Exceed Worldwide Appoints New Chief Executive Officer

Dr. Sisary Kheng, new CEO of Exceed Worldwide

Exceed Worldwide is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr Sisary Kheng as our new Chief Executive Officer.

Formerly Exceed Country Director for Cambodia, Sisary succeeds long-term CEO Carson Harte. She is a prominent figure in the global Prosthetics and Orthotics (P&O) community and brings a wealth of experience in leadership, P&O education, service delivery, inclusion, research and international development - across the NGO, public and private sectors - to the role.

Sisary is committed to the care and support of people with disabilities and to the creation of sustainable health systems that incorporate P&O, are equitable and accessible and able to meet the needs of all people with disabilities, regardless of income, background or location. Her PhD research at the UK University of Salford, reflected this theme by focusing on stakeholder perceptions of financing models for P&O sustainability in Cambodia.

Dr. Sisary Kheng with her PhD Certificate

Sisary’s leadership and learning is grounded in practical involvement in Cambodia’s development journey. This experience, along with her vision for the inclusion of P&O services in all health systems, as part of the drive for universal health coverage, will direct her work in her new, international role as CEO of Exceed Worldwide.

Sisary Kheng early in her career as a prosthetist/orthotist

We wish her well as we look forward to a new chapter in the Exceed story.

Congratulations to Dr Sisary

Everyone at Exceed congratulates our esteemed colleague Sisary Kheng on being awarded a Doctorate in Prosthetics and Orthotics.

Sisary received her degree at an annual graduation ceremony at the UK’s University of Salford on 17th July 2026, after completing her thesis through the University’s Centre for Doctoral Training for Prosthetics and Orthotics. Her theses is entitled, ‘Transitioning Beyond Aid Dependency: Exploring the Perceptions and Attitudes of Key Stakeholders on Financing Models of Prosthetic and Orthotic Service Sustainability in Cambodia’ and the research has already influenced Royal Government of Cambodia thinking and policy about the planning and delivery of physical rehabilitation services.

Dr Sisary Kheng

Commenting on the award Sisary said, “This PhD achievement is tribute of success for my team, my organisation, my board and the passion of Exceed’s as a whole towards health equity and sustainability of services for those who are in need of physical rehabilitation services in Cambodia. The findings and implications are transferrable to other countries where transitioning from aids dependency to national government ownership with higher commitment and integrated financial system for holistic care for people with mobility disability".

David Boone (Chair, Exceed Worldwide), Dr Sam Curtin, Dr Sisary Kheng, Prof. Malcolm Granat

Exceed was represented by Exceed CEO, Carson Harte and Chair of the Board of Trustees, Dr David Boone and Board member Dan Blocka. Speaking on behalf of Exceed, Carson congratulated Dr Kheng and said “We are delighted to celebrate the award of her PhD, so richly deserved and hard won. She’s now superbly equipped enabled and empowered as Exceed’s new CEO!”

Carson Harte (Outgoing CEO, Exceed Worldwide), Dr Siary Kheng, Prof. Malcolm Granat

The academic team who supervised Sisary’s PhD included Prof Malcolm Granat and Dr Sam Curtin of University of Salford.

Prof Grant offered his congratulations to Sisary by saying “It has been a privilege to supervise Sisary and to watch her develop into an independent researcher, educator and leader. I am immensely proud of what she has achieved and confident that her influence will extend well beyond this PhD, both within Cambodia and across the international prosthetics and orthotics community.”

Dr Sam Curtin added “It’s hard to put into words what Sisary’s achievement represents. Six years of relentless effort, balancing full‑time work, research, teaching, and service, all while lifting others along the way. Her PhD captures exactly who she is: a visionary committed to sustainable change. She is a force of nature - unstoppable, generous, and deeply driven by her mission to serve people with disabilities and to inspire those she teaches.”

Before the graduation ceremony, Sisary, Carson and David participated in a Centre for Doctoral Training Workshop, speaking upon key topics and developments in the Prosthetics and Orthotics education and services sector.

Seminar: Prosthetics and Orthotics Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Prosthetics and Orthotics Delivery in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Research • Implementation • Future Partnerships

Friday 17 July
Pier 8- Inside the Lowry, Salford Quays, Manchester M50 3AZ
09:15–12:30

If you are interested in prosthetic and orthotic services, education, global research, and showcases on impact implementation, particularly in less-resourced settings, come and join us either in person or virtually for this very special seminar on Friday July 17th 2026!

All times are BST (current UK time)

You can join via Teams by clicking here.

New Global P&O Position Paper from ERN

A new position paper from the Exceed Research Network provides a state-of-the-art overview of prosthetics and orthotics service provision, with particular focus on resource-constrained settings, drawing on interdisciplinary evidence and expert insight to describe strengths, gaps and priorities for change.

‘The Provision of Global Prosthetics and Orthotics Services: A Position Paper on Systems, Context, and Pathways for Shaping Collaborative Progress’, written by Professor Nachi Chockalingam with support from other ERN members, will be published in the Journal of Prosthetics and Orthotics (JPO) and is available here.

The paper reviews six domains: education and training, service provision, advances in technology and their global reach, international initiatives and organizations, the case for interdisciplinary collaboration and the influence of local context, culture, and national systems. Across these domains, it highlights how inequalities arise from the interaction of clinical capacity, financing, policy and trade.

Examples from a number of countries illustrate how digital tools, mixed methods research and locally led innovation can inform more responsive services, but also how externally driven models can undermine sustainability when they are not aligned with local systems. The role of collaborative research networks in generating shared evidence and guidance is emphasized and the paper concludes with recommendations to strengthen prosthetics and orthotics by investing in contextual education, sustainable service models, appropriate technology pathways, regulatory and trade reforms and support for interdisciplinary and user-engaged research.

It argues that coordinated, evidence-informed and culturally responsive action is needed if ambitions for equitable access to prosthetic and orthotic care are to be realized and identifies practical priorities for improving prosthetic and orthotic services, including workforce development, sustainable service delivery, context-appropriate technology adoption and stronger system coordination. These insights are directly relevant to clinicians, educators and service leaders working to improve equitable access and long-term outcomes in diverse practice settings.

Exceed Research Network Online Anniversary Forum

To mark the end of its tenth year, the Exceed Research Network (ERN) has compiled and published a Tenth Anniversary Online Forum. The Forum features presentations from ERN members and other leading researchers and is aimed at researchers, students and the general public. The short presentations feature important disability, especially physical rehabilitation, issues in lower resource settings and show how ethical, applied research is being used to assess and address these issues.

ERB would like to thank the presenters and research teams who carried out the featured research and who kindly shared their methods and findings on our Anniversary Forum. The Forum can be viewed on YouTube here:

ERN is an international research consortium involving universities, NGOs, businesses and public sector organisations from across the globe. It carries out applied, ethical research in lower resource settings, focusing on the disability and prosthetic and orthotic sectors. Find out more about ERN, including its members and publications at www.exceedresearch.net

Strategic Planning in Cambodia

A week of strategic thinking, discussion and planning about the future development of Exceed and the Prosthetic and Orthotic sector in Southeast Asia has taken place in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Dr David Boone, Chair Exceed Board of Trustees and Board members Dan Blocka and Stephen Blatchford joined members of Exceed's management team, from the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Cambodia and the UK, to review short- and long-term challenges and opportunities around international development and the sustainable development of Prosthetic and Orthotic education and services.

The programme included engagement with key partners including Cambodia's Ministry of Health; Ministry of Social Affairs, Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation; the International Committee of the Red Cross; Mine-Ex Stiftung of Switzerland and ACCESS 2, a programme supported by the Australian Government focused on improving access to quality and inclusive services for persons with disabilities and survivors of gender-based violence in Cambodia.

The international development world has changed. Many wealthy, western hemisphere countries have reduced support for lower income countries, making it much harder for development organisations - like Exceed - to get the funds needed to do their job. However, this strategic planning event proved its value by developing a well-defined path forward for Exceed, demonstrating that well-intentioned discussion, partnership, cooperation and innovation can overcome challenges, to ensure that people with disabilities continue to receive the high quality support services they need.