GDC appoints new chief executive

IAN Brack has been appointed as the new chief executive of the General Dental Council.

He will formally take up the post on May 16 having served as interim leader since January 11, 2016. He takes over from Evlynne Gilvarry who stepped down in January after five years at the helm.

GDC chair William Moyes said he was delighted to welcome Mr Brack.

He said: "Since he joined the GDC on an interim basis in January, Ian has brought a wealth of experience and skills to help the GDC become a high performing, efficient regulator that puts patient and public protection at the heart of everything that we do.”

Mr Brack said he had been “struck by the commitment, dedication and enthusiasm” of GDC staff.

"I am committed to helping the GDC rebuild trust with patients, the professions we regulate and our partners,” he said. “We will do this by achieving the ambitions set out in our three year road map, Patients, Professions, Partners and Performance.”

Mr Brack was previously interim chief executive at the Office for Legal Complaints and also led the Olympic Lottery Distributor, managing multi-million pound grant expenditure.

He takes up the post following a period of significant change at the GDC.

The Council paid tribute to the work done by Ms Gilvarry who had “overseen a significant modernisation of the GDC’s systems and processes, equipping it to manage a very substantial growth in workload.” The regulator’s decision to increase the 2015 annual retention fee (ARF) by 64 per cent led to a judicial review in which it was criticised for its handling of the consultation process leading up to the decision.

British Dental Association chair Mick Armstrong called on the GDC's new management team to "show they have learned the right lessons so we can all move forward."

He said: "Dentists want to see an efficient and effective regulator. We will require hard evidence that the GDC now clearly understands its role and its remit, as without these firm foundations we cannot expect progress"