{"id":556914,"date":"2026-08-03T01:39:09","date_gmt":"2026-08-03T01:39:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/556914\/"},"modified":"2026-08-03T01:39:09","modified_gmt":"2026-08-03T01:39:09","slug":"tend-healths-cecilia-and-james-robinson-progress-is-held-back-by-short-term-thinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/556914\/","title":{"rendered":"Tend Health\u2019s Cecilia and James Robinson: \u2018Progress is held back by short-term thinking\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

BusinessDesk CEO Index<\/a>, driven by Range Rover, has returned for its second year. Our newsroom and a panel of independent judges have hand-picked 24 New Zealand chief executives and business leaders making a real impact in their sectors and beyond. This profile features one of 2026\u2019s finalists.<\/p>\n

In 2020, My Food Bag co-founders Cecilia and James Robinson launched Tend Health to provide more patient-centric healthcare services in New Zealand, and a deal announced today has helped them leapfrog to a leading position in the market.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The couple and their investors have completed their purchase of the medical division of Green Cross Health<\/a> for $270 million, which will take Tend from No 3 to a higher spot in the market, the couple say.<\/p>\n

The Green Cross Health\u2019s medical division includes The Doctors\u2019 network of general practices and urgent care clinics, and this brand will remain.<\/p>\n

\u2018Our purpose\u2019<\/p>\n

The total business will have approximately 550,000 patients, 2,000 staff and 90 clinics.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe now become the largest primary healthcare provider in Aotearoa,\u201d Cecilia says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis investment supports our purpose of helping New Zealanders be the healthiest people in the world and our long-term ambition to build a 100-year, Kiwi-owned healthcare business.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ng\u0101i Tahu Holdings is increasing its stake in Tend to pay for the deal, and two new directors will join the Tend board from Ng\u0101i Tahu to represent its interests. N\u0101ti Growth has also become a new investor in Tend.<\/p>\n

The entrepreneurial couple have been vocal about the pressing need for progress in NZ healthcare.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrimary care needs to be treated as critical national infrastructure. New Zealand needs a long-term workforce plan, sustainable funding and policies that encourage innovation rather than protect outdated models,\u201d James says.<\/p>\n

It is a sector shaped by history, regulation, competing priorities and deeply held perspectives, say the couple.<\/p>\n

\u201cAt times, that has made progress slower and more difficult than we expected,\u201d James says. \u201cNew Zealand faces workforce shortages, rising demand and persistent inequities. Small improvements will not be enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Robinsons are finalists for a second consecutive year in the startup category of BusinessDesk\u2019s CEO Index driven by Range Rover. An independent panel of judges, experienced across business and government, as well as senior BusinessDesk journalists, have ranked all the finalists against five values: vision, impact, innovation, resilience and influence.\u00a0<\/p>\n

These criteria allowed the judges to evaluate the attributes that make a leader genuinely great and an example to others.<\/p>\n

Vision<\/p>\n

\u201cOur purpose at Tend is simple: to help New Zealanders be the healthiest people in the world. Our focus is to deliver the best healthcare experiences. We believe healthcare should be equitable, accessible and designed around people and their wh\u0101nau.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur values are living, breathing commitments that guide how we make decisions, who we choose to partner with, how we invest, how we design care and how we grow. They provide a practical test for the choices we make: does this help us improve health outcomes, deliver a better experience and build something that will endure for generations?<\/p>\n

\u201cOur long-term ambition is to build a 100-year, Kiwi-owned healthcare business for future generations, a vision we communicate constantly through team updates, leadership forums, strategy, performance measures and everyday decisions.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile our purpose remains consistent, our strategy evolves as the business, technology and healthcare system change.\u201d<\/p>\n

Impact<\/p>\n

\u201cImpact means leaving healthcare better than we found it. For Tend, that means faster access, better health outcomes, stronger equity, a better patient experience and a sustainable organisation that can keep investing for the future.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are highly ambitious about solving problems in primary care and across our health system.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe measure impact through access, clinical outcomes, patient experience, equity, digital adoption, team engagement and financial performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe share those measures openly with our teams and stakeholders. We also recognise people who solve meaningful problems, improve the customer experience and help move the organisation forward.\u201d<\/p>\n

Innovation<\/p>\n

\u201cWe founded Tend to redesign primary healthcare around the patient. The original vision was never just to add technology to a traditional medical centre. It was to create one integrated and complete health experience across digital and in-person care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not see digital and physical healthcare as separate. We are building one connected ecosystem where technology, clinicians and clinics work together around the patient.<\/p>\n

\u201cNew Zealand will not solve its healthcare challenges by simply asking clinicians to work harder. We need technology, automation and multidisciplinary teams to help people work at the top of their scope,\u201d Cecilia says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat vision has evolved as we have grown. We have moved from proving the model to scaling it across a larger physical clinic network.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur integrated online and in-person model has been the biggest success. Patients can choose how they access care depending on what they need and what\u2019s clinically appropriate. A significant proportion of consultations are delivered online and most needs are resolved in one visit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have also redesigned repeat prescribing, medical certificates, test results, booking and clinician workflows. These changes reduce administration and give patients a more convenient, faster experience.\u201d<\/p>\n

Resilience<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving into healthcare has been deeply humbling. We entered the sector with the best intentions and a belief that greater access to capital, technology and broader leadership capability could help strengthen primary care.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat we underestimated was how complex and highly scrutinised healthcare can be.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cThe lesson has been to stay grounded in who we are and make decisions that are right for our patients, our team and the wider system, even when those decisions are not the easiest or most immediately understood.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat includes being thoughtful about how we grow, who we partner with and the kind of long-term ownership we are building.\u201d<\/p>\n

Influence<\/p>\n

\u201cOur teams respond to clarity, authenticity, decisiveness and care. People want leaders who set a clear direction, make difficult decisions and understand the realities of the work.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are both ambitious, direct and action-oriented.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs Tend has grown, one of our biggest lessons has been knowing when to lean in and when to step back so others can lead.\u201d<\/p>\n

Book\/film\/documentary<\/p>\n

\u201cWe recommend The Anxious Generation by Jonathan Haidt, a timely contribution to the debate about smartphones, social media and childhood wellbeing.\u201d<\/p>\n

No screens please<\/p>\n

\u201cWe tend to find our best periods of genuine downtime over a short window in summer, when we can spend more uninterrupted time with our family. We enjoy being outdoors, exercising, cooking, travelling and sharing good food together.\u201d<\/p>\n

Election-year policies<\/p>\n

\u201cThe next Government should focus on outcomes, create certainty and make it easier for innovative New Zealand organisations to invest, grow and solve important national problems.<\/p>\n

\u201cToo often, progress is held back by short-term thinking, fragmented decision-making and unnecessary complexity.\u201d<\/p>\n

More information and articles on BusinessDesk\u2019s CEO Index can be found\u00a0here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BusinessDesk CEO Index, driven by Range Rover, has returned for its second year. Our newsroom and a panel…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":556915,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[134,527,111,139,69],"class_list":["post-556914","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-health","tag-healthcare","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556914","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=556914"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/556914\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/556915"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=556914"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=556914"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=556914"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}