Ben Lancken GAICD

Opal HealthCare is Australia's largest private Residential Aged Care Provider, operating 101+ Care Communities which are home to over 9,000+ residents being cared for by 13,000+ team members.

As Chief Improvement Officer, I provide strategic leadership to Opal HealthCare in the areas of information technology, customer experience, process improvement, business transformation, M&A integration and enterprise risk & compliance.

Reporting to the CEO, I lead a multi-disciplinary team of customer experience, project management, process improvement, data, risk and strategy specialists. Together, we help tackle complex problems and deliver Opal HealthCare's strategy to be best in class for customers, team members and the many communities Opal HealthCare serve.

• Leading Enterprise Risk & Assurance function in a highly regulated environment
• Extensive engagement with the Board, Audit & RIsk Committee & Clinical Governance Committee
• Chair of Strategic Projects Governance Committee responsible for the governance of a multi-million dollar portolio of large-scale transformational technology projects including ERP, CRM & HRIS
• Extensive engagement with external stakeholders including Government policy makers to influence and drive aged care sector reform
• Extensive engagement with regulators including the Aged Care Quality & Safety Commission
• Significant expereince in integration of newly acquired businesses including governance, functional integration, change management, systems & IT integration to realise synergies and deliver on acquisition business cases

The Aged Care Quality Sector Reference Group provides advice to the Commonwealth Department of Health and Aged Care on the development and implementation of aged care quality reform initiatives to support improving the quality of life and outcomes for older Australians accessing aged care services.

• Led a multi-million dollar customer-centric transformation program focused on people, process and technology
• Established a cross-functional team of Customer Experience, Project Management, Process Improvement, Technology, Communication and Change experts.
• Implemented and embeded enterprise technologies including CRM, VoC, BPM, EMM, EIP
• Implemented an enterprise project governance framework including a Strategic Projects Governance Committee
• Rapidly designed, implemented & iterated the organisation's COVID-19 pandemic response, management systems & processes
• Expert witness on the use of data & innovation at the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality & Safety, March 2020

• Drove performance of 11 operational hotels and a pipeline of 6 new hotel developments in Germany, Denmark & Hungary
• Opened new apartment hotels in Hamburg, Nuremberg, Frankfurt & Leipzig
• Implemented operational risk and complaince controls
• Led the refurbishment and turnaround of apartment hotel in Copenhagen, Denmark
• Implemented enterprise CRM and ERP platforms
• Implemented High Potential Talent Program
• Implemented global customer experience program
• Developed and implemented new hotel food & beverage concepts in Copenhagen, Hamburg,  Nuremberg, Frankfurt & Leipzig

• Head of Learning & Development, Organisational Development, and Talent
  Management for 2500+ Team Members across Australia, New Zealand,
  Germany & Denmark
• Designed and Implemented global High Potential Talent Program
• Designed and implemented Global Customer Experience Program
• Designed and implemented a national traineeship & apprenticeship program to attract and develop hospitality talent
• Curated & delivered 4 national leadership conferences in Australia and Europe
• Opened 15+ new hotels including the development and implementation of new accomodation, restaurant and bar concepts.
• Worked in a cross-functional team to develop new hotel brands including Vibe Hotels &  Hotel Kurrajong Canberra 
• Won ‘Learning & Development Group of the Year' at the Accommodation Association of Australia Awards, 2014

• General Manager of 275 room hotel located on the banks of the Yarra River in Melbourne's Southbank district
• Led a significant performance turn-around improving year-on-year Revenue Per Available Room by 9% and GOP by 5%
• Drove a segment-driven revenue management strategy to shift mix to optimise GOP Per Available Room 
• Developed  business case for significant hotel refurbishment project that was subsequently completed

• General Manager of a heritage listed, 79 room, boutique apartment hotel located in the heart of Adelaide's CBD
• Designed and implementated a local conference and events strategy that increased Conference & Events revenue by 23%
• Drove a significant capital improvement plan to improve presentation and celebrate the heritage of the property
• Winner - 2012 Hotel Manager of the Year, TFE Hotels
• WInner - 2012 Young Achiever Award, Tourism NSW
• Winner - 2012 Alumni Award for Fast Track Career, Blue Mountains Hotel School

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