Farewell Professor Chris White

After two-and-a-half years at the helm, Professor Chris White is stepping down as Executive Director of Maridulu Budyari Gumal, the Sydney Partnership for Education, Research and Enterprise (SPHERE), having strengthened its role as a dynamic, cross-disciplinary partnership that brings together clinicians, researchers, industry, and consumers to tackle complex health challenges.

Prof White helped shape SPHERE’s strategy around collaboration, amplification, transformation, and impact—pillars that define its mission to support sustainable health system change. He strengthened SPHERE’s ability to identify and scale solutions, ensuring that innovative projects, such as Healthy Ageing at Home, are embedded into practice in ways that make a measurable difference.

During his time at SPHERE, Prof White supported research translation by fostering collaboration across a broad network of experts and encouraging community input on unmet needs. He played a key role in coordinating SPHERE’s research efforts, bringing together researchers, consumer representatives, and industry partners to explore innovative solutions. The process strengthened connections across local health districts, academic institutions, and healthcare organisations, laying the foundation for ongoing collaboration and impactful research.

“SPHERE is at its best when it brings people together—clinicians, researchers, industry, and consumers—to tackle complex health challenges in new and meaningful ways. I’ve been privileged to work alongside so many passionate individuals dedicated to improving health outcomes,” says Prof White.

“I thank the support I have had from my team and the partners as we navigated change in a complex operating environment. My hope and expectation are that Maridulu Budyari Gumal (SPHERE) continues to come together for health and wellbeing, in the spirit of the First Nations that gifted us that name.”

We wish Prof White all the best in his future endeavours.

SPHERE is currently in the process of appointing an Interim Executive Director and will provide an update in due course. In the meantime, we continue to operate business as usual, ensuring continuity in our initiatives, partnerships, and ongoing projects.