research/academic roles in Western Australia and New Zealand. Greg started in this role in July 2020.

Rachel joined Canterbury DHB in 2005 and managed the provision of support services through contractors for a number of years before leading the transition projects that created the DHBs’ WellFood business and Environmental Services. She is also actively involved in developing our support workforce. In 2011 she joined the Transalpine team to manage the West Coast DHB contracted services. Rachel will continue with her responsibilities of the operational and contract management of services to all sites and providing leadership of the WellFood Service.

Rachel has spent more than 20 years in facilities management in both the education and healthcare sectors in the UK and NZ working with both private and public organisations including the NHS and has had short stints in Switzerland and Japan. She has been involved in significant change projects over the years with some large multi-nationals; including work with Bethlem Royal Hospital & Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust in London, and The Royal Ballet School.

Biography coming soon.