Harpreet Puri joins as Chief Growth Officer and Mark Simmons as Director of Innovation and Technology Services
NHS Shared Business Services (NHS SBS) has appointed Harpreet Puri as Chief Growth Officer and Mark Simmons as Director of Innovation and Technology Services to strengthen its senior leadership team.
The appointments bring extensive healthcare, technology, consulting and digital transformation expertise, supporting NHS SBS’s ambition to help the NHS release more time and money for frontline care.
Harpreet brings over 27 years’ experience from large system integrators like IBM, TCS, HP and HCLTech and has worked closely with the UK public sector for over a decade. During this time, he has been responsible for several digital transformation programmes, including critical national infrastructure, in central and local government and healthcare with budgets ranging from £10m to £100m.
He has also worked with the NHS on AI, automation and IT modernisation engagements that have delivered productivity improvements, cost efficiency and improved patient and clinical experience across national, regional and local levels.
At NHS SBS, Harpreet plans to continue driving cost and productivity improvements through modernised shared corporate services and safe deployment of AI. Along with NHS SBS’s public sector stakeholders and private sector partnership ecosystem, Harpreet aims to help achieve some of the key ambitions of the NHS ten-year plan leveraging his extensive digital transformation experience within the public sector.
Harpreet said:
“NHS SBS has a unique opportunity to help NHS organisations tackle major challenges through innovation, technology and smarter ways of working. I am excited to join an organisation with strong NHS roots and an ambitious growth agenda. I look forward to expanding our reach, strengthening customer partnerships and bringing new solutions to market that deliver measurable value.”
Mark has 26 years’ experience helping healthcare organisations use technology to improve services and outcomes. He has held senior roles at IBM Consulting, Kainos and Boston Consulting Group, leading NHS business development, major bids, account growth and digital health strategy.
In his new role, Mark will lead the development of NHS SBS’s Innovation and Technology Services. He will accelerate the design and delivery of solutions that help NHS organisations realise greater value from digital technology, data and automation, while developing new services around customers’ evolving needs.
Mark said:
“Technology, data and automation have a critical role in helping the NHS improve outcomes, productivity and the experience of staff and patients. I am delighted to join NHS SBS and look forward to working with colleagues, customers and partners to develop services that help organisations realise the full potential of digital transformation.”
Welcoming Harpreet and Mark, Erika Bannerman, Managing Director of NHS Shared Business Services, said:
“Harpreet and Mark join NHS SBS at a pivotal point in our journey. Over the last five years, we have grown year on year, strengthening our position as a trusted partner to the NHS. That success has been built on the expertise, commitment and shared sense of purpose of our people, reflected in our recognition as one of the UK’s Best Workplaces and, most recently, one of the UK’s Best Workplaces in Tech™.
“As the needs of the health service continue to evolve, we see significant opportunities to build on those strong foundations by developing new solutions and helping more organisations benefit from our expertise. Leveraging the unique strengths of our joint venture with Sopra Steria, we are well placed to combine deep NHS insight with leading digital, data and technology capabilities.
“Harpreet and Mark will play an important role in shaping our next phase of growth, working with our talented teams to turn customer insight and new ideas into practical solutions that deliver even greater value for the NHS.”
