Simon Gillespie joined the British Heart Foundation in 2013, following seven years as Chief Executive of the Multiple Sclerosis (MS) Society.

He has a family connection with heart disease, and fundraises and volunteers for the BHF.

His early career was in the Royal Navy, including command of HMS Sheffield and advising government ministers. From 2000 to 2004, he was Director of Operations at the Charity Commission. He then moved to become Head of Operations at the Healthcare Commission, where he was responsible for the inspection of NHS and independent healthcare facilities in England.

Simon has extensive national and international experience of charity and non-profit governance as a non-executive director/trustee. He currently holds a number of non-executive roles, including President of the European Heart Network.