ISQua Appoints Pedro Delgado as Chief Executive Officer

The International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) is pleased to announce the appointment of Pedro Delgado as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective 1 September 2026.

Pedro Delgado brings a wealth of experience, including most recently over 16 years with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, where, as a Vice President, he led its portfolio of work across Europe and its global equity initiatives outside the United States. Based in the United Kingdom, he has been instrumental in driving IHI’s international expansion and has, over the years, led major programmes across Latin America, Europe, and Australasia.

Throughout his career, Pedro has partnered with leading organisations worldwide to design and deliver large-scale improvement efforts. His partnership work has included advancing childhood cancer care across more than 20 countries; addressing health equity gaps across England; reducing caesarean sections and healthcare-associated infections across Brazil and Latin America; improving early years education in Chile; strengthening patient safety in Portugal; and advancing mental health services in London. He has also supported healthcare organisations globally in embedding quality improvement into everyday practice, from the boardroom to the frontline, and in strengthening their quality management systems.

Pedro has led the development of major international networks and initiatives, including co-founding the IHI Latin America Forum and the IHI Health Improvement Alliance Europe. He is an Instructor at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, a Senior Atlantic Fellow of Health Equity, and serves on several international advisory and governance groups. He has coached senior leaders worldwide and is widely recognised for his expertise in large-scale system transformation, patient safety, and quality improvement.

Ezequiel Garcia Elorrio, President of ISQua, will serve as Interim CEO from 1 May 2026 until Pedro assumes the role in September. He will work closely with the Board and leadership team to ensure continuity and stability during the transition period.

ISQua also extends its sincere thanks to Dr Carsten Engel, whose tenure as CEO concludes on 30 April 2026. Under his leadership, ISQua has strengthened its global presence, expanded its programmes and partnerships, and continued to advance its mission to improve the quality and safety of healthcare worldwide.

Commenting on the appointment, Ezequiel Garcia Elorrio said:

“Pedro brings an exceptional track record of global leadership in healthcare quality improvement, along with a deep commitment to equity and system transformation. We are delighted to welcome him to ISQua and look forward to the impact of his leadership in the years ahead.”

Pedro Delgado said:

“It is a privilege to join ISQua, an organisation with a unique global voice and a powerful mission. I look forward to working with the Board, staff, and members worldwide to advance quality, safety, and equity in health and care systems, in service of impact.”

About ISQua

The International Society for Quality in Health Care (ISQua) is a member-based, not-for-profit community that delivers a variety of initiatives and programmes. ISQua was established in 1985 with a vision to promote quality and safety in healthcare through international co-operation and collaboration.  We aim to achieve our goal through education, knowledge sharing, external evaluation, supporting health systems worldwide and connecting like-minded people through our health care networks. Our extensive network of healthcare professionals spans over 70 countries and 6 continents. ISQua’s members are continually working to improve quality in health care worldwide. We foster a global community of passionate healthcare professionals united by a single goal: safer healthcare.

Recent Blog Articles

Building a Just Culture in Healthcare: Lessons from Across Africa on Patient Safety, Trust and Accountability

Retaining a resilient global healthcare workforce: Insights from four countries

NACOP Webinar Highlights Evidence-Informed Approaches to Process Mapping

Reflecting and looking ahead with an ISQua Conference Scholar  

A Farewell Message from Carsten: Five Years at ISQua 

Stay in Touch

We bring you the latest research, expert opinions, and industry updates in healthcare safety and quality – so you’re always in the know.

Follow us on social media

Nourhan Kawtharani

Nourhan, a quality and safety coordinator with eight years of experience in ambulatory healthcare in Lebanon, aims to deepen her understanding of the systemic and holistic approach to healthcare through this fellowship.

She aims to identify gaps and develop tailored interventions that address specific contexts rather than applying general solutions. Engaging with diverse professionals and perspectives during this educational journey will expand the application of these concepts across different cultural settings.

Nourhan emphasizes the importance of promoting a culture of continuous learning and improvement within healthcare institutions, considering it a vital leadership responsibility to integrate quality and safety initiatives into the organizational culture.

Nourhan's commitment to patient safety and quality management includes sourcing practical resources and transforming insights into actionable knowledge to drive continued progress in healthcare practices and outcomes.

This will close in 0 seconds

Elom Otchi

Elom is passionate about improving quality of care and patient safety outcomes.

In view of this, he has had the opportunity to work in various capacities with various organisations including AfIHQSA, WHO, UNICEF and others undertaking research, supporting the development of national quality policies and strategies, facilitating the establishment of quality governance systems across all the levels of the health sector and building capacity of national and sub-national quality leads/teams to institutionalize the practice of quality and patient safety across the continent.

He has also worked extensively across all levels of care in the health sector of Ghana, including leading the Quality & Patient Safety program in its largest teaching hospital.

I would like to use this Fellowship as a learning platform and an opportunity to acquire the requisite knowledge, skills and competencies to complement ongoing efforts by like-minded individuals and organizations to continuously advance improve the quality and patient safety in Ghana and the continent.

This will close in 0 seconds

Stephen Taiye Balogun

Stephen is a Senior Programme Officer at the Institute of Human Virology in Nigeria as well as Country Representative for Health Information for All (HIFA).

Stephen plans to use this opportunity to maximise his impact by championing the cause of patient safety and quality in Nigeria and across Africa.

Stephen says "Quality and safety is a major wheel through which universal healthcare coverage can be achieved. The goal is to be a bridge in the gap between the International Quality Improvement and Patient Safety community and my country to ensure rapid spread, adoption, implementation and practice."

We are looking forward to working with both Stephen and our 2020 winner Rhoda Kalondu over the next year.

This will close in 0 seconds

Dr Rhoda Kalondu

Rhoda is the Head of the Patient Safety Unit at Kenyatta Hospital in Nairobi and wants to use this Fellowship to learn how to establish a culture of safety and develop systems for assessment and analysis at her institution, and more widely. As well as this, Rhoda intends to develop and execute an intervention to improve patient safety in Kenyatta National Hospital.

It is one thing to institute measures and processes for improvement, but quite another to change the culture of an environment. Rhoda's ambition to lead others in this change inspired the panel.

This will close in 0 seconds

Dr Subhrojyoti Bhowmick

I am an MBBS graduate from Calcutta University with a Gold Medal in Gynecology & Obstetrics.

I have completed M.D in Pharmacology from IPGME& R, Kolkata and have over 12 years of experience in the field of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medication management in Hospitals.

I have completed certification in Clinical Research Administration & Project Management from Stanford University, USA and in Patient Safety from Johns Hopkins University, USA.

I am an Assessor for National Accreditation Board for Hospitals & Health care providers (NABH), India assessing hospitals for medication safety and clinical quality standards and NABH Assessor for Ethics Committee Accreditation program in India as well.

I serve as the Chairperson, Institutional Ethics Committee of Health Point Hospital, Kolkata and am associated with 2 other Hospital ethics committees as a member.

I finished my Fellowship in Healthcare Quality from the International Society of Quality in Healthcare (ISQua) from Ireland in 2017.

I have published several research articles and have also authored a chapter on “Regulations governing Clinical Trial” in the book “Fundamentals of Clinical Trial & Research”.

I am a peer reviewer for prestigious international journals like the British Journal of Clinical Pharmacology, CNS Drugs and Drug Safety case reports.

I am the recipient of the UK Seth Oration Award for Best Clinical Pharmacology paper by the Indian Pharmacological Society in 2009 and the “Most promising Healthcare professional in Patient Safety in India” award by the Asian African Chamber of Commerce and Industry in October 2018.

Recently in April 2019, I received the Young Quality Achiever award by Consortium of Accredited Healthcare Organizations (CAHO), India for 2019 for my work in the field of medication safety and clinical research.

I have a keen interest in teaching and am visiting adjunct faculty of Pharmacology at KMC, Mangalore, India and for Healthcare technology at MAKAUT, Kolkata, India.

I was associated with Stanford University School of Medicine, in the USA as a Senior Clinical Research Associate from 2015 to 2017 and have certification in Biostatistics, Evidence-based Medicine and Medical Writing from Stanford University.

Currently, I am working as the Clinical Director of Academics, Medical Quality and Clinical Research at Peerless Hospital and B K Roy Research Centre, Kolkata.

I am very happy and thrilled to receive the prestigious ISQua Lucian Leape Patient safety Fellowship Award for 2019 and I look forward to honing my skills further in the field of healthcare quality and patient safety through my experiences during this fellowship.

I sincerely believe that successful completion of this fellowship will help me evolve as a more confident Patient safety leader in India who in turn can provide significant inputs on policy changes through NABH for the Indian healthcare system.

This will close in 0 seconds