Southern Cross names its new chief

Southern Cross Healthcare has appointed Ian McPherson as its new chief executive.

Dr McPherson, 52, will need all his past experience working for the Red Cross in war zones in Afghanistan to help turn things around for the embattled health insurer.

From 1982 to 1985 he worked for the International Red Cross and was the first non-Swiss person to be appointed medical co-ordinator, serving on the Pakistan/Afghanistan border in the early 1980s during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan.

Southern Cross has experienced a series of public-relations calamities since last year when a new computer system was blamed for long delays for clients wanting payments on claims.

Dr McPherson's predecessor, Roger Bowie, quit in February, taking responsibility for the problems.



After his Red Cross work, Dr McPherson was appointed chief executive of the Thames Hospital Board and later inaugural chief executive of the Bay of Plenty Health Board.

For the past two years he has been regional general manager of health for Allianz Asia Pacific, overseeing health insurance operations in Pakistan, the Philippines, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and Malaysia.

Dr McPherson, who is married with six children, takes up his position next month.

- NZPA