Private hospital group Netcare has appointed long-serving executive Melanie da Costa as its next CEO with effect from January 1, it announced on Tuesday. It marks the end of a long search for a successor to Richard Friedland, who originally planned to step down in September 2024, but stayed on after his planned replacement. Da Costa, who is Netcare’s executive director for strategy and health policy, will assume the role of CEO-designate on June 1 and work alongside Friedland through a six-month transition. Friedland will retire from the board on December 31 but, at its request, will play the role of strategic adviser for the next six months. Da Costa is a chartered financial analyst and joined Netcare in 2006 to establish its health policy unit. She led the group’s acquisition of mental healthcare provider Akeso and served as its MD. “(She) is a respected industry leader with the capacity to deliver operational excellence, disciplined capital allocation and continued execution of Netcare’s strategy in service of our patients, partners, employees, medical aid schemes and suppliers,” said Netcare board chair Alex Maditsi. Friedland will be retiring after more than three decades at Netcare, which he helped found in 1996. Netcare is in a closed period and is expected to announce its interim results for the six months to March 31 on May 25.