Our Team

Denise Primrose

General Manager

Denise Primrose was appointed Royston General Manager in August 2009. Denise held Operating Theatre management positions in the public sector prior to joining the Royston theatre team in April 2001.

She was appointed Director of Nursing in 2003, a position she held for 6 years. In her current role as General Manager, Denise is responsible for all clinical and operational aspects of Royston Hospital. She is also the Chairperson of the Royston Clinical Advisory Committee whose function is to maintain Royston’s clinical and medical standards.

Anna Harland

Theatre Services Manager

Anna Harland was appointed the Theatre services manager in March 2022. Anna has a wealth of knowledge and experience within the Operating theatre environment. She has spent the last 25 years in various Clinical Charge nurse and Senior Operational management positions in the public sector, prior to joining Royston. She has a passion for Quality improvement, and has successfully led several award winning improvement projects.

Anna is responsible for all clinical and operational aspects of the Royston Operating theatres, Sterile services, Post anaesthetic care unit and the Patients admissions. She prides herself on establishing and building strong collaborative teams.

Kerri Cooley

Ward Services Manager

Kerri is a Registered General and Obstetric Nurse- who trained and worked many years at MidCentral Health DHB.

Kerri has a wide variety of nursing experience in both clinical and leadership positions with specialty focus in surgical care. Her previous role in HBDHB was as Associate Director of Nursing-Hospital Group and prior to this Nurse Director- Surgical Services for 6 years

Kerri is a strong advocate for nursing and the promotion of excellence in delivery of care to our patients and community. She joined our team in her current role at Royston June 2022

Ann-Louise Geary

Administration and Support Services Manager

Ann-Louise Geary joined Royston Hospital in August 2003 initially as the Administration Team Leader. Her title changed in February 2010 to Support Services Team Leader to better reflect her role which encompasses administration, IT, household and property areas.

Ann-Louise is also the management representative on the Environment and Safety Committee. Prior to Royston Hospital, Ann-Louise was a Team Leader, responsible for administering Superannuation Schemes.

Adjunct Associate Professor Simon Keating

Group Chief Executive Officer

Simon is a seasoned senior executive with extensive experience in the healthcare sector internationally across both the public and private sectors, including private equity and not-for-profits. Among many qualifications, he holds a Master of Health Science from La Trobe University (2008), a Master of Business Administration from Edinburgh Business School, Heriot-Watt University (2019) and is a graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Simon has worked as a CEO in Private and Public Healthcare, Aged Care and Retirement Living and in Primary Health.

He has also specialised in growth in private equity-backed companies with a tenure as the Managing Director of iMedX Australia and New Zealand; with his most recent role as a CEO of McKenzie Aged Care Group; successfully growing and divesting the business in February 2023.

Simon has a very warm, pragmatic and open leadership style. He has had broad experience in driving outcomes and growth within complex stakeholder environments during his twenty-five years in healthcare. He has a significant breadth of health and commercial experience, which is a perfect fit for Evolution.

Hiring

Chief Operating Officer Hospitals & Day Surgeries

Jeff Arthur

General Manager Property & Projects

Jeff Arthur is the General Manager of Property & Projects at Evolution Healthcare, bringing over 24 years of experience in the construction industry, with a strong family background in the field. His career includes pivotal roles at Northern Sydney Central Coast Area Service and Health Infrastructure NSW in Australia, where he gained extensive experience in health project planning and delivery.

With more than 20 years of expertise in the healthcare sector, Jeff has successfully overseen a variety of complex health projects, ensuring they are completed on time and within budget. Notable deliverables include the development of business cases for the Ministry of Health NSW and NSW Treasury, leading design teams, and managing the entire project lifecycles, from conception to post-construction review.

As Assistant Project Director and Project Director, Jeff has been involved in numerous major health projects, including the $320M Hornsby Hospital Stage 1 & 2, the $88M Byron Bay, and the $177M Wakefield Hospital. At Evolution Healthcare, Jeff has successfully planned and delivered over $300m worth of projects and continues to identify strong pipeline of new opportunities that enables Evolution to grow and expand the range of health services for the community.

His deep understanding of both the operational and capital aspects of health projects has made him an invaluable leader in the delivery of health infrastructure.

Aarti Narain

Chief Financial Officer

Aarti brings with her a distinguished track record of leadership in financial strategy and operations across the healthcare and corporate sectors.

Prior to Evolution, Aarti served as CFO at Tamaki Health Limited from 2020, where she led key functions including finance, mergers and acquisitions (M&A), commercial, property and procurement, and legal. Her strategic oversight and ability to drive performance made a significant impact within one of New Zealand’s leading healthcare providers.

Aarti’s career spans global markets including Europe, the UK, and Australia. She has held senior roles at renowned organisations such as HEINEKEN, the BBC and PWC, equipping her with a deep and diverse financial acumen and a truly international perspective.

Her expertise in navigating the complexities of the healthcare industry, combined with a passion for driving sustainable growth, aligns strongly with Evolution’s ambitions. Aarti is inspired by the scale and diversity of Evolution’s hospital, health, and wellbeing portfolio, and is committed to delivering high-impact outcomes that support our continued success.

Andrea Lawton

Chief People and Culture Officer

Dr. Christine Howard-Brown

Chief Executive Health & Wellbeing

The Health and Wellbeing Portfolio includes:
• ABI Rehabilitation
• Proactive
• Evolve
• Proactive Occupational Health
• Proactive Care Pathways.

Health quality and equity improvements have been the backbone of Christine’s career, originally training as a registered nurse and since then holding senior leadership positions in health, rehabilitation and disability within large government organisations and as a consultant. This mahi has involved leading (and sponsoring) several national strategies, action plans and service developments / designs that have focused on achieving equitable access and outcomes for people requiring rehabilitation following serious trauma (including spinal cord and traumatic brain injuries (TBI)).

As current Chair of the National Rehabilitation Providers Group and Governance Group Chair of the Spinal Cord Register, her mantra of ‘the little things matter’ remains unwavered. Discovering what the little things are for kiritaki, whānau, kaimahi, you really have to genuinely connect with them through every interaction and that’s what Chris holds firm to her approach to mahi.

Prior to this, Chris led the team at ABI Rehabilitation as Chief Executive Officer for four and a half years. With a Master of Business Administration and a Doctorate of Philosophy in Medicine, coupled with her health qualifications and experience, Chris brings a wealth of knowledge and experience that supports advancing healthcare services in Aotearoa.

Chris takes a practical, collaborative and innovative approach to her role, and takes time to build relationships to strengthen outcomes.

Neetha Alex-Kumar

General Counsel & Company Secretary

Neetha is an accomplished senior business leader and lawyer with over 15 years of experience in navigating complex legal landscapes. Her expertise lies in balancing risks and opportunities to help organisations achieve their strategic goals. Neetha has a proven track record of advising companies on legal matters, especially in regulated environments, ensuring that businesses are both compliant and aligned with their broader objectives. At Evolution Healthcare, Neetha provides invaluable legal guidance and strategic counsel, ensuring continued compliance and supporting the company in achieving its long-term goals. Her extensive experience in legal leadership and her ability to articulate complex issues clearly are key assets.

Ray Liu

Chief Digital Officer

Ray leads our digital and IT team building and supporting applications, data, and technology infrastructure for the Evolution Healthcare group. He is an experienced leader with a proven track record of aligning technology investment to business strategy and managing digital transformation in complex environments.

Ray previously served as General Manager IT for Green Cross Health who operate 330 pharmacies and 65 medical centres across New Zealand. He led the digital transformation that modernised systems across the retail and healthcare businesses to improve operational efficiency, customer engagement and support launch of new products and services. He also led significant work in mergers and acquisitions, providing IT due diligence and integration support.

Ray has also served in senior roles in Davanti/Merkle as Head of Consulting, Watercare, Suncorp NZ and Gentrack with experience in IT advisory, systems implementation, and programme delivery. He is known for his technical and business acumen, collaborative leadership style and is passionate about building high-performing teams to drive innovation and to ensure technology is true enabler for business.