DHSC appoints business leaders to manage strategic suppliers
Source: gov.uk (2025-05-08)

Four experienced executive business leaders have been appointed to strengthen partnerships with strategic suppliers to health.

Four experienced executive business leaders have been appointed to strengthen partnerships with strategic suppliers to health.

The 4 Health Crown Representatives will support the implementation of a new National Strategic Supplier Relationship Management (SSRM) programme, with 15 strategic suppliers.

The National SSRM programme is a joint undertaking between the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), NHS England and the Cabinet Office and aims to use the NHS’s significant scale and influence to strengthen partnerships with the most strategic suppliers to deliver additional value and unlock opportunities.

This programme represents a shift in the collaboration with suppliers across health organisations and supports the government’s mission objectives in healthcare and economic growth.

Health Minister Karin Smyth said:

Our healthcare system cannot function without its suppliers. They play a critical role in driving innovation, ensuring better value for taxpayers and putting more money in people’s pockets through long-term growth. The new Health Crown Representatives bring a wealth of experience from the private sector to the table, and they will help us work with our strategic suppliers in the best way.

As we bring forward our 10 Year Health Plan, aligning the government’s objectives with our suppliers’ capabilities and innovations will be crucial to deliver the NHS fit for the future that we all want to see.

Building on the success of Crown Representatives across government, 4 part-time dedicated Health Crown Representatives have been recruited to work directly with the health strategic suppliers. Crown Representatives act as a conduit between government and the most strategic suppliers, supporting with challenges, opportunities and risks.

Health Crown Representatives

The 4 new Health Crown Representatives are Deb Steane, Keith Nurcombe, Oliver Cofler and Paul Richards.

Deb Steane

Deb is an accomplished executive with 27 years of leadership experience in the MedTech sector at Johnson & Johnson, where she held a range of executive, statutory director, and board-level roles. She has led a global drug-device business, driving commercial growth across international markets while spearheading global supply chain strategies to support business expansion and ensure operational resilience. Deb has also worked closely with healthcare systems and suppliers to foster innovation, developing new services and solutions that add value across the healthcare ecosystem.

A passionate advocate for the UK life sciences sector, Deb has led government-backed initiatives focused on skills development and apprenticeships and played a key role in securing investments in UK manufacturing and research and development. She also served for 7 years as a trustee director of a major UK pension fund. Before her corporate career, Deb spent 10 years in the NHS as a medical microbiologist, working as part of the pathology team at Bradford Royal Infirmary.

Keith Nurcombe

Keith has had a 30-year executive career in healthcare. He has played a key role in supporting and delivering NHS services, including founding Doctorlink in 2016 to enhance primary care. Specialising in digital transformation, Keith has led initiatives such as the roll-out of shared care record systems and, more recently, electronic patient record (EPR) programs within the NHS.

He serves as a non-executive director for Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Trust, Humber Teaching Hospital NHS, and WM5G, part of the Combined Authority in the West Midlands. He is also the chair of the Avalon Group, which supports individuals with learning disabilities across Yorkshire and the North. More recently, he was appointed chair of Derbyshire Health United, a community interest company that delivers 111 and urgent and emergency care services across the Midlands and Home Counties on behalf of the NHS.

Oliver Cofler

With an engineering background, Oliver began his career in manufacturing before moving into consultancy with PwC, where he worked across manufacturing, IT and supply chain. In 2003, he joined Cadbury Schweppes, taking on various supply chain leadership roles across Europe before becoming Supply Chain Director for the UK, Ireland and Nordics.

He later held senior operational leadership positions at Alliance Healthcare and Millbrook Healthcare and has served in non-executive roles, including at the British Healthcare Trade Association and as chair of the Bath and Wells Multi Academy Schools Trust. Oliver is currently a non-executive director at South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust.

Paul Richards

Paul has built a successful career in international healthcare, bringing extensive experience in global board leadership, strategic partnerships, and commercial initiatives with both suppliers and customers. He has led businesses across healthcare, life sciences, health technology and digital transformation, driving innovation and sustainable growth. Skilled in product and service development, Paul has played a key role in fostering international adoption and forging long-term partnerships across industries, sectors and geographies.

He serves as a non-executive director and senior independent director at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust, providing strategic guidance to improve outcomes. He also chairs the One Devon NHS EPR Implementation Board, leading collaboration across 3 NHS trusts to advance digital transformation. Beyond healthcare, Paul is the chair of the board of trustees for a charity dedicated to supporting victims of domestic abuse.

Strategic suppliers

Following a comprehensive process to identify the most strategic suppliers to health, the NHS, DHSC and the wider health family will work collaboratively with the 15 strategic suppliers to develop joint strategies that will deliver additional value, unlock opportunities and manage risks.

The 15 strategic suppliers included in the programme are:
- Abbott
- AstraZeneca
- Circle Health Group
- GSK
- ISS
- Johnson & Johnson
- Olympus Keymed
- Optum (formerly EMIS)
- Medtronic
- Pfizer
- Roche
- Sandoz
- Sodexo
- Spire Healthcare
- Teva
ISS and Sodexo will retain their Cabinet Office Crown Representatives but are also strategic to health.

Background on the Cabinet Office Crown Representatives programme

The Cabinet Office introduced the ‘Crown Representative’ network to act as a focal point for particular groups of providers looking to supply to the public sector.

Crown Representatives help the government to act as a single customer. They work across departments to:

ensure a single and strategic view of the government’s needs is communicated to the market

identify areas for cost savings

act as a point of focus for cross-cutting supplier-related issues

Find more information about Crown Representatives and the strategic suppliers they work with (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/strategic-suppliers).