David Selwood

Chief Operating Officer | Enterprise Operations, Transformation & Risk | GCC

Doha, Qatar

About

I am a Chief Operating Officer with over 25 years’ experience leading mission-critical, multi-site operations across highly regulated environments in the UK and GCC. I partner with CEOs and Boards to stabilise, scale and transform complex organisations where performance, risk and execution quality directly affect outcomes, reputation and public trust. My background spans national healthcare systems and emergency services, with end-to-end accountability for enterprise operating models, multi-billion-dollar OPEX and CAPEX portfolios, workforce execution, asset performance, logistics, and business continuity. I am frequently engaged where systems are under pressure, during periods of rapid growth, structural change, or elevated operational risk. I am known for translating strategy into executable operating systems. This includes embedding disciplined performance management, strengthening resilience, modernising asset and logistics models, and delivering measurable improvements in efficiency, cost control, throughput and service outcomes at scale. Key experience includes: * Enterprise COO-level leadership across USD 2.75bn budgets, 14-site networks and workforces of 4,000+ * Delivery of double-digit efficiency gains (~22%) through enterprise performance redesign * 18% year-on-year operational cost reduction through vendor strategy, demand planning and Lean interventions * Senior operational leadership during major incidents, including the 7/7 London bombings, and system-wide crisis events * Design and execution of business continuity, incident command and resilience frameworks at the executive and board level I work best in environments where complexity is high, stakes are real, and delivery matters. My focus is always on sustainable performance, building resilient systems, developing capable leaders, and ensuring organisations are fit for growth, scrutiny and disruption.

Experience

  • Hamad Medical Corporation (Doha, Qatar · On-site)
    • Executive Director, Tertiary Hospital Group
      Nov 2024 - Present · 1 yr 8 mos

      Enterprise COO-level role supporting the Group Chief Executive across a nationally critical healthcare network of 14 hospitals and specialist sites. * Accountable for enterprise performance, operational standardisation, risk and business continuity across a USD 2.75bn portfolio * Designed and embedded an enterprise performance architecture delivering ~22% efficiency improvement * Standardised mission-critical operations across capacity, scheduling and logistics to improve throughput and SLA performance * Led executive-level incident command, crisis response and continuity governance * Strengthened asset lifecycle management to improve uptime, reduce maintenance costs, and extend asset life

    • Executive Director / COO-equivalent - Hamad General Hospital
      2019 - Oct 2024 · 5 yrs 10 mos

      End-to-end operational leadership for a national flagship hospital with 4,000+ staff and a USD 0.8bn operating budget. * Delivered 18% year-on-year operational cost reduction without compromising access or quality * Scaled digital operations to increase throughput, reduce cycle times and improve utilisation * Led workforce strategy, embedding performance routines, leadership discipline and targeted capability uplift * Represented the organisation at system-wide executive boards and oversight committees

    • Assistant Executive Director - National Critical Care Network
      2014 - 2019 · 5 yrs

      Enterprise network operations leadership across 12 hospitals. * Improved network utilisation by 21% and reduced inter-site transfer times by 17% * Built simulation and forecasting models to inform long-term capacity planning and CAPEX decisions * Delivered national operating standards to improve cross-site coordination and access

  • Senior Contract Manager – NHS (UK) at NHS
    2009 - 2014 · 5 yrs

    Senior commercial and operational leadership roles across NHS commissioning and provider systems, accountable for large-scale service contracts, performance governance and financial oversight across acute, mental health and community services (population ~1.5m).

  • Head of Logistics at London Ambulance Service NHS Trust
    2005 - 2009 · 4 yrs

    * Directed end-to-end logistics, fleet and supply chain operations for one of the world’s largest emergency services * Senior operational lead during the 7/7 London bombings, ensuring service continuity and multi-agency coordination * Redesigned logistics structures to improve 24/7 resilience and operational readiness