Movers and Shakers - June 2024

NEWS - eHealthNews.nz editor Rebecca McBeth

Alex Kemp

Alex Kemp has joined the HiNZ team as director of engagement. Kemp has over 25 years experience as a speech language therapist, mainly working in the disability field.

She brings to HiNZ her varied experience from clinical, executive leadership, and data and digital governance roles, as well as a passion for exploring and learning what it means to be tangata Tiriti.

Kemp was previously at PwC where she was a consultant in the Hauora team and has recently been appointed co-chair of the Digital Health Equity Network.

HiNZ chief executive Tim Corbett says, "(Kemp) and I will be working to increase our engagement with the sector, build on the great work in eHealth forum, expand our micro-credential programme and develop a credentialing programme from entry to Fellows."

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Kevin Ross
Kevin Ross has recently joined Deloitte New Zealand as director of AI and data.

Ross will lead Deloitte's AI insights and engagement work, including health AI. His team helps organisations to leverage the latest AI and data science technologies, with a focus on governance by design.

A Fellow and lifetime member of HiNZ, Ross was previously a senior vice president at Orion Health and chief executive of Precision Driven Health, establishing over 100 collaborations between clinicians, data scientists and technology companies.

With the partnership’s conclusion, Deloitte have taken a lead in building New Zealand’s capability for AI in health and related industries.


Phil Baskerville
Phil Baskerville has been appointed digital project director for the New Dunedin Hospital at Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora. Baskerville is a seasoned digital project professional with demonstrated experience in project governance, platform building, and team leadership.

Baskerville started at the then Ministry of Health five months before the Covid-19 pandemic hit, and then played a pivotal role in the digital response. He led the digital border team, Care in the Community stream, and then managing the post-pandemic digital capability as funded in Budget 22 until March this year.

He is looking forward to building on the national relationships he has with his sector digital channels whānau and intermingling them with his new Te Waipounamu - integration and delivery team.


James Oughton
James Oughton has taken up the role of chief advisor of precision health at the Ministry of Health. The role involves championing, liaising with stakeholders, and advising on the Ministry’s precision health work programme to ensure the safe adoption of genomics and artificial intelligence in healthcare in New Zealand.

This will identify and manage opportunities and risks associated with precision health and understand how these technologies can be safely, ethically, and effectively embedded in health services for the benefit of New Zealanders.

Oughton has extensive experience in both the public and private sectors and has recently returned to New Zealand after 7 years based in the US working at the intersection of genomics and precision oncology. A Pharmacist by training, he also holds postgraduate diplomas in both genomic medicine and public health.

Russell Craig
Following the recent shift in funding for digital health, Russell  Craig has transitioned from the Hira programme  to a new role within the digital government sector. He has been appointed as a member of Stats NZ’s Future Census Independent Evaluation Panel.

Reflecting on his tenure with the Hira programme, Craig remarked, “It was exciting and meaningful to be part of delivering crucial building blocks for modernising New Zealand’s digital health system.

“The new standards-based, API-enabled, data interoperability capabilities introduced by Hira have been needed for many years and will provide significant benefits for decades to come. While ‘digital transformation’ is often overused, if the system leverages these new capabilities wisely, true transformation is indeed achievable.”


Jono Hoogerbrug
Jono Hoogerbrug has been appointed prevention product manager within sector digital channels, data and digital at Health NZ - Te Whatu Ora.

“In this role, I am looking forward to collaborating across technology, business and clinical stakeholders to enable vital prevention activities and enhance the speed to value of our products,” he says.

Hoogerbrug also works as a General Practitioner at Te Puna Hauora in Auckland, is a board member of HiNZ, a Senior Harkness Fellow and host of the podcast Clinical Changemakers.

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