The Royal Melbourne Hospital Executive Management Team consists of the Chief Executive and Executive Directors.
The nine Executive Directors each hold an executive portfolio. The Executive Management Team meets twice a month to consider operational decisions, review performance and steer the strategic direction of The Royal Melbourne Hospital .
Download the The Royal Melbourne Hospital Organisational Structure.
Our Executive team
Christine Kilpatrick has been Chief Executive of the Royal Melbourne Hospital since 2017. Previous appointments include Chief Executive, the Royal Children’s Hospital from 2008 – 2017, Executive Director Medical Services, Melbourne Health and Executive Director Royal Melbourne Hospital, Melbourne Health 2004-2008. Prior to these appointments she was a neurologist, specialising in epilepsy.
Christine is a member of several boards including, WEHI, The Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health, HealthShare Victoria and the Victorian Comprehensive Cancer Centre (VCCC). She was awarded a Centenary medal in 2003, in 2014 was included in the Victorian Honour Roll of Women, in 2017 was a recipient of the Inaugural Distinguished Fellow’s Award, Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators, in 2018 inducted in the top 50 Public Sector Women and in 2019 appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia.
Ellen joined the Royal Melbourne Hospital as the Executive Director People and Culture in October 2017. Her career commenced in the Industrial Relations field before moving into Human Resources at Fairfax Media, where she worked for many years in Sydney and Melbourne. She has also consulted in and led the People function in other industries, including hospitality, legal and accounting services and aged care.
Originally graduating from The University of Sydney with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Economics, Ellen undertook a Masters of Labour Law and Relations. She has completed a change management qualification at the Australian Graduate School of Management. And in 2016, she graduated in Law.
Ellen is the author of three books, two of which are career guides.
A/Prof Heinjus trained as a general nurse at Albury Base Hospital and as a midwife at Preston and Northcote Community Hospital in Melbourne. Denise has a Graduate Certificate in Law and Management and a Masters (Honours) in Health Science Management. Denise commenced her role as Executive Director Nursing Services with the Royal Melbourne Hospital in 2007.
Previous nursing leadership positions include Executive Director, Nursing & Midwifery at Southern Health (Monash Health), Area Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Northern Sydney Central Coast Health Service; and Area Director of Nursing and Midwifery, Illawarra Health Service.
A/Prof Heinjus has a keen interest in workforce planning, clinical governance, organisational change and disaster management.
Jackie McLeod has been the Chief Operating Officer of the Royal Melbourne Hospital since November 2020. Jackie has over 25 years of experience in Victorian public hospitals and most recently has been the Executive Director, Parkville Electronic Medical Record (EMR) Program. Jackie led the rollout of the EMR across the four Parkville health services, as well as the implementation of the full EMR at the Royal Children’s Hospital’s in 2016. She has been responsible for the successful implementation of $235 million large health service transformational digital health programs that have delivered improved patient and operational outcomes.
Prior to these digital health leadership roles Jackie worked in several health services as the Director, Health Information Services and gained an extensive knowledge of health service operations, funding models, regulatory requirements and health strategic priorities. She understands the role of digital innovation in transforming health care and her unique skillset will support us in the delivery of our new strategic priorities, as outlined in our Toward 2025 Strategic Plan.
Paul commenced as Director Finance and Logistics in September 2019. Paul is an experienced finance and enterprise leader, working with large corporates both in Australia and internationally. He had a 10 year history with KPMG in Sydney, London and Melbourne specialising in the natural resource sector. During this time he worked on both audit and Corporate Finance activity.
On leaving KPMG, he joined Australia Post and lead finance and corporate teams over a 14 year tenure concluding with the role of Group Deputy CFO between 2016 and 2019. During this time Paul was a board member of various subsidiary companies and a trustee of the Australia Post Superannuation Fund.
Paul also supports the development of the accounting profession and was appointed the Australian representative on the International Federation of Accountants, Professional Accountants in Business Committee in 2016 and has been a member of a number of panels within the Chartered Accountants of Australian and New Zealand including chair of the CAANZ Members in Business, Advisory Panel.
Paul has a Commerce (Honours) degree from the University of NSW and is a fellow of the Chartered Accountants of Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), and CPA Australia. In addition Paul is a member of the Australian Institute of Company Directors (AICD).
Fleur joined the Royal Melbourne Hospital as General Counsel in August 2021 and was appointed as Corporate Secretary in December 2021. Fleur has extensive experience in government, public and private practice. Fleur commenced her legal career at the Australian Government Solicitor before working at Lander & Rogers in the Corporate Team. Prior to joining RMH, Fleur was General Counsel and Company Secretary at Healthdirect Australia Ltd, the national virtual public health information service.
Fleur holds a Bachelor of Laws (with Honours) and a Bachelor of Arts (majoring in Sociology) from Monash University and completed her Graduate Diploma in Legal Practice at the Australian National University. In addition, Fleur is a graduate of the Australian institute of Company Directors (GAICD).
Samantha Plumb commenced as Executive Director Quality, Informatics and Improvement in February 2022.
Commencing at RMH in 2007, Sam is a physiotherapist by background, progressing to Manager of Physiotherapy in 2013. In 2016, she was Chief of Staff for a year, and worked in various project management roles broadening her operational leadership expertise. More recently, Sam was the Director of the RMH Electronic Medical Record (EMR) responsible for the $140 million development program. After the successful implementation of the EMR in 2020, Sam moved into an operational role as General Manager of Surgical Services prior to commencing with the Executive Team.
Sam holds a Bachelor of Physiotherapy and a Masters in Neurological Physiotherapy.
Associate Professor Melinda Truesdale is a Fellow of the Australasian College for Emergency Medicine (ACEM) and has worked at the Royal Melbourne Hospital as a consultant emergency physician since 2003. She has held leadership roles including Director Emergency Medicine Services and Interim Divisional Director Critical Care Services.
Melinda is very much involved with ACEM with more than 20 years serving on committees (as Chair, Deputy or a Member) including Governance, Accreditation, Standards and the Council of Advocacy Practice and Partnerships and she is a current ACEM Board Member.
Melinda has published and presented at national and international meetings on clinical topics, innovations and quality and patient safety. She is also an Associate Member of the Royal Australasian College of Medical Administrators and of the Australasian College of Aerospace Medicine; she is a Member of the Australasian College of Legal Medicine and Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
