Nicola Haywood-Cleverly takes up the reins at the expert panel, as Ben Argo brings a fresh perspective to the group that advises on health tech growth
The appointments come as Highland expands its Elevate showcase initiative as the NHS accelerates the shift from analogue to digital
The Highland advisory board has welcomed a new chair and a new member. Nicola Haywood-Cleverly, an experienced non-executive director and board-level specialist in digital transformation, has taken the reins at the expert panel.
While Ben Argo, an accessibility consultant and lead governor at Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, has joined the group to provide a new perspective on its discussions and the guidance it provides to the health tech growth agency and its clients.
The appointments have been made as Highland expands the Elevate health tech showcase initiative to take health tech direct to trusts for a full day of engagement, as they prepare to accelerate the 10-Year Health Plan’s shift from analogue to digital.
Nicola Haywood-Cleverly said: “I am thrilled to be taking on the role of chair for such an amazing group of people. I joined the Highland advisory board six years ago, after co-founding Tech4CV19, a volunteer movement that wanted to make sure digital could play the best role possible in addressing the challenges presented by Covid-19 especially for smaller and local community organisations.
“The board has been a great place to continue the conversation about how we can make sure health tech contributes effectively to the development of health and care.
“I am really looking forward to helping to shape its agenda as the NHS moves into a new phase of reform. Plus supporting Highland to develop initiatives that truly serve health and care providers like Elevate, which is a refreshing approach engaging trusts and suppliers in how health tech can support services, staff and patients.”
Ben Argo said: “The biggest thing I bring to everything I do is my lived experience. Growing up, I relied on the NHS and mental health services a lot. But my background is technology. So, since Covid I have combined the two by focusing on digital accessibility.
“I have spent the past six years of my life working across the Bristol region to champion accessibility and to make sure that where services are delivered in the digital space, they are inclusive and work for everybody – staff and patients alike.
“I think the Highland advisory board is another perfect blend between providers and the digital sphere. It brings a select group of people together from the NHS and industry and I am looking forward to some really good discussions about what can be done if we put our minds to it.
“That’s particularly important when there is so much change on the agenda, with the 10-Year Health Plan and the left shift from analogue to digital. The shift is essential, and we must get it right.”
Highland is an established strategic growth partner for organisations working in the health tech sector and helps innovators succeed in a complex, changing market. Its Elevate health tech showcase series is a collaborative venture with NHS trusts and industry partners that takes curated services, products and innovations direct to hospital sites.
Each showcase provides a full day of engagement with staff all levels, from the c-suite to IT and operational teams and, critically, frontline professionals.
Ben Argo supported the last Elevate health tech showcase at Bristol NHS Trust, which launched its digital strategy. He said: “It was a great day and I had some amazing conversations.
“The biggest benefit for an NHS trust is that you can get frontline staff there. You could never do that with a national conference, because you would have to pull them away from their jobs, for a whole day, and cover their costs.
“With Elevate, people can pop in over lunchtime or at the end of their shift, try things out, and provide invaluable feedback to their organisation and the suppliers that want to work with it.”
The Highland advisory board is comprised of current and former NHS and ICB chief information officers, chief nursing officers, clinicians, radiologists and social and community care experts as well as individuals that hold senior positions at leading health tech organisations.
New chair Nicola Haywood-Cleverly started her career in engineering, and has worked in education, local government, and the police, as well as the NHS, where she was both a trust and system CDIO. She is a lifelong advocate for carers, and for empowering patients and giving them and their families a voice. Nicola believes Ben will be a hugely valuable addition to the advisory board.
She now owns a community interest company that provides digital transformation services, and holds non-executive director posts at NHS trusts, within the housing sector and in industry.
Ben Argo did a degree in web design and ran his own web design company, before pivoting to digital accessibility. As lead governor of Bristol NHS Foundation trust, he leads a council of 29 governors and provides independent scrutiny and assurance of its work.
Mark Venables, chief executive of Highland, said: “We would like to thank our former advisory board chair, Jeremy Nettle, for his work and input, which was based on years of experience at Oracle and Lockheed Martin, at techUK, and at his home trust in Salisbury.
“We would also like to thank Nicola Haywood-Cleverly for stepping up at a fascinating time for healthcare technology, and to welcome Ben Argo, who will provide a different perspective, based on a deep commitment to accessibility and making sure that digital services work for everybody.
“We look forward to hearing more of their views as they help us to understand the complex but exciting health tech sector and to develop the Elevate health tech showcases as the programme expands over the rest of 2026 and into 2027.”
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