Strengthening DHU Healthcare’s Executive Team through senior digital and commercial leaders

Sellick Partnership was exclusively retained to appoint a Chief Digital Officer (CDO) and Chief Commercial Officer (CCO), strengthening DHU Healthcare’s Executive Team.

• Chief Digital Officer: A Board-level role leading a 40-strong Digital function, with accountability for digital strategy, transformation, cyber security, system integration and future service capability.
• Chief Commercial Officer: A pivotal executive role responsible for commercial strategy, financial stewardship, partnerships and long-term sustainability, with a clear pathway to Board membership within 12 months.

Dedicated executive search team

Given the nature of the campaign, we assembled a delivery team of senior, experienced recruiters with proven expertise and established networks to source, engage and select the right talent for these roles. This included:

• Nikki Kinsey, Group Director, brings extensive experience of working with senior executives across the public sector, with particular oversight of our professional services and housing specialisms.
• Greg Jones, Group Director, leads our Technology and Digital specialism, supporting organisations with senior appointments across IT, Digital Transformation and Technology leadership.
• Adam Rouse, Business Director, specialises in senior leadership recruitment, working closely with clients to identify and appoint experienced leaders across professional services markets.

Recruitment approach

A comprehensive executive search campaign was undertaken. 

• Discovery and brief development: We held detailed scoping sessions with key stakeholders to define success profiles, understand leadership gaps and team dynamics, refine role structures, and shape a competitive market proposition, ensuring alignment from the outset.
• Market mapping and search strategy: We built a targeted search strategy informed by live market insight and our networks, mapping roles across various sectors, identifying candidates with relevant transformation and leadership experience, and advising DHU on candidate expectations and potential barriers to attraction.
• Headhunting and candidate engagement: Over four weeks, we undertook a structured headhunting campaign, focusing on both active and passive senior talent, creating tailored candidate attraction packs, and engaging candidates with targeted outreach led by senior consultants, leveraging our extensive healthcare and digital leadership networks.
• Assessment and shortlisting: All candidates progressed through a structured assessment process led by our senior team, including competency-based interviews, evaluation of leadership style and strategic thinking, and validation of technical capabilities, providing DHU with detailed shortlist reports.

Results

The campaign delivered strong, credible shortlists for both roles within the agreed timeframe.

• Over 100 senior leaders were identified and engaged across Digital, Commercial and transformation functions.
• First-stage interviews were conducted by senior consultants aligned to each specialism.
• 4–5 high-quality candidates were shortlisted for each role.
• A large proportion of shortlisted candidates were passive talent generated through direct search.

DHU progressed four candidates per role to initial interviews, with two finalists for each position invited to final panel stages.

Importantly, both positions were accepted by DHU’s first choice candidates, demonstrating the quality, alignment and depth of the executive search process.

Client testimonial

"Sellick Partnership supported DHU Healthcare at a critical point in our transformation, leading a retained executive search campaign to appoint our Chief Commercial Officer and Chief Digital Officer – two roles that are central to our future direction, system positioning, and long-term sustainability.

From the outset, Sellick Partnership brought a level of structure, pace and credibility that immediately set the tone for the campaign. They took the time to really understand DHU – not just the roles, but our context as a complex, high-volume urgent care provider, our ambition around digital transformation, and the balance we need to strike between commercial growth, patient outcomes and workforce experience.

The strength of their market insight and search approach was evident throughout. They were able to access and engage a high-quality and diverse candidate pool across NHS, private and broader system talent, which was critical for roles of this nature. They were also pragmatic and solutions-focused, helping us navigate what is a challenging and competitive market for senior digital and commercial leaders.

They also managed a complex stakeholder environment effectively, ensuring alignment across our Board, executive team, and system partners. Importantly, they maintained a high-quality experience for all candidates, including internal applicants, with feedback consistently highlighting their professionalism, communication, and supportive approach throughout.

Their support did not stop at appointment. Sellick Partnership remained closely engaged through offer, notice periods and onboarding, helping us maintain momentum and land both appointments successfully during a period of significant organisational change.

Overall, Sellick Partnership were a trusted and credible partner throughout. They brought the right balance of challenge, support, and delivery focus, and played a key role in securing two appointments that will have a lasting impact on DHU. Having worked with a range of search partners throughout my career, this is the first time I have experienced a retained search firm operating at this level of calibre, consistency, and impact. I would not hesitate to recommend them for senior, complex, and high-impact executive recruitment."

Head of Talent Acquisition, DHU Healthcare