Simon Stevens tops the 2016 list of the most influential people in health.

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RankNameJob title2015 HSJ1002015 change
1 Simon Stevens Chief executive, NHS England 1 ◀▶
2 Jeremy Hunt Secretary of state for health 2 ◀▶
3 Sir Jeremy Heywood Cabinet secretary 4 ▲ 1
4 Jim Mackey Chief executive, NHS Improvement 7 ▲ 3
5 Nick Timothy Co–chief of staff to the prime minister, Number 10 New entry – 
6 Chris Wormald Permanent secretary, DH New entry – 
7 David Williams Director general of finance and group operations, DH 6 ▼ 1
8 Sir Mike Richards Chief inspector of hospitals, CQC 3 ▼ 5
9 Paul Baumann Chief financial officer, NHS England 10 ▲ 1
10 David Behan Chief executive, CQC 5 ▼ 5
11 Dame Sally Davies Chief medical officer for England 14 ▲ 3
12 David Gauke Chief secretary to the Treasury New entry – 
13 Dr Sarah Wollaston Chair, House of Commons health select committee 20 ▲ 7
14 Ed Smith Chair, NHS Improvement 11 ▼ 3
15 Lord David Prior Parliamentary under–secretary of state for NHS productivity 12 ▼ 3
16 Ian Dodge National director for commissioning strategy, NHS England 35 ▲ 19
17 Claire Murdoch Chief executive, Central and North West London Foundation Trust, and national director for mental health, NHS England 76 ▲ 59
18 Sir David Dalton Chief executive, Salford Royal Foundation Trust and Pennine Acute Hospitals Trust 17 ▼ 1
19 Stephen Dorrell Chair, NHS Confederation 24 ▲ 5
20 Julian Kelly Director general, public spending and finance, Treasury 16 ▼ 4
21 Bob Alexander Executive director of resources/deputy chief executive, NHS Improvement New entry – 
22 Sir Bruce Keogh National medical director, NHS England 8 ▼ 14
23 Matthew Swindells National director, operations and Information, NHS England New entry – 
24 Ruth May Director of nursing, NHS Improvement New entry – 
25 Andrea Sutcliffe Chief inspector of adult social care, CQC 23 ▼ 2
26 Professor Ian Cumming Chief executive, Health Education England 29 ▲ 3
27 Sir Malcolm Grant Chair, NHS England 48 ▲ 21
28 Dr Mark Porter Chair of council, British Medical Association 19 ▼ 9
29 Christina McAnea Head of health, Unison 25 ▼ 4
30 Dr Mike Durkin National director of patient safety, NHS England 34 ▲ 4
31 Lord Patrick Carter Non–executive director, NHS Improvement 9 ▼ 22
32 Dr Amanda Doyle Co–chair, NHS Clinical Commissioners, and chief clinical officer, Blackpool CCG 79 ▲ 47
33 Dame Julie Moore Chief executive, University Hospitals Birmingham Foundation Trust and Heart of England Foundation Trust 31 ▼ 2
34 Chris Hopson Chief executive, NHS Providers 60 ▲ 26
35 Professor Jane Dacre President, Royal College of Physicians 46 ▲ 11
36 Nigel Edwards Chief executive, Nuffield Trust 42 ▲ 6
37 Sir Andrew Cash Chief executive, Sheffield Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust 45 ▲ 8
38 Janet Davies Chief executive and general secretary, Royal College of Nursing 33 ▼ 5
39 Samantha Jones Director for new models of care, NHS England 32 ▼ 7
40 Professor Keith McNeil Chief clinical information officer, NHS England New entry – 
41 Jon Rouse Chief officer, Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership 72 ▲ 31
42 Dr Chaand Nagpaul Chair, GPs committee, BMA 30 ▼ 12
43 Dr Kathy McLean Executive medical director, NHS Improvement New entry – 
44 Dr Nick Harding Chair, Sandwell and West Birmingham CCG, also partner, Modality GP Partnership 47 ▲ 3
45 Pauline Philip National urgent and emergency care lead, NHS England, and chief executive, Luton and Dunstable University Hospital Foundation Trust New entry – 
46 Professor Steve Field Chief inspector of general practice, CQC 13 ▼ 33
47 Sir Michael Deegan Chief executive, Central Manchester University Hospitals Foundation Trust 54 ▲ 7
48 Duncan Selbie Chief executive, Public Health England 28 ▼ 20
49 Danny Mortimer Chief executive, NHS Employers 55 ▲ 6
50 Dr Helen Stokes–Lampard Chair, Royal College of GPs New entry – 
51 Sir Andrew Dillon Chief executive, NICE 26 ▼ 25
52 Dr Jonathan Fielden Director of specialised commissioning, NHS England 49 ▼ 3
53 David Sloman Chief executive, Royal Free London Foundation Trust 53 ◀▶
54 Professor Tim Briggs National director for clinical quality and efficiency, DH New entry – 
55 Stephen Hay Executive director of regulation and deputy chief executive, NHS Improvement 77 ▲ 22
56 Jeremy Marlow Director of operational productivity, NHS Improvement 59 ▲ 3
57 Ben Dyson Executive director of strategy, NHS Improvement 69 ▲ 12
58 Andrew Baigent Director of group financial management, DH 40 ▼ 18
59 Cally Palmer National cancer director, NHS England, and chief executive, the Royal Marsden Foundation Trust 56 ▼ 3
60 David Davis Secretary of state for exiting the European Union New entry – 
61 Anne Rainsberry London regional director, NHS England 61 ◀▶
62 Keith Conradi Chief inspector, Healthcare Safety Investigation Branch New entry – 
63 Dr Clifford Mann A&E clinical lead, NHS England New entry – 
64 Sir Andrew Morris Chief executive, Frimley Health Foundation Trust New entry – 
65 Sarah-Jane Marsh Chief executive, Birmingham Children’s Hospital Foundation Trust and Birmingham Women’s Hospital Foundation Trust, and chair, NHS England maternity transformation programme board New entry – 
66 Professor Chris Ham Chief executive, King’s Fund 27 ▼ 39
67 Lord Ara Darzi Chair, Imperial College Health Partners 38 ▼ 29
68 Professor David Haslam Chair, NICE 15 ▼ 53
69 Sir Sam Everington Chair, Tower Hamlets CCG 43 ▼ 26
70 Dr Arvind Madan Director of primary care, NHS England 41 ▼ 29
71 Gavin Larner Director of workforce, DH New entry – 
72 Mark Rogers Chief executive, Birmingham City Council, and Birmingham and Solihull STP lead New entry – 
73 Hugh Pym Health editor, BBC 86 ▲ 13
74 Ros Roughton National director for commissioning development, NHS England New entry – 
75 Sir Harpal Kumar Chief executive, Cancer Research UK New entry – 
76 Paul Farmer Chief executive, MIND 51 ▼ 25
77 Philip Dunne Minister of state for health New entry – 
78 Dame Sue Bailey Chair, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges New entry – 
79 Tamara Finkelstein Director general for community care, DH New entry – 
80 Joe Rafferty Chief executive, Mersey Care Foundation Trust 94 ▲ 14
81 Jane Cummings Chief nursing officer for England 68 ▼ 13
82 Clare Marx President, Royal College of Surgeons 65 ▼ 17
83 Dame Fiona Caldicott Chair, Oxford University Hospitals Foundation Trust, and national data guardian 75 ▼ 8
84 Noel Gordon Chair, NHS Digital New entry –
85 Richard Barker Regional director, North of England, NHS England 84 ▼ 1
86 Dr Jennifer Dixon Chief executive, Health Foundation 44 ▼ 42
87 Professor Matthew Cripps National director of NHS RightCare, NHS England New entry –
88 Meg Hillier Chair, House of Commons public accounts committee New entry –
89 Sue Hill Chief scientific officer for England, NHS England 87 ▼ 2
90 Martin Bromiley Chair, Clinical Human Factors Group New entry – 
91 Jeremy Taylor Chief executive, National Voices 66 ▼ 25
92 Anita Charlesworth Director of research and economics, Health Foundation New entry – 
93 Dr Fiona Godlee Editor in chief, BMJ 95 ▲ 2
94 Sir Robert Francis QC Non–executive director, CQC 70 ▼ 24
95 Ed Jones Special adviser to the secretary of state for health, DH 98 ▲ 3
96 Andy Burnham Labour candidate for Greater Manchester mayor New entry – 
97 Sir Simon Wessely President, Royal College of Psychiatrists 88 ▼ 9
98 John Godfrey Director of policy, Number 10 New entry – 
99 Jeremy Hughes Chief executive, Alzheimer’s Society 81 ▼ 18
100 Sara Ryan Learning disability campaigner, Justice for LB New entry – 

Topics

Huge shifts in power and influence emerge from the 2016 HSJ100