THE HEALTHCARE INTERVIEW
When Jacqui Rock left her role as Chief Commercial Officer at NHS England last year, she took with her decades of procurement and commercial experience across healthcare, defence and financial services.
She now serves as a Chief Advisor in Riyadh, helping shape the procurement strategy for Saudi Arabia’ s healthcare reforms. It places her in a key position within the development of Vision 2030, the Kingdom’ s economic diversification plan, aiming to modernise public services.
At the NHS, Jacqui oversaw an annual spend of £ 30bn( US $ 37.8bn), managed high-value contracts and led supply chain decision-making at a national level. Her earlier career included Chief Commercial Officer of the UK Test and Trace function, Commercial Director for the Defence Infrastructure Organisation at the Ministry of Defence and multiple senior roles across 20 years in investment banking.
“ When the pandemic hit,” Jacqui explains,“ I was asked to run the country’ s response, setting up Test and Trace. I had never been in healthcare before and it was fascinating. We then set up the UK Health Security Agency, where I acted as CCO, then took on the role at NHS England. I felt privileged to have held those positions.”
Moving between public and private sectors has given Jacqui a wide-ranging perspective on the role of procurement in global operations.
" Procurement has the power to shape outcomes,” she says.“ It ' s not just about price – it ' s about impact, value and resilience."
“Procurement leaders must claim their seat at the top table”
Jacqui Rock, Chief Advisor
14 December 2025