The non-executive chair of Assura, Ed Smith CBE, has resigned from his role as director and chair of the company following the announcement of Assura’s merger with Primary Health Properties (PHP).
Smith joined the Assura board in 2017 and was appointed chair in 2018. Assura has appointed senior non-executive director, Jonathan Davies, as chair of the board.
Last week, it was announced the board of Assura and PHP had agreed the terms of a £1.79bn all share and cash merger.
Jonathan Murphy, chief executive officer of Assura, said: “We sincerely thank Ed for his huge contribution to the success of Assura over the past seven years. His guidance and support to me and the wider team has been invaluable. I know that I can speak for everyone in Assura in wishing him all the best for the future.”
Davies added: “On behalf of the board, I would like to thank Ed for his fantastic leadership and stewardship of the business during his term as chair. Ed has played a vital role in driving Assura’s performance and developing its long-term strategy, whilst never losing focus on its strong social purpose and the need to support the NHS.
“Both the board and the wider business have been very fortunate to benefit from his deep knowledge and experience of the health sector. It has been a great privilege to work alongside Ed during all of his term as chair and I now look forward to leading the board during the CMA process.”
