19 December 2019 
His appointment takes effect from 1 January 2020.
Dr O’Brien has strong business skills and is a co-founder and medical director of the Cognitive Institute, an organisation founded to equip health care leaders and their teams with enhanced non-technical skills, such as communication and leadership, important to the delivery of high quality compassionate health care.
He is an experienced clinician and medical practitioner and has held board and governance positions across a range of health care organisations, public and private, over the past 20 years.
Ms Eva Skira AM, Chair of Trustees, said that Dr O’Brien’s appointment would further strengthen the St John of God Health Care Board as the organisation continued its focus on clinical excellence and enhancing the patient experience.
“Dr O’Brien is a highly respected global health care leader and particularly so in the Asia-Pacific region,” she said.
“He has outstanding credentials in the areas of clinical leadership, risk management and safety and we are delighted to welcome him to the Board.”
St John of God Health Care Board Chair Hon Kerry Sanderson AC welcomed the appointment saying:
“Dr O’Brien’s skill set will complement a strong and committed Board. His deep understanding of the health care landscape nationally and internationally will be very valuable.”
Dr O’Brien is a recipient of the Queensland 2002 Hunt and Hunt Inaugural Award for Healthcare Leadership, and the 2016 Queensland President’s Award by the Australian College of Health Service Management for his services to health care.
He has authored numerous publications on non-technical skills that contribute to safer and better patient outcomes.
Dr O’Brien holds a medical degree from the University of Queensland, and is a Fellow of the Australian College of Rural and Remote Medicine and the Royal Australian College of General Practitioners, and an Associate Fellow of the Australian College of Health Service Management. He is a Graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors and of the Oxford Advanced Leadership and Management Program at Oxford University.