Our Executives

Chris was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the Southern Cross Health Trust in 2021. He is also CEO of the Trust’s largest subsidiary – Southern Cross Healthcare. Chris joined Southern Cross Healthcare as Chief Operations Officer in 2020 after three years in a CEO role on the insurance side of Southern Cross. A highly experienced executive and CEO, Chris is skilled in business leadership, strategy and governance, and has held executive roles in manufacturing and financial services. He sits on the boards of a number of Southern Cross Healthcare's joint ventures and has previously held external governance roles.

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With more than 25 years’ experience in healthcare, Erica is a breast cancer surgeon, doctor and health advocate, and co-founder of the Auckland Breast Centre and Focus Radiotherapy. Erica initially joined Southern Cross Healthcare in August 2023 as Transformation Lead for Women’s Health before taking on the fulltime Chief Medical Officer (CMO) role in February 2024. Erica also leads the Quality and Risk portfolio.

With a clinical focus to her role at Southern Cross Healthcare, Erica will also utilise her experience and extensive networks to support the business as it delivers its ‘Reimagining 2033’ 10-year strategy, specifically to continue to develop and strengthen relationships with specialists and clinicians across Aotearoa New Zealand’s health system. Erica will also work with the team to optimise best clinical practice and innovation within the network.

Erica holds advisory roles within New Zealand’s health sector, as well as serving as Trustee of Te Tāpui Atawhai Auckland City Mission. In earlier roles she was a consultant and national auditor for BreastScreen Aotearoa, an advocate for Be Accessible, and was involved in multiple breast specialist groups within Australasia and the UK.

Erica has a Bachelor of Medicine/Bachelor of Surgery (MBChB) from the University of Otago, is a Fellow of the Royal Australasian College of Surgeons (FRACS), and is a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.

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Monica Goldwater is a highly experienced leader in nursing having worked in both public and private, inpatient and outpatient healthcare settings across the US and New Zealand; and led nursing for multiple large complex and multi-site healthcare organisations.

As Chief Nursing Officer, Monica leads our nursing directorate across Aotearoa and brings the nursing perspective to our Executive Leadership Team. She is a strong and active advocate for both career and professional development and the delivery of world class nursing services and patient care.

A registered nurse in both the US and NZ and member of the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses, Monica completed her MBA at Massey University in 2011 before moving to the US and working in several key leadership positions within the American healthcare sector. Monica returned to New Zealand in April 2023, and joined Southern Cross Healthcare from the University of Vermont Medical Centre where she was Director of Perioperative Services.

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Mark is an accomplished executive leader with a wealth of experience in driving innovative market-led strategies within complex environments. His leadership has been instrumental in guiding large national teams towards operational and strategic excellence. Before joining Southern Cross Healthcare, Mark made significant contributions at PwC, where he managed the firm's engagement with New Zealand's national telehealth service, Whakarongorau Aotearoa. His efforts were pivotal in supporting the country's Covid response.

Mark's career also includes a decade at NZ Post, culminating in his role as Chief Operating Officer. There, he oversaw the strategic direction and operational performance of a team of over 5,000 individuals across New Zealand.

As Group COO at Southern Cross Healthcare, Mark leads the nationwide network of wholly owned hospitals and is the executive responsible for comprehensive supervision of our Joint Venture partnerships, ensuring Southern Cross Healthcare effectively supports its joint ventures - empowering their Boards, CEOs, and GMs to maximise success.

Mark holds a Bachelor of Science with Honors and a PhD in Management Science/Operations Research from the University of Canterbury.

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David is an experienced senior health executive and company director, combining over 20 years of international experience across publicly listed and non-for-profit healthcare companies. David has built extensive experience in working with boards and leadership teams to shape organisational strategy, drive market-leading growth and deliver highly innovative customer propositions.

Prior to joining Southern Cross Healthcare, David held senior executive roles with Medibank, Australia's leading health insurer, where he was accountable for overseeing 5.3 billion dollars of annual health insurance benefits and was Head of Strategy and Innovation for Ramsay Health Care, one of the world’s largest private hospital companies.

David is an advisor to Bond University, Medtech Actuator and mentors healthcare executives from across Asia-Pacific. He holds a Bachelor of Health Science (Physiotherapy) and has completed postgraduate business education and qualifications from the University of Auckland, Harvard University and is a graduate of the Wharton Advanced Management Programme.

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Dr Manoj Patel is passionate about, and committed to, improving the healthcare journey of patients.

He has led several key healthcare innovations, including the ACC Escalated Care and High-Tech Imaging initiatives. Throughout his career Manoj has gained experience across digital health, health information and publishing, medical administration as a Director of Medical Services, clinical governance, and re-design of services to be patient-focused.

Manoj complemented his training as a doctor with an MBA from Harvard Business School. More recently he has gained his Fellowship with the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and became a Chartered Member of the Institute of Directors.

As the Chief Transformation Officer, Manoj is leading Southern Cross Healthcare's metamorphosis into an organisation that supports New Zealanders at every stage of their healthcare journeys.

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Jo joined Southern Cross Healthcare’s executive leadership team in February 2023. In her role as Chief of People and Culture, Jo is responsible for leading our talent management, managing our investment in leadership and development, and plays a critical role in shaping our organisational culture and capabilities to support delivery of our organisational strategy.

Jo has lived and worked in Europe, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Australia, and New Zealand. She holds a Law degree, and a BA in Spanish and French, as well as being a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors, and the Advanced Human Resources Executive programme, Ross Business School, University of Michigan.

Jo joined Southern Cross Healthcare from her role as Co-Founder of HR Tech business FutureWork Studio. She has held senior HR and commercial positions at some of New Zealand’s most well-known companies, including BNZ, Air New Zealand and Fonterra, where in her last role she was Global Head of HR overseeing the people strategy for more than 22,000 employees. She holds a number of company directorships, and is passionate about unlocking the potential from within people and organisations.

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Mark leads our digital services team in building and supporting technology, applications and other infrastructure services for Southern Cross hospitals, support office functions and our joint venture partners.

Mark has managed significant digital transformations within complex operating models, putting him in an excellent position to lead our digital innovation to improve experiences for those recieving and delivering healthcare within our network

Mark joined Southern Cross Healthcare in June 2023 following an extensive career including Head of IT, GM Technology and GM e-Commerce at Fletcher Building.

Mark holds a Master of Management Studies with Distinction (HR and Strategy) from the University of Waikato and has earned multiple professional certifications and industry awards.

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Peter is an experienced Chief Financial Officer (CFO) with extensive financial leadership and strategic transformation experience across a range of sectors.

Prior to joining Southern Cross Healthcare, Peter was Group CFO of Auckland Council, an organisation with revenues of around $7 billion and assets of $73 billion. He was also involved with the Council Group of businesses, including Auckland Transport, WaterCare, Eke Panuku, Tātaki Auckland Unlimited and Ports of Auckland, along with Auckland Airport.

Peter was also CFO of Christchurch City Council where, after the Council faced a $1 billion funding gap, he led and implemented a sustainable financial strategy, and progressed and settled the Council’s long running insurance settlement following the Canterbury Earthquakes. In his role as CFO at the University of Auckland, alongside his financial leadership, Peter was passionate about fostering an engaged team culture and improving business models.

Peter’s financial leadership will play a key role in Southern Cross Healthcare’s future success including delivering the ‘Reimagining 2033’ 10-year strategy. His financial expertise, leadership, and strategic transformation experience, broad skills, and background will be valuable across the growing number of business ventures within the wider Southern Cross Healthcare network.

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