Mike Farrar was appointed as Chief Executive of NHS North West, the new Strategic Health Authority for the north west of England in May 2006. Previous to this, he had been Chief Executive of West Yorkshire SHA and of South Yorkshire SHA before that. He currently chairs the new Strategic Health Authority Chief Executives' Group, was the National Programme Director of NHS Live and now heads the National Efficiency Leadership Group. He was appointed to the National Immigration Forum in March 2007. He is also a board member of Sport England, which is an organisation committed to creating opportunities for people to start, stay in and succeed in sport.