The NPA today (March 28) revealed that Henry Gregg will become its new chief executive on May 27.
Currently the director of external affairs at charity Asthma + Lung UK, Gregg “has a huge amount of experience in membership organisations, in public service and in health advocacy”, the NPA said.
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He will “carry on our great work growing the profile of community pharmacy, providing brilliant services to our members, influencing government and supporting our team”, it added.
Gregg began his career in Parliament and has a “wealth” of experience in communications and policy, the NPA said.
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He has previously worked at charity and think tank the Health Foundation where he “[lobbied] the government to invest in the NHS” and also held senior roles at the London boroughs of Newham and Barking and Dagenham, it added.
And Gregg also “led member relations at the National Housing Federation, where he supported the housing sector in the aftermath of the Grenfell Tower fire”, it said.
“Enormous opportunity”
During his time at Asthma + Lung UK, Gregg led its campaign “to ban cigarettes for everyone born after 2009 and smoking outside hospitals, playgrounds and schools”, the NPA added, as well as “[pushing] for respiratory vaccines and management of lung conditions in community pharmacies”.
According to Asthma + Lung UK, he was “instrumental in transforming public engagement on COVID-19 in the London Borough of Newham, the local authority with the most initial deaths in the first wave of the pandemic and where the NHS COVID-19 app was trialled”.
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And he helped with the charity’s “mission to transform the nation’s lung health by challenging misconceptions about lung conditions, driving greater investment in respiratory research and campaigning for cleaner air and better care”, Asthma + Lung UK said.
NPA chair Nick Kaye said that he is “delighted” to welcome Gregg as its next chief executive on behalf of the board.
“At a time of huge change and enormous opportunity for the community pharmacy network, we are fortunate to have someone with [Gregg’s] experience and insight to lead the organisation as we respond to the challenges ahead,” he added.
“Pivotal time”
Gregg said that he is “excited to be joining the NPA at a pivotal time for community pharmacy”, adding that he is “looking forward to...building strong links with the government so we can deliver the support pharmacies so desperately need and the bigger role they can undoubtedly play in everyone’s health”.
“I want to focus on fighting for pharmacies and raising the profile of their amazing work, but also making sure the NPA is offering the best possible service and support for a network upon which so many people rely,” he added.
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Gregg replaces Paul Rees as NPA chief executive, who confirmed to the body in November that he would be “stepping down to become the interim chief executive and registrar of the Nursing and Midwifery Council” in January.
In an exclusive article for C+D, Rees said that he had “loved [his] time working with the brilliant NPA board and staff team – and helping the organisation modernise and become a high-profile fighting force campaigning for a fair deal for community pharmacy”.
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But he explained that “sometimes you simply get an opportunity you can’t ignore”, adding that “the pull of…helping [the NMC] eliminate racism and bullying from within the organisation...is just too great”.
The NPA said at the time that it would engage a “leading recruitment agency to help identify its next chief executive to lead the next stage of the NPA’s campaigning and support for members”.
It today said that Gregg’s appointment follows a “very thorough process led by the NPA board”.
