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Executive team

Princess Alexandra Hospital is led by a local Executive team that reports to the Metro South Hospital and Health Board through the Health Service Chief Executive.

Dr Michael Cleary

Dr Michael Cleary PSM
Position: 
Executive Director
Start date: 
July 2017

Dr Michael Cleary commenced working with Queensland Health 34 years ago and was appointed as Executive Director, Princess Alexandra Hospital in October 2017. Michael has an extensive background with emergency and trauma medicine and senior level positions within health including his involvement on the boards of Australian College for Emergency Medicine and Australian Council on Healthcare Standards.

He represented Queensland on the Australian Health Ministers’ Advisory Council and the Hospitals’ Principal Committee. He has held the role of Deputy Director-General and Chief Operations Officer within the Queensland Department of Health, President of the Royal Australian College of Medical Administrators and Vice-President of the Australian Medical Association Queensland.

Ms Veronica Casey AM
Position: 
Executive Director, Nursing Services
Start date: 
March 2015

Veronica has held nursing executive leadership positions in Queensland Health since 1998. She worked in nursing director roles at The Prince Charles Hospital, the Royal Brisbane Hospital and the Royal Women’s Hospital prior to her appointment as Executive Director, Nursing Services at Princess Alexandra Hospital. During her time at PAH, she has been instrumental in helping the hospital achieve re-designation under the Magnet® credentialing program, and the introduction of the Nurse Sensitive Indicator performance monitoring system. In 2010, she was appointed as one of three inaugural international commissioners for the American Nurses Credentialing Centre. Veronica was appointed as a Board Member on the Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia in May 2014.

Dr Brian Bell, Executive Director Medical Services PAH

Dr Brian Bell
Position: 
Executive Director, Medical Services
Start date: 
April 2018

Dr Bell was appointed to the position of Executive Director of Medical Services at Princess Alexandra Hospital in April 2018. His previous appointment was the Executive Director of Medical Services at the Gold Coast Hospital and Health Service from 1993 until 2013. For the last 3 years he has had Executive leadership positions at Logan and Redland Hospitals.

Dr Bell has been a surveyor with ACHS for the past 20 years and has surveyed extensively in Australia and overseas. He is the Chairperson of the ACHS Queensland and Norther Territory State Advisory Committee.

Image of Kathy Grudzinskas

Kathy Grudzinskas
Position: 
Executive Director, Clinical Support Services
Start date: 
April 2015

Kathy has been continuously employed as a physiotherapist in hospital and community settings in South Australia and Queensland since 1981. She joined the Princess Alexandra Hospital as Director of Physiotherapy Services in 1995 and was appointed as Executive Director of Clinical Support Services, Princess Alexandra Hospital, in December 2015.

Kathy has a strong interest in governance, and has served as a practitioner member of the Physiotherapy Board of Queensland, Physiotherapy Board of Australia, and the Australian Physiotherapy Association. Recently, Kathy chaired the Steering Committee for the review and development of the Physiotherapy practice thresholds in Australia and Aotearoa New Zealand, which were published in May, 2015. She is a current Director of the Australian Physiotherapy Council.

Mr Alister Whitta
Position: 
Finance Director, PAH/QEII Health Network
Start date: 
March 2013

Alister was appointed Finance Director, Princess Alexandra Hospital and QEII Jubilee Hospital Health Network in 2013. He holds a Bachelor of Business from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) and a Graduate Diploma in Applied Corporate Governance. Alister is a Fellow of CPA Australia (FCPA) and a member of the Governance Institute of Australia and Health Financial Management Association of Australia.

Alister has held senior financial and business management roles with the Princess Alexandra Hospital, The Princes Charles Hospital and Department of Community Safety over the past 15 years. He was also responsible for the successful establishment of the statutory, financial management reporting and financial governance systems of Metro South Hospital and Health Service as the interim CFO in 2012 when the HHS was established.

Adam Lavis

Adam Lavis
Position: 
Director, Human Resources, PAH/QEII Health Network
Start date: 
June 2019

Adam is the Director of Human Resources for the PAH/QEII Health Network, responsible for strategic and operational HR initiatives enhancing organisational performance.

Adam has over 10 years' experience operating at senior levels in the public healthcare sector, providing expert advice whilst leading and establishing HR and Work Health and Safety into the core fundamentals of the organisation.

Adam is currently completing a Masters of Business Administration (MBA) and in his spare time enjoys travelling, playing sport and spending time with his family.

Praneel Kumar

Mr Praneel Kumar
Position: 
Senior Director, Corporate Services
Start date: 
July 2019

Mr Praneel Kumar brings a wealth of government and non-government experience into this broad and challenging portfolio. He is a strategic thinker with a strong focus on collaborative style of leadership, change management and reforming business processes.

Praneel has an extensive background at a senior level within Qld Health including his involvement in Ministerial Taskforce Committee, inaugural implementation of activity based funding (ABF) in Queensland Public Hospitals and developing innovative models to benchmark services in clinical settings. Praneel has a background in Molecular Genetics and has worked over 8 years as the Statewide Coordinating Scientist for Paediatric and Metabolic disorders at the Royal Brisbane and Women’s Hospital.

Praneel also has a Master of Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Queensland (UQ) and was a recipient of the Dean’s Prize in Corporate Finance from the UQ Faculty of Business and Economics. He is also a member of CPA Australia. 

At PAH Praneel is responsible for overseeing Operational Services, Administration Services, Asset Management, MSH Safety and Response, Central Clinical Resource Unit and the strategic planning and development of key capital projects that aligns with the objectives and goals of Metro South Health. 

Last updated 22 July 2019