
19 August 2020
Dr Liz Mear has been appointed as managing director for Leeds Academic Health Partnership (LAHP), one of the biggest of its kind in the UK.
Liz is currently Chief Executive of the Innovation Agency, the Academic Health Science Network for the North West Coast. She is also an External Director of the Northern Health Science Alliance and of Liverpool Local Enterprise Partnership, as well as a Non-Executive Director for Health Education England.
From November, as its new managing director, Liz will lead the LAHP into its next phase.
Since its inception in late 2015, the LAHP has laid pioneering foundations including the Leeds Health and Care Academy, The Leeds Centre for Personalised Medicine and Health and an unprecedented, cross-sector, regional healthtech partnership. Its emerging new project, Living in Leeds, will explore with Leeds people how best to use their health and care data to improve care through research and planning.
The LAHP is also helping drive forward a new, inclusive growth strategy for the City Region through our involvement in the prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology Regional Entrepreneurship Acceleration Program.
Liz said: “I’m absolutely delighted to have been appointed as the LAHP’s new managing director. It’s clear that much hard work has gone into establishing its strong foundations and I’m looking forward to working with the team and our partners to build on those and shape the next chapter.
“The impact of the pandemic over recent months has emphasised the crucial work of the LAHP – to collaborate to help reduce health inequalities, spur inclusive economic growth and transform the quality and efficiency of health and care for the people of Leeds and beyond. It’s an exciting and hugely important challenge and I look forward to starting in November.”
The LAHP founding partners include three Leeds universities, the city’s three NHS trusts, NHS Leeds Clinical Commissioning Group and the City Council.
Tom Riordan, Chief Executive of Leeds City Council and interim chair of the LAHP board said: “Congratulations to Liz. We were all very impressed by her outstanding presentation to our interview panel as well as by her exceptional achievements and extensive experience across such relevant sectors.
“There is a lot of hard work ahead for us all but we have every confidence in Liz’s leadership, vision and tenacity to further strengthen and galvanise our unique partnership. We are delighted that she will be joining us to help make Leeds the best city for health and wellbeing.”
Gideon Ben-Tovim OBE, Chair of the Innovation Agency, said: “I and Bruce Ash, Vice Chair, would like to express our huge gratitude for the enormous contribution Dr Liz Mear has made to the establishment of the Innovation Agency and to enabling it to grow and flourish over the last seven years.
“Liz has also made a great contribution not only to developments and partnerships across our whole North West Coast footprint, but also nationally in helping secure the reputation and role of the Academic Health Science Networks as the ‘innovation arm of the NHS’.
“She will be greatly missed here but we wish her well in her new role.”
Dr Liz Mear’s previous roles include
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