AN EXPERIENCED boardroom leader with a background spanning medicine, finance, media and public governance, Sharmila Nebhrajani has chaired the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) since May 2020, guiding the organisation through a period of sustained pressure on the NHS and wider health system.
NICE provides evidence-based guidance on effective and cost-effective health and care in England and Wales. Its recommendations shape decisions about which medicines, treatments and interventions are available through the NHS, influencing how services are delivered and how resources are allocated across a wide range of conditions.
As chair, Nebhrajani leads the board responsible for setting the organisation’s strategic direction and governance framework.
Discussing her approach to board leadership, she recently observed: “I think as much about the choreography of the discussion as about the paper. And I encourage board members to understand not everyone has to talk about everything.”
She has also emphasised the importance of encouraging wider participation in decision-making, saying: “Encourage your brightest colleagues to comment on areas that aren’t their subject matter expertise.”
Nebhrajani trained as a doctor, reading medicine at St Anne’s College, University of Oxford, before later qualifying as a chartered accountant. Her early career was in strategy consulting, where she worked across both the public and private sectors before moving into senior leadership roles.
She spent 15 years at the BBC, holding several executive posts. Her final position at the broadcaster was chief operating officer of BBC Future Media & Technology, the division responsible for digital services and technology development. In this role, she was a key figure in the successful launch and scale-up of the BBC iPlayer, helping to transition the broadcaster into the digital age and establishing one of the UK’s most significant video-on-demand platforms.
After leaving the BBC, she became chief executive of Wilton Park, an executive agency of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office that convenes international policy dialogues on issues including health, security and global governance.
Her involvement in health regulation and research governance predates her appointment at NICE. She previously served as chair of the Human Tissue Authority, which regulates the use of organs and tissue in medicine, and as deputy chair of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, overseeing fertility treatment and embryo research. She has also served on the boards of the Medical Research Council and the Association of Medical Research Charities.
Nebhrajani joined the board of governors of the Health Foundation in 2018 and has been a World Fellow at Yale University since 2007, part of a programme that brings leaders from different sectors into academic exchange. She is a non-executive director of ITV plc, Severn Trent plc, Halma plc and Coutts Bank. She also sits on the Governing Council of Oxford University.
In recognition of her contributions to public service and medical research, she was made an OBE in 2014.
