Rachael O'Flynn biography

Rachael O'Flynn, BCS Chief Executive Officer

An experienced leader in medical education and healthcare for over 25 years, Rachael is passionate about education and creating conditions for innovation and professionalism to thrive at the BCS. Since taking up the role of BCS CEO in 2017, Rachael has been improving governance and streamlining processes to make the organisation more effective, and supporting the officers and staff to provide an increasing range and quality of services to members.

Her management and leadership experience encompasses senior roles at several organisations responsible for education and training, and is underpinned by her MA in Human Resource Management and former membership of the education faculty for the Harvard Macy Institute Leading Innovations in Health Care and Education Programme.

Career highlights include 12 years at the Federation of the Royal Colleges of Physicians of the UK, where she initially managed the delivery of the MRCP(UK), the major medical exam for physicians, and then became the director of the joint training board, where she managed over 30 staff with responsibility for delivering the whole of the UK's physician training, examination and assessment programmes.

A change management specialist, at the Federation she led a successful internal change management programme, and with key medical leaders was instrumental in developing core medical training programmes for countries including Iceland and India, programmes which are now being adopted in other countries.

Outside of her CEO role she enjoys mentoring others, cooking, travel, music, gardening, yoga and long walks with her cockapoo, Bertie.