In a surprise announcement this week, the board said the finance and funding director, who detected the Michael Swann fraud, would leave in May after 18 years with the board and its predecessors. Mr Mackway-Jones detected the $16.9 million fraud in 2006 when, as the then Southland District Health Board's chief financial officer, he was seconded to the then Otago health board to find cost savings through collaboration.
The health board last year decided to separate planning and funding from finance, and a new executive finance director, Peter Beirne, was announced on Thursday. Mr Mackway-Jones had been expected to continue in the top planning and funding role.
He said in an email this week he had not applied for the chief finance role. He had not decided whether to seek another health sector job, and declined a more detailed interview. Mr Beirne, who begins in his new role on Wednesday, is a chartered accountant who was previously based in Darwin.
Originally from Palmerston North, Mr Beirne had more than 20 years' experience in senior executive roles, the board said in a press release announcing the appointment. Previously, Mr Beirne was chief financial officer of the Whanganui District Health Board, and the MidCentral District Health Board.
The chief finance role was combined with planning and funding in 2010, but the board has decided to separate them.
