Leader in UK Public Affairs: Jon Antoniazzi, Associate Director for Policy & Public Affairs, Marie Curie

Mace | 29th April 2026 | In-House Public Affairs, Politics, Westminster Index
john antoniazi

After his father died of a NHS failure and his mother from a late cancer diagnosis, Jon Antoniazzi has been on a determined career path to change health policy

“I saw the other candidates and thought… ‘I could do a better job”, says Jon Antoniazzi, whose entry into public affairs began behind a student union bar — and with a decision to run for president of the student union. It was a decision which set the tone for a career in advocacy, policy and public affairs.

“I started out as a ‘bag carrier’,” he says, moving through agency work before what he describes as his “big break into health policy” — setting up the policy unit for a cancer charity in Wales.

For Antoniazzi, that connection is deeply personal. “My Dad died because of a failure in the NHS in Wales and my Mum was diagnosed late with cancer,” he says. It is a stark account, but one that explains his motivation. “I work right at the intersection of trying to make improvements that will improve health and care… at least that’s what I keep telling myself.”

That lived experience shapes his view of the biggest challenges facing the system. “Unpaid caregivers need to be properly supported and not taken for granted,” he says, reflecting on his own time as a carer. As health systems shift towards community-based care, he argues, carers are “the last line of defence between the community and A&E corridor” — a role that remains under-recognised and under-resourced.

His work at Marie Curie reflects that system-wide perspective. Rather than focusing on isolated policy changes, he …

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