Sir Andrew Dillon has announced that he will step down as NICE’s chief executive at the end of March 2020. Appointed in April 1999, he has led the organisation since it was established.
Sir Andrew said that it has been a “privilege to lead the organisation through its first two decades”, and that “NICE has made a significant contribution to improving outcomes for people using the health and care services, and to the efficient use of resources. I feel very proud to be associated with those achievements.”
Sir Andrew joined the NHS in 1975 and has held a number of senior management positions, including general manager of the Royal Free Hospital and chief executive of St George’s Healthcare NHS Trust. He joined NICE as its founding chief executive in 1999.
NICE’s chair, Sir David Haslam, also said: “The role of Chief Executive of NICE must be one of the most challenging and potentially controversial in British public life. Sir Andrew has carried out this role for 20 enormously successful years, and everyone who knows him – whether in government, the life sciences industry, or in health and social care – is full of admiration for his calm and skilful leadership.
“He was there right at the birth of NICE, and will leave it as an internationally respected, world leading, and hugely influential organisation. That’s quite a legacy and I’d like to thank him for his unwavering, dedicated service to NICE for the past 20 years and to the NHS before that.”
The Board has said that it will make arrangements to advertise the chief executive’s post during the autumn.
