Latest updates from the business

Saad Mansour is the Group Manager of Quality Health and Safety and brings a wealth of experience to the position after spending close to a decade leading these functions in our Labtests Auckland laboratory

During that time Saad has been at the centre of maintaining Labtests’ outstanding record of compliance with the International Accreditation New Zealand, while also delivering on some of Auckland’s largest projects. At the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, Saad oversaw the fit out of Aotearoa’s largest molecular testing laboratory, greatly aiding in the country’s PCR testing response.

Saad believes quality systems are the foundation which defines APHG’s offering and is excited to share his knowledge with the Executive Team and the wider group.

Dr Richard Steele has extensive experience in laboratory services both here in Aotearoa and in Australia, returning to APHG in 2022 as Medical Director, Clinical Pathology.

Dr Steele has previously been Medical Director of Wellington SCL, and the New Zealand Vice President of the College of Pathologists Australasia.

He has experience in all aspects of clinical immunology and immunopathology including allergy, autoimmune diseases, primary immunodeficiency and HIV. Dr Steele has a particular interest in autoimmune disease including coeliac disease, neuroimmunology and quality assurance.

He is currently an examiner for the Royal Australasian College of Pathologists and also sits on the Medical Technical Advisory Committee for IANZ. He holds academic positions with the University of Otago (clinical lecturer) and Victoria University Wellington (Adjunct Professor).

Dr. Peter Gootjes has been in the business since 1995, and has been the CEO of Southern Community Laboratories (SCL) since 2007. SCL became part of APHG in 2008.

In that time Peter has seen SCL mature from a regional laboratory service, into one that covers a large portion of both the North and South Islands. Peter has taken great pleasure in seeing the business modernise into one that now supports the health of tens of thousands of New Zealanders every single day.

Peter has a wealth of experience in public health, previously working in hospital management in Dunedin and Hamilton and as Medical Officer of Health for the Waikato region.

Peter graduated from Otago University with a bachelor of medicine in 1984, going on to gain an MBA, and completed his specialist medical training in medical administration and public health medicine in 1992.

James Richardson in the General Manager of Gribbles.

James has worked primarily in animal pharmaceutical and vaccine laboratories supplying to New Zealand veterinarians, firstly with Young’s Animal Health and then with Virbac New Zealand for 13 years.

He has held many different commercial roles and responsibilities during this time, including senior management roles. More recently James has been with VetSouth where he has served as Productivity and Development Manager reporting to the owners of the business for over three years gaining an in-depth understanding of the workings and challenges of a very busy and complex veterinary business.

James graduated from Lincoln College (now Lincoln University) in the late 1980’s.

Heather has been with the Group since 2021 as APHG’s Head of Communications and Marketing. Prior to this, Heather built and operated a digital communication services agency in Wellington specialising in health, property, IT, pest control and horticulture.

Over the past 12 years Heather has worked on public affairs campaigns with patient advocacy groups including Crohn’s & Colitis, Multiple Myeloma, CLL and prostate cancer. She brings a deep level of experience in supporting organsations to better use digital channels to engage, connect and provide services.

Heather holds a Bachelor of Science in Biotechnology from Victoria University of Wellington.

Trevor English is APHG’s Head of Strategic Business Development, a role he has held since 2021. Joining the group in 2016, Trevor was Southern Community Laboratories Relationship Manager for five years.

With extensive leadership experience in both the New Zealand and Australian health sectors, he played a pivotal role in navigating APHG through the challenges of the country’s testing response.

Trevor has active interests in science, technology, innovation, and information systems, particularly how their practical application and integration can lead to improved health outcomes.

Trevor holds post graduate degrees in science in Clinical Biochemistry and an MBA from Macquarie University.

Linda Hart has been with the group for over 12 years as APHG’s General Manager of Human Resources. Linda leads a team of both specialist and generalist HR professionals, who ensure our most valued resource, our people, are taken care of.

Linda came on board when Labtests was in its infancy and has since been part of our executive during the successful services acquisitions in Canterbury, Wellington and Tāranaki, where she has led the staffing transitions during each change process.

Beginning her career in radiography, Linda spent 5 years studying both Human Resources and Employment Relations.

Chris Davey moved to New Zealand in 2015 to lead the successful establishment of our integrated pathology services in the Wellington region. Chris has held the position of General Manager of Labtests and Northland Pathology, overseeing an extension to the 4 Northern Region DHBs contract until 2026.

Chris joined us from Healthscope in 2011 where she was the National Operations Manager, and responsible for pathology operations in Australia and procurement projects for Healthscope International Pathology.

With her background as a medical laboratory scientist, Chris has more than 40 years experience in multidisciplinary laboratories, providing services to hospital and community patients in both the public and private sectors.

Brent Glanville is APHG’s Chief Information Officer, a role he has held since 2019. Before this he was the General Manager of Applications for Healthscope NZ for over a decade, and the head of IT at Southern Community Laboratories between 1995 and 2019.

This makes Brent one of NZ’s most experienced laboratory IT professionals, in a career that has seen him led the implementation of Laboratory Information Systems at 19 different sites across the country.

Working for over 25 years in the New Zealand pathology and health sector has enabled Brent to forge long established relationships with both vendors and key personnel within District Health Boards and the Ministry of Health.

Anoop Singh is APHG’s inaugural CEO, a role he took on when the group was purchased by its current owners.

Anoop has held a number of senior leadership roles in the healthcare industry in the Asia-Pacific region over the past 30 years. His breadth of experience includes a strong understanding of pathology operations, strategic health policy matters and Government relations.

Prior to joining APHG, Anoop held commercial and general management roles in large diversified companies such as Healthscope, Mayne Group and Symbion Health.