Sir David became Chair of the Board of Governors of the Health Foundation in August 2025.
David has had a long career spent working in local government and at senior levels in national government, along with a strong commitment to improving health and care services.
He began his career as a social worker and held several Director of Social Services posts. He was the first Chief Inspector of the Commission for Social Care Inspection in 2003, then later served as Director General for Social Care, Local Government and Care Partnerships at the Department of Health. Following this, David moved on to become Chief Executive of the Care Quality Commission from 2012 to 2018, Chair of Health Education England from 2018 to 2022, and a Non-Executive with NHS England. He was the interim chair of the Board of the Office for Students the regulator of higher education in England from 2024 to 2025 following his review of the organisation. He holds several advisory roles in social care, as well as co-leading the Sciana Health Systems Leadership Development programme.
As of June 2024, he is now also Chair of the Board of King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust.