Professor Gillian Leng, CBE, has been appointed as the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence's (NICE) new chief executive.

Gillian has held the post of deputy chief executive at NICE since 2007, and is also currently its director of health and social care. She will take up her new role on 1 April 2020 when Sir Andrew Dillon, who has led the organisation since it was established in 1999, steps down.

A visiting professor at King’s College London, Leng trained in medicine at University of Leeds and worked on clinical trials and epidemiological research in University of Edinburgh, and in London as a consultant in public health medicine.

“The board of NICE is delighted to appoint Gill to the role of chief executive," commented NICE chair Tim Irish. "NICE has a unique and unparalleled history and we wish to thank Andrew for his outstanding leadership over the last two decades. Looking ahead, NICE has a very exciting and ambitious future, and the board is unanimously agreed that Gill has the leadership qualities to take us forward.”

The appointment of Professor Leng was made by the non-executive members of NICE’s board following open competition.