New ANZCA CEO announced
Dr Lance Emerson PhD will be ANZCA’s next chief executive officer (CEO) with the retirement of Nigel Fidgeon later this year.
Lance brings to the college more than 25 years’ experience in CEO, senior executive and board leadership roles across membership, government, not-for-profit and research organisations in the health sector.
Most recently, Lance was a Deputy Secretary at the Department of Health, Victoria where he worked for more than seven years, including as CEO of the Victorian Agency for Health Information (VAHI).
Prior to this, he was CEO of the Pharmaceutical Society of Australia for four years and a director and CEO of the Australian Research Alliance for Children and Youth. He has been a director of Red Cross Lifeblood since 2018, one of the largest not-for-profits in Australia.
Lance holds a PhD (Collaborative, data driven healthcare improvement) from the University of Sydney and a Master of Science (Primary Health Care) at Flinders University.
We would like to take this opportunity to thank Nigel Fidgeon who leaves ANZCA on 12 December 2025. Nigel led the college through the COVID-19 pandemic and has played a leading role in the college’s responses to government over workforce issues in Australia and New Zealand and ongoing sector reform. He was at the helm during the important evolution of standards in pain management education, the establishment of the Chapter of Perioperative Medicine and the advanced certificate in Rural Generalist Anaesthesia. He has overseen significant technical uplifts and leaves the college in a strong financial position. We are grateful for his strong leadership over more than six years.
Lance will start on 1 December 2025, two weeks before Nigel leaves, allowing for a smooth transition.
