John Macaskill-Smith

John Macaskill-Smith is CEO of Spark Health, where he leads New Zealand's digital health transformation at the intersection of sovereign cloud, 5G, and agentic AI. He brings deep experience across public and private health sectors, with senior roles spanning the Health Funding Authority, Ministry of Health, and a range of private organisations — and international exposure across Australia, the Middle East, and the UK.

He has spent time in primary care: as CEO of Pinnacle, Midlands Health and Ventures, he introduced New Zealand's original Health Care Home model, commissioned and codesigned Indici — the country's first cloud-native SaaS patient information system — and pioneered the integration of pharmacogenomics into clinical practice. He has worked and advised health and technology startups including Tend.

At Spark Health, John drives the adoption of advanced digital technologies to modernise public health infrastructure, reduce digital inequity, and unlock the full potential of health data across primary, community, and secondary care. He holds governance roles spanning health, education, animal health, and emerging technology ventures.