Our most senior executive, Dr Tony Romero, Group CEO and our Group Clinical Director, Dr Jon Van Niekerk have both been nominated for the awards that celebrate the most effective, inspiring and influential leaders in health and social care.
Dr Romero is passionate about delivering great care to patients and service users, ensuring families are supported and staff feel valued. He has spent his entire career in healthcare, leading from the front with first-hand experience of being a doctor and psychiatrist in the NHS. He was appointed CEO of Cygnet in 2017 and in the eight years under his leadership, Cygnet has become one of the largest independent providers of mental health and social care services in the UK.
Tony exemplifies a unique and powerful blend of clinical expertise and strategic leadership, which directly informs Cygnet’s mission and his resolute commitment to the very highest standards of care.
Highlights from Dr Romero’s nomination include:
- £132million investment in the construction of seven new hospitals, providing 230 new beds, offering care for 1,500 people annually, and creating 1,000 new jobs.
- A 79% response rate to Cygnet’s annual staff survey with results showing a workforce motivated by high standards of care, who are proud to be part of a caring, respectful and inclusive organisation.
- Expansion of Social Care services providing more homes in community settings across the UK.
- Sector leading quality ratings by our UK-wide regulators with 81% of sesrvices rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’.
- Cygnet named a Top UK Employer by the Financial Times in 2025, placing it in the top 200 of the top 500 employers across all industries in the UK, based on employee feedback.
Dr Van Niekerk has delivered measurable, large-scale transformation as Group Clinical Director at Cygnet. In under five years, he has elevated clinical quality, championed digital safety, and helped to position Cygnet as a leader in workforce development and co-production. Simultaneously, he has assumed key national leadership roles within the Royal College of Psychiatrists (Chair of Faculty Chairs and Chair of the General Adult Faculty), significantly influencing UK mental health policy and practice.
Under his leadership, Cygnet has achieved among the highest national completion rates for the Royal College of Psychiatrists’ Prescribing Observatory for Mental Health (POMH-UK) audits. He has been instrumental in making Cygnet a destination of choice for clinicians and led a full refresh of clinical models across all service lines.
A firm believer in patient partnership, Jon Co-Chaired the National Co-production Steering Group, ensuring lived-experience voices shape governance and service design.
As a national leader, he has also:
- Been elected Chair of Faculty Chairs (2024–25) at the Royal College of Psychiatrists.
- Co-led the development of the widely adopted, structured biopsychosocial formulation template and e-learning, moving clinical practice from risk stratification to risk formulation.
- Represented the College on NHS England’s Staying Safe from Suicide program, co-authoring national guidance and raising awareness in the media.
- Contributed to key policy, including the Men’s Health Strategy and the NHS 10-Year Mental Health Plan.
We are proud of both their nominations and extend our congratulations to all the finalists in the HealthInvestor Power List 2025.