Health New Zealand Te Whatu Ora (HNZ) Southern Group’s director of operations Hamish Brown, a former emergency nurse who held leadership roles on the build for six years, has moved to Canterbury.
He has relinquished his role on the build’s governing board, known as the Project Steering Group (PSG), and has described his departure from the region as a "bittersweet moment".
Mr Keogh holds responsibilities for the South Island.
The PSG, which was formed in May 2023, is the third governing board set up to oversee the new Dunedin hospital build after the two previous boards were disbanded.
All three boards have faced leadership changes.
A 2024 review of the delayed hospital build, by health infrastructure expert Robert Rust, criticised the PSG for appointing Auckland construction expert Dr Tony Lanigan, who has now died, as interim chairman of the PSG while also holding the post of senior responsible officer for the build.
The dual role — delivery and governance of delivery — was "clearly not tenable", Mr Rust said.
The PSG is currently chaired by Rebecca Wark, who was previously in charge of health infrastructure for New South Wales, a role also held in the past by Mr Rust.
He said he was "excited to have joined the governance group to provide expertise gained through my clinical background and operational experience."
Mr Brown said he was "immensely proud of the way we do things in Otago and Southland".
Over the past few years, there had been "significant work to build a very strong team that provides fantastic care to our communities."
His personal highlights had included "agreeing on a way forward for the in-patient building".
He was also proud of the new out-patient building, expanded rural care and the Te Kāika Wellbeing Hub Caversham.
Craig Ashton, Southern’s general manager for medicine, women’s, and children’s services, had been made interim Southern group director of operations from this month following the departure of Mr Brown.
