Atos, the IT service provider, has appointed James Thomas as director for its business consulting health team.

Thomas will head the firm’s healthcare consulting division in the UK and Ireland, with a focus on the firm’s increasing engagements with NHS trusts.

Previously, Thomas worked as director for University College London Hospitals, where he helped deliver two hospitals, The Macmillan Cancer hospital and the Learning Hospital.

Thomas said: “One of the challenges in healthcare is the relationship with the vendors. One of the key things I’ll be driving in my new role will be to make the supplier market more involved with the professionalism of healthcare which will bring with it more sustainable business.”

Atos is a France-based IT service provider for many business sectors such as financial services, health and manufacturing. It is the IT partner for Olympic & Paralympic Games and has 86,000 employees in 66 countries.