Plus news from Palliative Care Australia, Uniting NSW.ACT, AMA Queensland, the Sunshine Coast Health Institute and the federal government.
On the back of a disappointing financial result, pharmaceutical giant CSL has dumped its CEO Dr Paul McKenzie after three years in the role.
According to results released today, first-half net profit fell 81% to $566 million “due to one-off restructuring costs”. Shares have fallen 41% since the middle of 2024, profits have been downgraded, drugs have failed and a plan to spin-off the Seqirus vaccines business was shelved.
Current chair and former CEO Dr Brian McNamee told one media outlet that Mr McKenzie “didn’t have the skills the CSL board was now looking for”.
“And that was really part of the discussion with Paul McKenzie, that we felt we’d made excellent progress on the transformation, but in the dynamic market in which we operate we need new and broader skills to take us to improve performance commercially and also broaden our pipeline activities,” he was quoted as saying.
“When the board sat down recently and looked at our business and thinking about where we need to go in the future we, in discussion with Paul, recognised he didn’t have the skills that we wanted for the future. And therefore … we discussed this question of him, therefore, retiring.”
Dr McKenzie left the company immediately and shares dropped 5% immediately after the announcement late yesterday, and another 12% – valued at $16 billion – this morning. The share price is now at its lowest point in eight years.
In the past six months CSL has said goodbye to its chief financial officer, had a second strike against its remuneration report at the 2025 AGM and a profit warning.
Non-executive director and former CFO Gordon Naylor has been named as the interim CEO and managing director.
The official announcement of Dr McKenzie’s departure was full of praise for this work over the past three years.
“During his tenure, Paul guided CSL’s global operations through the challenges of covid-19, stabilised manufacturing and supply chains and increased plasma collection volumes beyond pre-pandemic levels,” Dr McNamee said in the announcement.
“Under Paul’s leadership, CSL introduced new therapies such as HEMGENIX®, the world’s first gene therapy for haemophilia B, and ANDEMBRY® for hereditary angioedema.
“He also led transformation of our end-to-end operations, making significant progress in improving plasma yield through initiatives like Horizon 1 and Horizon 2.”
Dr McKenzie said it had been “a privilege” to serve as CEO.
“While the past three years have been challenging for the business, I am proud of our organisational improvements, the continued investment in research and development, the new vaccine facility in Melbourne and the transformation of our end-to-end operations, all of which lay the foundations for future growth.”
CSL says it is now conducting an “international recruiting process” for a new permanent CEO.
Burton to retire from Uniting
Uniting NSW.ACT CEO Tracey Burton will retire from her role later this year after eight years in the job.
Chair of the Uniting board, Liz Nicol, said Ms Burton’s leadership has left a lasting mark on Uniting NSW.ACT, the UnitingCare Australia network and the broader social services sector.
“Tracey has been a remarkable CEO whose leadership has combined strength with compassion. She has never shied away from the hard conversations or the difficult reforms, and she has ensured that Uniting has remained a trusted, values-led voice on issues that matter.”
Ms Burton said it had been an enormous privilege to lead Uniting during a period of such profound change.
“People are at the heart of everything we do at Uniting. I am incredibly grateful for our leaders, employees and volunteers — thanks to their dedication, we have been able to support hundreds of thousands of clients across metropolitan, regional and rural NSW and the ACT.
“I feel incredibly proud of what we have achieved together and deeply grateful to the people and communities who make Uniting what it is. I believe the time is right to enable new leadership to guide the next phase of our strategy.
“I am firmly committed to delivering a seamless leadership transition and to ensuring the continued delivery of our supports and services in individual lives and across the systems that impact them.”
The Board will shortly commence a recruitment process with an external, national search for Uniting’s next CEO. Ms Burton will remain in her role until a successor is appointed.
Rowland to depart Palliative Care Australia
Camilla Rowland, CEO of Palliative Care Australia for almost five years, has announced she will step down from the role in April to “take on a new role and direction”.
There’s no word yet on where Ms Rowland is heading but she was full of praise for PCA in her announcement.
“It has been a truly rewarding experience working with PCA’s member organisations, consumer voices and the team, and I encourage others to consider joining the organisation and its mission to ensure all Australians receive high-quality end-of-life care,” she said.
“I can highly recommend this great organisation with a mission to ensure that all Australians receive great quality end-of-life care,” she wrote on LinkedIn.
“Working with collaborative member organisations, consumer voices and a great team it has been a truly rewarding experience.”
Related
PCA chair Dr Peter Allcroft paid tribute to Ms Rowland.
“Camilla has been an exceptional leader for PCA,” he said.
“She has brought compassion, integrity and a clear sense of purpose to everything she’s done. “Her ability to bring people together, listen deeply to the experiences of patients and families, and advocate strongly for the sector has made a real difference across the country.
“We’re deeply grateful for the impact she has made for palliative care in Australia.”
The search for a new CEO is now on, and the full job description is available here.
Jones to leave SCHI
Inaugural executive director of the Sunshine Coast Health Institute, Professor Alison Jones has announced she will be stepping down after almost 2.5 years.
“It’s time for me to hand over the reins,” Professor Jones said on LinkedIn.
“It’s been a privilege to serve. I am proud to leave SCHI with strategic building blocks of enhanced clinician researcher support, laboratory equipment strategic purchases to enhance capability for clinician research, new important strategic partnerships e.g. with QIMR and SAX institute and a stronger BDO capability.”
Professor Jones said she would be continuing to serve as strategic research and strategic partnerships adviser role within the Sunshine Coast HHS, as well as continuing in her clinical roles, and teaching and mentoring doctors and medical students.
New officers for ACQSAC
Aged care minister Sam Rae has announced the appointment of a new chair, deputy chair and members of the Aged Care Quality and Safety Advisory Council.
Leanne Kearins has started her four-year term as chair in January. She has previously served in executive roles at Queensland’s Health Quality and Complaints Commission, Seqwater and Actrua. She currently sits on the board of the Older Persons Advocacy Network and chairs its Finance, Audit and Risk Committee.
Current chair, Margot Richardson, will serve in the new position of deputy chair for an interim four-month period while an ongoing appointment is finalised.
Fiona Cornforth and Professor Edward Strivens have been appointed as new members to the Advisory Council, while Andrew Brown and Julie Dundon have been re-appointed as members, all for four-year terms.
AMA Qld on the hunt
AMA Queensland is looking for an Independent Chair for the inaugural Board of its new registered training organisation, the AMA Queensland Education and Training Institute.
The role is voluntary, with the opportunity for remuneration once the RTO is profitable, says the job description, which can be found here.