The Board of the National Asthma Council Australia (NAC) has appointed Bill Petch as the new CEO of the organisation.
With three decades of experience and a range of postgraduate qualifications in Politics, Social Impact, Leadership and Marketing, Mr Petch has become established as one of the leading experts in social innovation and transformation in health and welfare.
He is a passionate advocate for healthcare reform and will initially work remotely from Sydney.
“The NAC Board is excited about this appointment as it believes Mr Petch will make an outstanding contribution to the leadership and future direction of the NAC,” says Board Chair Dr Joanna Wriedt.
Mr Petch is an experienced leader having previously served as the CEO of the Leukaemia Foundation of Queensland from 2012-2016. He then became the CEO of the nationally unified organisation serving in this role till 2020.
He was responsible for the merger of the leukaemia foundation of Australia and successfully delivered the most significant strategic and structural transformation in its history.
Under his leadership the very first ‘State of the National’ report on blood cancer in Australia was released, together with the first national taskforce into blood cancer to improve equity of access to current treatments and new emerging therapies and to improve survivability and quality of life.
Mr Petch currently Co-Chairs All.Can Australia, part of the international multi-stakeholder advocacy organisation bringing industry and not-for-profits (NFPs) together to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of cancer care by focusing on and advocating for what matters to patients.
Throughout his distinguished career Bill Petch has supported organisations to grow through creative thinking, strong innovation and engagement and the development of long-term, sustainable partnerships.
He now wants to ensure that the focus of the National Asthma Council Australia going forward will be stakeholder centric, addressing any unmet stakeholder needs and constantly driving innovation to create even greater value.
“This is an incredibly challenging time for all Australians and it is important for organisations such as ours to think more laterally and innovate in order to create a new future on the other side of the pandemic.
“Healthcare is currently one of the most disrupted sectors and there will be several seismic shifts in how the sector will operate and engage with stakeholders in the future.
“We have a huge opportunity to influence just what the new world will look like for the healthcare ecosystem and I want the National Asthma Council Australia to be a significant part of that innovation,” says Mr Petch.
The NAC Board also acknowledges the significant contribution made by Rhonda Cleveland as the Acting CEO over the last 12 months.
“Ms Cleveland has successfully guided the NAC and the team through the financial and organisational challenges of Covid-19 whilst still maintaining a strong focus on delivering the important work of the organisation.
“The Board is grateful to her and to the staff for their ongoing commitment and the way they have quickly adapted to the challenging Covid environment,” says Dr Wriedt.
