Nicola Pentelow has returned to the health sector and will provide Executive Assistant support to Colin and the executive leadership team. Nicola started her working life at The Royal College of Surgeons of England before moving across the world to help set up a clinical training centre at the University of Western Australia.

She then spent some time working with surgeons and GPs to develop upskilling programmes to empower GPs to perform minor surgery in their clinics with the ultimate goal of reducing hospital waiting lists.

Since moving to New Zealand, Nicola has turned her organisation and planning skills to the events, tourism and education sectors and has now come full circle back to health with a few more years of experience under her belt.

Please describe what you do in your role?
I support Colin, the CEO, and the Executive Leadership Team and work with the governance boards and committees. It’s a job that has huge variety and involvement across all dimensions of the organisation. I’m the detail person to their visionary and strategic thinking.

What are you most excited about with being involved in a establishing a new elective surgery facility?
The opportunity to be involved with a project of this scale and quality is rare and I’m proud to be able to play a small part in bringing an exceptional new service to Hawke’s Bay people. Increasing access to surgery will reduce wait times and help give patients their quality of life back can only be a good thing.

What has been a highlight so far…
Stepping into the office and being made to feel a genuine part of the team from day one. I am loving being around such motivated and positive people with a vision to deliver an exceptional surgical facility for Hawke’s Bay.