Southern District Health Board (SDHB) chief executive Chris Fleming has announced he is stepping down to pursue new business opportunities with his family.

After 30 years in the health sector, 15 of which were leading three different District Health Boards, Chris will finish up with the SDHB on June 30.

"Despite the exciting future ahead in health, with the transition to Health New Zealand on July 1, I have been contemplating the right move for me and my family, and I’ve decided that the time is right for me to do something completely different for now,” Chris said. 

"We will be relocating to the Waikato which is where I am originally from."

The resignation comes as Health New Zealand, a new Crown entity, prepares to take over the planning and commissioning of services and the functions of the existing 20 District Health Boards.

SDHB chair Pete Hodgson said the board was grateful for Chris’s efforts in leading the organisation.

"Our response has been to express our gratitude to him for his steadfast leadership of the Southern DHB, and to wish him well in the next passage of his life," Pete said.

"Leading the Southern DHB is not for the faint-hearted. Its challenges have always been cultural, geographical, and financial. The forthcoming new Dunedin Hospital and the move to the new health system have both presented the opportunity and obligation to create New Zealand’s most modern health system. 

“Chris has seen us begin that journey," he said

The chief executive of Health New Zealand will determine the next steps in terms of leadership for SDHB staff as it transitions to Health NZ. No formal decisions have yet been made.

PHOTO: Supplied