A message from Maureen Maloney, chair, PHSA Board of Directors
On behalf of the PHSA Board of Directors, I am pleased to announce the appointment of Paul Mochrie as PHSA’s new president & chief executive officer, effective June 1, 2026.
Following a national search informed by leaders and clinicians from rural and urban health authorities, the Ministry of Health and BC Shared Health Services (BCSHS), as well as First Nations and Indigenous partners, academic leaders and former specialty care executives, I am confident we have found the right leader to move PHSA forward.
Paul is an accomplished public sector leader with 32 years of service across health care, provincial public service and municipal government. He has led large, complex organizations through significant change, including digitally enabled transformations and implementation of shared services to strengthen performance, partnerships, and continuity of high-quality public services.
With previous experience at Fraser Health, Vancouver Coastal Health, the Health Employers Association of BC and the BC Ministry of Health, Paul brings a strong understanding of BC's health system and the connections within that are critical to improving outcomes.
During his 14 years with the City of Vancouver, Paul held increasingly senior roles, serving as city manager from 2021–2025. He led 9,500 staff delivering a wide range of services, including social services, public safety and emergency response, and oversaw the City's COVID-19 recovery plan and its successful bid to host matches for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Most recently, Paul has been supporting BC Emergency Health Services on a contract basis, working with the senior executive team on key strategic initiatives.
Our search committee was impressed not only by Paul's experience, but also by his calm demeanor, thoughtful understanding of the social determinants of health, and the humility with which he approaches the work of Truth & Reconciliation in alignment with PHSA’s North Star priority to eradicate Indigenous-specific racism and create an anti-racist, safe culture, free from discrimination.
The board believes Paul's track record of leading through complexity, developing practical solutions to complex problems, and aligning teams to deliver on strategic priorities, will serve PHSA well as the organization evolves, continues to deliver specialized clinical services and simultaneously supports the transition of programs, services and colleagues to BCSHS.
Paul has shared with me how much the opportunity ahead means to him:
"With immense respect for the important contributions of PHSA clinicians and staff and their impact on the health and wellbeing of everyone they serve, I am profoundly honoured to join the PHSA team. I look forward to learning from and working with staff, medical staff and health system partners to build on PHSA's strengths and support outstanding specialty care for patients, clients and families across our province."
On behalf of the board, I would also like to extend my thanks to Dr. Sean Virani for serving as interim president & CEO over the past two months. Dr. Virani's steady, values-based leadership has been greatly appreciated by PHSA leaders, the board and ministry colleagues.
