Malcolm Ace, the University’s Chief Operating Officer, will be leaving Southampton in May to join a new NHS initiative to develop the health service leaders of tomorrow.
Malcolm, who has been with the University of Southampton since 2004, was appointed to his current post in March 2011. He came to Southampton as Director of Finance after holding a similar role at Portsmouth University. In April 2010, Malcolm became the University’s Chief Financial Officer taking on expanded operational and strategic responsibilities including Estates and IT. For those with longer memories, Malcolm was also the University’s Deputy Director of Finance between 1994 and 1998.
As Chief Operating Officer, Malcolm has led the strategic development and executive management of the University’s resources, business and infrastructure functions. Over the last three years, Malcolm has guided the development and opening of the University’s Malaysia Campus, chaired the Business Continuity and Planning Group and worked to lay the foundations for the new Boldrewood Campus which opens later this year. However, Malcolm would see his greatest achievement as the work on settling the insurance claim for the Mountbatten fire between 2005 and 2009.
From June, Malcolm will join a new scheme announced by Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt last September in response to the Francis Report to directly channel top industry managers and health service professionals into senior management roles within the NHS. The new programme includes a period at Harvard Business School and an extended secondment at a local Trust.
“I have loved working for the University, but at this stage of my life need a different and totally new challenge. I’ve been incredibly fortunate to work with so many talented and dedicated people on such a wide range of projects which have found success because of the capabilities of these colleagues,” said Malcolm. “ I know that the University will keep changing the world for the better”
Vice-Chancellor, Professor Don Nutbeam, said: “Malcolm has made an extraordinary contribution to the development of the University during his time with us, enabling us to achieve financial stability and to develop our estate in ways that have contributed so much more to campus life than we realise or appreciate. On a personal note, Malcolm has been a great source of balanced and objective advice during my time as Vice-Chancellor. With an outstanding career to date in higher education, I’m confident he will go on to make an equally impressive contribution to the NHS.”