WA Health’s Kylie Towie, acting chief executive and CIO of Health Support Services (HSS), is leaving the organisation after 18 months at the helm.
“After a fantastic 18 months at Health Support Services at WA Health I will be moving on at the start of June,” according to information on Linkedin. “I am very grateful to the strategic ICT and services partners that have worked diligently with me over the past 18 months to ensure the success of HSS.
“Not sure where to next, but life is full of exciting adventures to challenge ourselves with.”
Asked about her replacement, Towie told CIO Australia a "permanent appointment is being made to the role of chief executive of HSS."
“I have restructured where a CTO (GM of service delivery operations soon to be renamed CTO) is created and head of strategy through the GM, business engagement and policy - this is an industry standard used in many large complex environments to support the CE in delivery of ICT services,” she explained.
“The incoming CE will still oversee all ICT areas as a function of the role; however, operations and strategy are driven within those forementioned positions similar Cisco as other major ICT vendors.
"I widely researched models used to determined the best way forward for WA Health environment.
I am passionate about corporate services leadership and ideally would like a similar role that requires transformational leadership skills and passion to be brought to an organisation. I have absolutely loved my time at HSS and the people are outstanding,” she said.
She also reflected on her time at the organisation, delivering technology, supply, workforce, and finance services.
“I have achieved all performance targets and finance targets set for HSS along with establishing HSS as a high performing statutory authority during my time along with an impressive redesign of culture and structure to meet the future requirements of WA Health,” Towie told CIO Australia.
“Key achievements include the public tendering of the replacement of the new WA Health medical imaging system to meet the needs of the WA Community, restructuring all whole of Health contracts to ensure value for money, along with stabilising the current ICT systems across WA Health.”
She said she has a passion for driving change in large ICT areas that require a strategic business focus to be realigned with organisational and shareholder goals.
“Essentially, I have turned HSS around to a high performing ICT area with strong effective leadership along with establishing a sound statutory authority to meet the legislative requirements- and the director general of Health is finalising the appointment of a permanent CE to take HSS on the next steps. The changes I have made and the performance of HSS have made HSS an attractive place to work again for highly competent and experienced CIOs and CEs. A bright future ahead," she told CIO Australia.
In prior roles, Towie was the assistant director general and CIO for the Department of Health (WA), as well as its chief procurement officer; and a director for the Department of Finance.
Back in 2015, Towie won a procurement leader award for her achievements as chief procurement officer at WA Health, after being instrumental in improving procurement function across the department.
Towie beat a field of highly regarded senior executives who have strategic responsibility for their organisation’s procurement function.
Acting Health director general professor, Bryant Stokes, said at the time that Towie’s success was well deserved recognition for an exemplary career.
“Under her guidance, the Department has made significant strides in this important area including the development of a procurement reform project; and the completion of two procurement compliance audits, for high risk and politically sensitive business units, accounting for 25 per cent of WA Health’s annual spend.
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