Turner & Townsend, the global professional services consultancy, has appointed Richard Branch as their new healthcare sector lead for the region. 

Richard is an accomplished director with 15 years of professional experience and a proven track record of delivering complex, highly engineered, high-risk healthcare construction projects and programmes in the Middle East and United Kingdom. 

The Middle East is experiencing a significant increase in the demand for healthcare services, creating a pressing need for the region’s healthcare sector to grow and develop. This presents significant opportunities for industry stakeholders to contribute to the region’s healthcare transformation and meet the population’s evolving healthcare needs. 

In his new role as Turner & Townsend’s healthcare sector lead for the Middle East, Richard will draw on his experience of building new teams and services from the ground up. 

He will implement new digital technologies to improve service delivery while also leading major project and programme delivery teams to help global clients bring their vision, strategy and operating model to life. 

According to BNC Construction Intelligence’s latest healthcare report, the active healthcare projects in the region are valued at an estimated USD 39.5 billion. This represents 5.9% of the overall value of urban construction projects in the Middle East and North Africa region, with the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia occupying a 59.2 percent share of the healthcare market. 

Commenting on his appointment, Richard said: 

“I look forward to leading our healthcare sector across the Middle East and bringing out the best of Turner & Townsend’s global healthcare expertise to meet the growing needs of the region.” 

Alan Talabani, Regional Managing Director, expressed confidence in Richard’s appointment: 

“Richard joins our team as the Middle East’s healthcare sector is expanding, in tandem with the region’s population. With increased government expenditure and private sector participation, this is strengthening healthcare infrastructure and accommodating the sector’s growing demand.” 

“Richard has worked on several world-class healthcare facilities in the United Kingdom and thus offers a wealth of knowledge regarding healthcare development best practices that we will look to implement across our work in the Middle East.’’