Societal problems come about through a combination of actions and oversights by all types of players — government, public agencies, businesses, non-profits and affected citizens. And they can only be solved through coordinated efforts amongst these same players. Nicholas Brooke is founder and Executive Director of The Synergist, an incubator that brings key players together in people-public-private partnerships with the express aim of solving significant societal problems through collective action. Under Nicholas’ leadership, The Synergist acts as a backbone, providing vision, strategy, stakeholder alignment and execution on multiple international, multi-stakeholder programmes. As Patient Focused Medicine Development (PFMD.org) Executive Director, Nicholas develops collaborative leadership to build collective patient engagement across the lifecycle of medicine. Nicholas was previously CEO of an award-winning digital agency, managing a team of 45 people providing cutting-edge digital strategy to global corporations across multiple sectors. His deep understanding of how digital can facilitate and accelerate collective action drove him to see the potential for an independent organisation that can enable partnerships and drive them to jointly solve societal challenges. Working with key players from across the public-private spectrum, The Synergist currently manages five shared value programmes: The Pregnancy and Medicine Initiative, Break Dengue, The Alliance for Maternal Health Equality, Patient Focused Medicine Development and Safe Motherhood Week.