Lester is the Commissioner of Health New Zealand, Professor of Digital Health Leadership at the Auckland University of Technology, Chair of the New Zealand Health Research Council and an independent advisor on leadership and leadership development.
Lester is a medical doctor and MBA with a postgraduate professional qualification in medical leadership and is registered as a medical specialist with the Medical Council of New Zealand.
Lester has served on 31 Boards of Directors, 18 as Chair and three as deputy-Chair. These boards are mainly in public and private healthcare but also in transport, engineering, shared services, biotechnology, film and television production, software development, research, logistics and supply chain. Over the past seventeen years he has held eight Ministerial appointments and has previously been a seconded advisor to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet; a member of the Ministerial Advisory Group on Health; a lead reviewer for the State Services Commission’s Performance Improvement Framework and an independent expert advisor to the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Enterprise and a Crown Monitor. Lester has also been a healthcare chief executive three times, twice in the public sector and once in the private sector.
Lester’s research has been published in a range of international peer reviewed academic journals and book chapters, and he is the author of the book Leadership and the Whirlpool Effect (Penguin).
In the 2013 New Zealand New Year's Honours Lester was appointed as a Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit (CNZM) for services to health and education.
Lester has the ability to engage people immediately and to hold their attention throughout his presentation. The audience were impressed with his honesty and how he was able to make it livel ... keep reading Land Information New Zealand
Lester picked up on parts in the brief and offered a challenge to current practices. An informative and entertaining presentation.
Lester's presentation was both entertaining and thought provoking, something that is not easy to achieve. The audience thoroughly enjoyed the presentation, there was a good balance of humour and sharing of ideas.
Lester's presentation exceeded our expectations and the audience's reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
"Dr Levy was very generous with his time and because he had spoken to us prior to the event, he was able to deliver a motivating, relevant and personalised speech. Feedback from participants at the event was very positive and included comments such as "Dr Lester Levy was a wealth of knowledge!"
