Sir David spent his 40-year career in healthcare management and leadership and was awarded a knighthood in the 2017 New Year’s honours list in recognition of his services to the NHS.
David joined the NHS as a management trainee and ended his NHS career on the Board of NHS England as its chief operating officer before his retirement in 2023.
In 2022, he was named by the Health Service Journal as the fourth-most influential person in English health policy in their HSJ100 list.
In between times, his roles included chief executive of NHS Haringey and chief executive of the Whittington Hospital NHS Trust. Sir David joined the Royal Free London in July 2009 and led the hospital to foundation status in 2012, followed by the successful acquisition of Barnet and Chase Farm hospitals in 2014. During his tenure the trust was awarded the Dr Fosters NHS Hospital of the Year and was accredited as a Global Digital Exemplar. After a decade at RFL, he left to take up the position of NHS regional director for London, leading the NHS in London through the first waves of Covid-19, before moving on the national COO role.
David is now a Senior Advisor to the IHI, a Trustee of the Royal College of Radiologists, and a Senior Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine.
