Speaker Faculty

Professor Bola Owolabi CBE has recently been appointed as CQC Chief Inspector of Primary and Community Services. Bola joined from NHS England, where she worked as National Director of the Healthcare Inequalities Improvement Programme. She spearheaded the Core20PLUS5 approach to reducing health inequalities. Bola also works as a General Practitioner. She has galvanised whole system action in reducing healthcare inequalities through integrated care models, service transformation, and using data insights for quality improvement. Internationally, Bola has collaborated on health equity initiatives with the Yale School of Public Health, The Commonwealth Fund and World Economic Forum as a member of its Health for All Network. Bola was appointed by the UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care as Co-Chair of a Ten-Year Health Plan workstream. The Plan creates a new model of care, fit for the future and is central to how the UK Government will deliver its health mission. She serves as an Executive Director on the Board of the CQC and a Non-Exec Director on the Boards of NHS and National Housing organisations. She was previously National Speciality Advisor for Older People and Integrated Person-Centred Care at NHS England, where she led the Anticipatory Care workstream of the National Ageing Well Programme. She collaborated with teams across NHS England and the Department of Health and Social Care as a member of the Covid 19 Ministerial pandemic response Taskforce. Bola is an alumna of Ashridge Executive Education/Hult International Business School and holds a Masters degree with distinction in Leadership (Quality Improvement). She also received an NHS Leadership Academy Award in Executive Healthcare Leadership for Clinicians. Bola is an Honorary Professor at the Institute of Applied Health Research, College of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Birmingham. She is Vice President of the Royal Society of Public Health (RSPH). Bola was recognised in the King’s Birthday Honours 2025 as Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) for services to reducing health inequalities