Primary Care International (PCI) is pleased to announce the appointment of Julia Beart as Chief Executive Officer from 1st December 2018. Julia is taking over from co-founder Jonathan Winter, who has led PCI from its inception as the international ‘social enterprise’ arm of medical education company Red Whale.
Julia joined PCI in 2015 and, as Chief Operating Officer, has already played an instrumental role in the growth of the organisation: developing new partnerships with diverse organisations; and strengthening and expanding our teams and capabilities. Julia brings to PCI substantial experience of global health and development, with experience spanning programme design, partnership building, strategy and business development.
Prior to joining PCI, Julia worked with Chris Underhill MBE piloting innovative approaches to scaling BasicNeeds’ Model for Mental Health and Development. With a background in disability and community development in resource-poor settings, she has a particular interest in healthcare innovations with potential to reach vulnerable groups.
Of her appointment, Julia says “I am delighted to be taking up the role of CEO. Ever since my first PCI meeting three years I knew this was a special organisation with a significant niche to fill in global primary healthcare. Equally I am humbled by the scale of the challenges ahead and I look forward to working alongside my fantastic team, building on our achievements to date and nurturing the partnerships we will need to forge as we move forward. Globally this is an important moment for primary care; never has its critical role in achieving Universal Healthcare Coverage been more clearly articulated. I hope to contribute to the bold leadership that will be needed to realise transformative change at scale. I look forward to seeing PCI contributing to this process as technical partner, advisor and ally to organisations working on the front-line making a difference each and every day to the health and well-being of families, communities and populations.”
PCI has been led by Jonathan Winter since its inception as a project within Red Whale, one of the leading providers of primary care medical education in the UK. PCI was established as an independent social enterprise in February 2014 and has grown rapidly, with projects in more than 20 countries and in multiple languages.
Jonathan, who specialises in innovation and project start-ups and who is best known for his work on the future shape of organisations and careers, commented. “It has been a privilege to be part of these first five years. I’m proud of our team’s work with partners who are tackling chronic diseases around the world – it’s a huge challenge. And I’m delighted Julia will be leading this talented team on the next phase of its journey, working with others to address that challenge.”
Dr Lucy Jenkins, co-Founder of PCI and Red Whale, welcomed the smooth transition: “Julia has been with our team for some time as Chief Operating Officer and is immensely capable and experienced. Julia has a clear strategic vision of how to take forward our work to strengthen primary care health systems, and I know she will continue to build on the firm foundations Jonathan has established.