Mr Clarke, who took up his position of kaiwhakahaere hauora last month, told the board's hospitals' advisory committee meeting in Dunedin this week he was "really excited" about his new role.
Most of his career had been in the army or the police, and with three years in the health field, he was "only a baby in terms of the health sector".
Originally from Southland, Mr Clarke said he was looking forward to working across the whole Otago Southland area and involving all health settings.
This year, his work will involve working on the development of a Maori health plan for the region.
While he had identified three target areas, there would also be other areas which needed to be concentrated on.
Committee chairman Paul Menzies said both boards had worked pretty hard to create a good and "somewhat unique" relationship with Maori in the area, and Mr Clarke's appointment was another step along the way.
"We're expecting great things of ourselves and you - no pressure, of course," he said, joking.
Before taking up the Southern position, Mr Clarke was the operations excellence manager at the Taikura Trust, in Auckland, an organisation supporting people with disabilities and their families.
