A former chief executive of Reckitt Benckiser has joined the board of NHS England.
62-year-old Rakesh Kapoor, who had stepped down as the CEO of the UK multinational consumer goods company in September 2019 after a troubled couple of years due to a cyber-attack, criticism over his pay and factory disruption is now expected to help shape the “strategic agenda” of the NHS. He was one of the top paid executives in the UK.
He wrote, “For over seven decades, the National Health Service has provided high quality, affordable care to the British people. It employs around 1.3 million people and spends around £130 billion each year, making it one of the largest organisations in the world and one that plays a huge role in our lives.
“There are unprecedented challenges to our healthcare system-dealing with the backlog of healthcare needs from the pandemic, while creating a system that addresses the ongoing issues of health and social care equitably. I am hugely honoured to play a small role in helping shape the strategic agenda to tackle these challenges and contribute to a sector that I am passionate about.”
He joined Reckitt & Colman in 1987, before the merger with Benckiser, serving in various roles. In January 2019, the company announced that Kapoor is set to retire by the year end.
Kapoor was the boss of the firm behind brands from Dettol to Durex. He had worked for the firm for 32 years, including eight years in the top job and was one of the UK’s highest-paid chief executives.
