Speaker | Motivator | Leader

Garrett Emmerson is the former Chief Executive Officer of the London Ambulance Service (LAS) who led the Service through the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as responding to multiple major incidents including the two London Bridge terrorist attacks and the Grenfell Tower fire tragedy.

Prior to LAS, Garrett was Chief Operating Officer at Transport for London, responsible for its surface transport operations for over eight years, including during the 2012 Olympics when he oversaw the management of the Games Lanes, Olympic Road Network, and road based sporting events.

Working closely with both Boris Johnson and Sadiq Khan’s mayoral administrations, he has been at the heart of managing public and political events in London for more than a decade.

Read Garrett’s full biography

Garrett Emmerson is an accomplished speaker with a multitude of inspirational leadership lessons, experiences and anecdotes from the heart of government and public service that will resonate with anyone working in a high pressure operational environment.

 Testimonials:

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Paying tribute to Garrett, Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said:

“Thank you for the fundamental part you have played in helping deal with the coronavirus pandemic.You have also led the organisation through responses to some of London's major incidents, such as the Grenfell Tower tragedy and the two London Bridge terror attacks.Your leadership and commitment have undoubtedly strengthened and developed the service so that you leave it in a much more robust place than when you began.”

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Sir David Sloman, NHS Regional Director for London said:

“Garrett’s Role in leading LAS through the COVID pandemic was fundamental to the city’s response to this national emergency.”

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TfL Managing Director of Surface Transport, Leon Daniels said Garrett had:

“…highly effectively managed the performance of the organisation to keep London’s road network moving; i…played a key part in the delivery of the fantastically successful London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.”

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Naming him in the top 50 health service CEO’s in March 2019, Health Service Journal (HSJ) said:

“London Ambulance Chief Executive Garrett Emmerson gets credit for turning the trust around...making him a rare example of a chief executive from outside the NHS making an immediate impact.”

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Peter Stonham, Managing Director of Landor Publishing said:

“Many thanks indeed for the excellent after dinner speech you gave at our recent Transport Summit - I much enjoyed it and, from conversations I’ve had subsequently, many others did likewise!”

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 News, Articles & Blogs:

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“In every crisis, there is also opportunity”
“In every crisis, there is also opportunity”

The COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic is arguably the greatest public healthcare challenge faced by the NHS since it came into being in 1948.

Due to its pivotal position as the UK’s primary international transport hub, the virus spread rapidly across London, several weeks in advance of the rest of the country. The London Ambulance Service, as London’s primary provider and coordinator of urgent and emergency care, was therefore at the forefront of the nation’s response.

In the early weeks of March 2020, calls for 999 ambulance services rapidly doubled, and trebled for 111 urgent care services. At the same time, in common with many other employers, we were losing up to 20% of our workforce to COVID-related sickness and self-isolation.

A message to Londoners from the chief executive of the London Ambulance Service
A message to Londoners from the chief executive of the London Ambulance Service

These are unprecedented times: we’re fighting an invisible disease infecting our society which, if left to spread freely, is highly contagious. We have to root it out, stop it spreading and ultimately eradicate it once and for all, to enable us to live, thrive and survive successfully into the future. And the name of insidious virus attacking the fabric of our society? Racism.

Like all of us, I have been shocked and profoundly affected by the events of the last week or so, since the tragic death of George Floyd in America. Across the country, and across the world, people from all walks of life and all ethnic backgrounds have been standing up and saying #blacklivesmatter.

London Calling: Interview with Garrett Emmerson, CEO London Ambulance Service
London Calling: Interview with Garrett Emmerson, CEO London Ambulance Service

As he takes on his new role as Chief Executive of the UK’s busiest ambulance service, Garrett Emmerson talks about his transition from the transport to the health sector, how his skills and experience have helped him in making this change, and ultimately why London is his calling.