Andy McKeon is to succeed Professor Dame Carol Black as Chair of the Nuffield Trust health think tank. 

Professor Dame Carol Black is to step down from the position of Chair after ten years at the helm, following the appointment of Andy McKeon by trustees. 

Andy McKeon, a previous trustee of the Nuffield Trust and Interim Chief Executive between September 2013 and April 2014, has worked as a career civil servant at the Department of Health, led the Audit Commission’s work on the NHS and health and is currently Vice-Chair of NICE.

Professor Black has overseen an expansion of the Nuffield Trust’s work programme since becoming Chair in 2006, working with Jennifer Dixon, Andy McKeon and Nigel Edwards to broaden the range of the Trust’s research activities and raise its profile as an independent commentator on health policy.

Nigel Edwards said: “Dame Carol has been a hugely distinguished chair of the Nuffield Trust and we owe her a great debt of gratitude for her work.  The last ten years have seen major growth in the Trust’s reach and influence.  Professor Black has been a strong champion for our work and for the use of evidence to improve health care. Despite many competing claims on her time, she has taken a close personal interest in the fortunes of the Nuffield and we have all benefited from her insights.  I am delighted to welcome Andy McKeon as our new Chair. I know from working with him over many years that his immense knowledge and penetrating analysis will serve us extremely well.“

Speaking about his appointment Andy McKeon commented: “I am delighted to be taking on the chair of the Nuffield Trust. It is a great honour, especially to succeed Dame Carol who has done so much for the Trust in transforming the way it works and making it immeasurably stronger and more relevant. She has ensured that the trustees fulfil their role as stewards of the Trust and that the organisation thinks and acts strategically and delivers high quality work.

“I have had a long association with the Nuffield Trust and look forward to shaping and contributing to its forward programme with my fellow trustees. Our health services are under unprecedented pressure. The Trust has an important role to play in supporting senior clinicians and managers to deal with the challenges posed by financial constraint and rising demand and in advising policymakers how difficult issues might be resolved. I am committed to supporting Nigel and the team to offer the independent evidence and analysis that is so vital in difficult times.”

Dame Carol says: “It has been a pleasure and a privilege to chair the Nuffield Trust for the last ten years.  I am very proud of the way the Trust has grown in stature and influence.  It has undertaken and disseminated some highly significant  research and analysis – both independently and in partnership with other organisations and I wish the Trust every success for the future.”