“The direction is set and the foundations for sustainable growth are firmly in place,” says James Henderson, CEO, Healix International in conversation with ISJ.
What first attracted me to Healix was the recognition of our shareholders that in a post-COVID market dominated by a few acquisitive corporates, there was both space and strong client demand for an independent, high-quality alternative.
Their belief was that, with the right leadership and strategy, Healix could scale into a much larger global player in healthcare, medical and security assistance – and I found that vision compelling.
Alongside that, my own background in leading UK and international businesses through transformation meant that it wasn’t difficult for me to see the scale of the opportunity.
Just as importantly, Healix’s client and people-first ethos resonated deeply with my own values, which made the decision to join as CEO a natural one.
My background in regulated financial services, particularly insurance, has shaped how I think about strategy.
After 25 years in the sector, I’ve seen that assistance is both the biggest driver of claims costs and the true moment of truth for clients when policies are tested.
Balancing those two realities requires real skill, and it’s given me a clear perspective on where to focus and how to deliver value.
On a personal level, this is my third CEO role and in all honestly, experience teaches you a lot – not least the importance of learning from past mistakes! Strategy often looks simple on paper, but it’s in the execution where things get harder – and I draw on those lessons every day.
Alongside my Exec Team, we took the chance to step back and review our purpose, priorities and operating model. The result for Healix International is a clear strategy built around delivering more value to clients, improving resilience and creating a more agile business.
We’ve simplified systems, invested in the right tools and strengthened leadership across the organisation. We’ve also continued to build the team, adding capability where it matters most and generating strong new opportunities for the year ahead.
Looking forward, our priorities are clear: Deliver better service and efficiency at scale through our three-hub regional operating model; simplify and standardise our services to be more relevant to end users; grow our presence in key markets and empower our people to drive success.
Longer term, our ambition is to be the most agile, human-centred provider of global healthcare and risk management – enabling businesses with flexible solutions and exceptional care.
The direction is set and the foundations for sustainable growth are firmly in place.
Our strategic review reconfirmed the importance of our medical and security capabilities but did challenge us on how we could deploy these capabilities in adjacent markets with new propositions.
Travel risk management remains the foundation of our business – it’s trusted, essential and consistent and clients continue to rely on it every day. But over the past year we’ve deliberately broadened our offer to reflect how client needs are changing.
We introduced Humanitarian Assistance and on-demand services, both of which build on our established expertise in travel, medical and security. Together, they demonstrate how we can adapt our capabilities to deliver support in new and meaningful ways.
Our Humanitarian Assistance work builds on our significant government healthcare contracts and focuses on the safe relocation of refugees in some of the most challenging environments.
This includes providing both medical and non-medical escorts for vulnerable applicants, arranging secure transport to medical exams, visa interviews and departure points and ensuring rapid response when issues arise.
It’s a natural extension of what we already do well but applied in a different context where demand is rising. Importantly, it allows us to make a positive humanitarian impact while at the same time diversifying our services and proving the breadth of support we can offer beyond traditional travel risk management.
Our Healix on Demand services add another dimension.
They give clients immediate access to our expertise whenever and wherever it’s needed – whether that’s a health concern for a VIP, a security incident at an AGM or deploying 24/7 medical and security teams for a global sales conference.
The model is deliberately flexible because the risks our clients face don’t always fit neatly into planned support structures. By offering real-time response, we meet clients where they are, providing reassurance and practical solutions in the moment.
This approach is already resonating with clients and creating new opportunities for growth.
Taken together, these new services mark an important step in our evolution. They show how we are strengthening our relevance, widening our impact and investing in areas of real demand – while keeping travel risk management as our core, trusted service.
We’ve been active in APAC for a number of years through our operations in New Zealand and Singapore, so Australia was a natural next step.
The demand we’re seeing across the region is growing faster than anywhere else and clients increasingly expect us to have a strong local presence.
Opening in Melbourne gives us that base. It’s a market with a resilient economy, a skilled workforce and strong regional links. From here, we can strengthen our support for New Zealand and expand across the wider APAC region.
The opportunity is threefold: Provide more consistent, round-the-clock delivery across time zones; tap into Australia’s deep expertise in areas like tech, professional services and security by recruiting local talent; build long-term capability in one of the most dynamic markets globally.
At the same time, we continue to invest in our North American and EMEA hubs.
Together, these three hubs form the backbone of our global operating model – ensuring clients get consistent, high-quality support wherever they are. APAC is the latest milestone in that journey and part of our plan to expand our footprint worldwide.
Our biggest strength is the way we combine global reach with local expertise. Clients know they can rely on us wherever they operate, but what makes the difference is how we deliver that support on the ground – with people who understand local risks, cultures and systems.
That mix allows us to be consistent and reliable at scale, while still being responsive and human in the moments that matter. Over the past year we’ve also strengthened this further by bringing in top-tier senior leaders – ten in the last year alone across Operations, Risk, Customer Success and Sales – to add depth and experience across our global operations.
Whether it’s travel risk management, medical support or newer services like humanitarian assistance and on-demand response, clients value that we’re not just a call centre or a set of processes – we’re a global team that can act quickly, locally and with real care.
It’s that ability to combine scale, leadership, expertise and empathy that I see as our greatest strength.
If I could leave one message, it would be that our mission is simple but powerful: To safeguard the health and wellbeing of people wherever they are. In practice, that means being ready to support individuals and organisations in any situation – whether it’s travel, medical, security or humanitarian.
What sets us apart is that we see people, not just problems. Our focus is on making sure every journey, every assignment, every challenge is met with the right care and expertise.
At its heart, our mission is about giving people the confidence to operate globally, knowing that their safety and wellbeing are in trusted hands.