New leader after 17 years
Catholic Healthcare has announced its successor to Chris Rigby, who led the organisation since it was founded.
Above: Incoming managing director and CEO, David Maher (image: Catholic Healthcare).
The board of Catholic Healthcare preferred to look within when it needed a new managing director and CEO, recruiting Hawkesbury District Health Service general manager David Maher to replace the retiring Chris Rigby, who stood at the organisation’s helm since its establishment in 1994.
Board members issued a brief joint statement expressing optimism about the future of the organisation, which operates about 40 aged care services and retirement communities, provides community care to over 62,000 clients and employs more than 4000 staff across NSW and South East Queensland.
“The board is looking forward to working with David and is pleased that the successor to Chris Rigby has been sourced from within the organisation,” Chair Kerry James said.
Before taking on the founding leadership role at Catholic Healthcare, Mr Rigby established the John Plunkett Centre for Medical Ethics at St Vincent’s Hospital in Darlinghurst and the Australian Catholic Health Care Association in Canberra, and lectured in bioethics at the Australian Catholic University.
Mr Maher worked closely with Mr Rigby at Hawkesbury District Health Service, west of Sydney, in his 10 years as general manager, many of which were also spent contributing to the Catholic Healthcare Senior Executive Committee.
Catholic Healthcare runs three such health services, including a teaching hospital at the Notre Dame University Medical School in Sydney.
