Dr Christian Verdicchio is the Chief Executive Officer of Heart Support Australia overseeing all operational activities of the organization, whilst leading the advocacy strategy on behalf of the patient voice and driving the organizations healthcare policy initiatives both in Australia and internationally.

Prior to his work with Heart Support Australia, Dr Verdicchio was the Corporate Allied Health and Cardiac Rehabilitation Manager at Macquarie Health where he established and led Australia’s largest private cardiac rehabilitation program across 12 hospitals in Sydney and Melbourne and was an integral part of the corporate management team reporting directly to the CEO overseeing all business and operational facets of the hospital group.

Dr Verdicchio is a clinician-researcher with extensive experience in exercise in cardiovascular disease and sports cardiology. He completed his PhD in Medicine and was awarded Dean’s Commendation for Doctoral Thesis Excellence for his PhD titled ‘Exercise in Atrial Fibrillation’. He continues to hold academic appointments as a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Adelaide Medical School at the University of Adelaide and in the Faculty of Medicine and Health at the University of Sydney.

He remains immensely involved in cardiovascular disease leadership roles, where he is presently the European Society of Cardiology European Association of Preventive Cardiology Young Ambassador to Australia, and an Executive Member on the CSANZ Allied Health, Science and Technology Council. He is regularly invited to present at the world’s leading cardiology and healthcare policy summits nationally and internationally driving the cardiovascular disease healthcare agenda.

Dr Verdicchio has extensive board and governance experience. He was the President of Com.It.Es South Australia from 2017-2021 being the youngest in the world to be elected to such a position. He was one of the founding Board Directors of the new Adelaide Italian Festival in 2019, where he currently remains an active Board member.

A current referee on the SA National Premier League (formerly NSW National Premier League) with more than 300-senior fixtures, he was a match official on the Hyundai-A-League, Foxtel National Youth League and Australian Cup, and was recently awarded South Australian Referee of the Year for 2024.

Dr Verdicchio brings a wealth of knowledge and experience in cardiovascular disease, governance, corporate management, stakeholder relationships and strategic advocacy to lead Heart Support Australia ensuring it continues to play a key role in  providing support and advocacy for heart disease patients in Australia.