Steve Oldfield will take up the role of Chief Commercial Officer this October, a newly created position, at the Department of Health (DH).
His initial focus will be the creation and development of the commercial strategy underpinning upcoming negotiations with a variety of commercial suppliers, including key engagements with the pharmaceutical industry in particular over the PPRS scheme.
Reporting to DH’s Permanent Secretary, Chris Wormald, he will be the most senior Commercial Manager within the health family and will lead the development of commercial capability and sharing of commercial best practice across the wider health family to the benefit of the whole system.
Chris Wormald, Permanent Secretary for DH, said: “I am delighted that, working with GCF, we have been able to secure Steve Oldfield as our new CCO. We face a number of commercial challenges across the health family, not least putting in place the next generation of the medicines pricing scheme, but we see huge opportunities for better delivery for patients and better value for money for the taxpayers from improved commercial skills and experience.”
He will be employed centrally as one of the new cohort of senior commercial managers tasked with improving the delivery and cost performance of our supply chain and will report functionally to Gareth Rhys Williams, Government CCO, responsible for ensuring DH plays a leading role in the wider Government Commercial Function.
Oldfield has more than 25 years’ experience in the healthcare industry. He is currently COO for PGT, a consumer health joint venture between Procter & Gamble and Teva, based in Geneva.
Steve Oldfield, said: “I am delighted to be joining the Department of Health, especially at such an exciting time. Demands on the health system have never been greater, and I hope to be able to bring my previous commercial experience to bear on the activities of the department. In particular, I look forward to working collaboratively across the department, the NHS and the life sciences to find new ways of working for the benefit of patients and the health economy.”
Among his previous roles he has been the UK Managing Director for both Sanofi and Teva, as well as senior roles in Asia and Latin America. Oldfield has been involved for a number of years with industry-government initiatives, having served on the Board of the ABPI and co-chaired committees looking at the introduction and adoption of new medicines.
Paul Baumann, CFO, NHS England said: “Building strong commercial capability is a high priority for NHS England, as we seek to provide access to the best drugs and treatments for patients in a way which secures the best possible value. We welcome this new appointment as part of the department’s initiatives in this area and look forward to close collaboration over the coming years.”
