Bupa announces Nick Stone as Acting Chief Executive Officer
Bupa today announced the appointment of Nick Stone as Acting Chief Executive Officer, Asia Pacific (APAC).
Mr Stone will begin in the role at the end of March 2023, allowing for a smooth transition with current APAC CEO Hisham El-Ansary following his decision to step down last year.
Bupa has commenced an international executive search which will include external and internal candidates, with an update expected later this year on a permanent successor.
Mr Stone, who is currently Bupa APAC’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO), joined Bupa Australia and New Zealand in September in 2018 as Group Financial Controller, before becoming CFO in April 2019.
Prior to joining Bupa, Mr Stone was CFO at Marlin Brands, a leading Australian homewares company, and General Manager, Commercial Finance at Medibank. He also worked for 10 years at Energy Australia in a number of senior roles and has experience overseas in the UK and Kazakhstan, predominantly in the oil and gas sector.
Commenting on the appointment, Bupa Group CEO Iñaki Ereño said: “Nick has established himself as a trusted adviser to the business and has a deep commitment to driving improvements in financial performance and commercial execution across Bupa APAC.
I know he will be an excellent pair of hands to steer the business while we continue our internal and external search process for the APAC CEO.
Mr Stone said: “I’m humbled to be given this opportunity and my focus will be on enabling our people to continue to deliver each and every day for our customers and residents”.
Bupa Chairman Bryan Mogridge said: “Nick is an accomplished leader who has delivered strong financial results and helped our members through some incredibly challenging health and economic conditions in recent times. I am confident Nick will lead Bupa to continue growing as a healthcare leader.”
Mr El-Ansary announced in November 2022 that the time was right for him to leave Bupa after almost four years as CEO and 15 years at the company, holding a number of other senior executive roles.
Mr Ereño thanked Mr El-Ansary for his loyalty, dedication and lasting contribution to both Bupa and the wider healthcare sector.
Mr Stone will report to Mr Ereño and Bupa’s Australia & New Zealand Board. The recruitment process for Mr Stone’s replacement as Acting CFO has started, with an announcement to be made in the coming weeks.
