Vin Diwakar, Interim National Director of Transformation, NHS England (Senior Responsible Officer for NHS IMPACT)

Dr Vin Diwakar is the incoming National Director of Transformation in NHS England, leading the NHS’s work nationally in transforming the way that care is delivered, enabling the access to best care and outcomes for people that the NHS serves and the people who work in it. The Directorate achieves this through improving population health and patient pathways, rapidly adopting effective technologies, improving digital maturity, building on insights from data and cutting-edge research, and by transforming the way that care is delivered.

The Directorate’s work comprises delivery of a wide range of innovation, technology, digital, and data programmes of work for the NHS, including high profile priorities such as the Federated Data Platform, Electronic Patient Record national rollout, Digital Heath Therapeutics and the NHS App.

Alongside delivering transformational programmes, the directorate also runs one of the largest IT live service estates in Europe.

Previous to this role Vin was the Medical Director for Transformation in NHS England, providing clinical leadership to improvement and transformation Additionally whilst in this role Vin led teams supporting improvement and transformation of a number of different clinical areas including diagnostics, urgent, emergency, acute and planned care, and was responsible for improving clinical effectiveness.

Formerly Vin provided clinical leadership to London’s health and care system and was a key member of the multi-professional regional team which led the capital through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Vin has been in the NHS for 33 years, working as a consultant paediatrician in Birmingham.

David Fillingham CBE, Chair of the National Improvement Board

David Fillingham was appointed as Chair of the Trust Board and Council of Governors at LSCft from the 1 November 2022.

David joined the NHS in 1989 from a career in manufacturing. He went on to take a number of Chief Executive posts including Wirral FHSA, St Helens and Knowsley Health Authority, North Staffordshire Hospitals NHS Trust, and Royal Bolton Hospital NHS FT. From 2001 to 2004 David was Director of the NHS Modernisation Agency developing new ways of working and promoting leadership development across the NHS as a whole. He was awarded the CBE for this work. In 2010 David was made the National NHS Quality Champion in the NHS Leadership Awards.

David was the Chief Executive of AQuA (the Advancing Quality Alliance) from it’s creation in April 2010 until he retired from the NHS in June 2019. AQuA is a membership funded improvement organisation based in the North West of England.

He has also held a number of non executive roles including Deputy Chair at Aintree Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Chair of the Trafford Local Care Alliance and Chair of the Healthier Wigan Partnership. He has also been a visiting Senior Fellow at the Kings Fund.

David has particular interests in quality improvement, leadership development, co-production with the users of services and partnership working.

Professor Andy Hardy, Deputy Chair of the National Improvement Board

Andy was appointed Chief Executive Officer of University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire (UHCW) NHS Trust in 2010. For the six years prior to that he was Chief Finance Officer of UHCW, as well as Deputy Chief Executive Officer from 2008-2010.

In January 2016 Andy was appointed Professor of Industry at the University of Warwick and in 2022 awarded the Honorary Degree of Doctor of Business Administration at Coventry University in recognition of his leadership and significant contribution to healthcare provision across Coventry and Warwickshire. In April 2023 he accepted the appointment of Professor for the Vice Chancellor’s Health Advisory Board, Coventry University.​

Ailsa Brotherton, Improvement Director for NHS IMPACT

Ailsa Brotherton is the Executive Director of Improvement, Research and Innovation at Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and an Honorary Professor at the University of Central Lancashire. Prior to joining the Trust Ailsa was the Director of Transformation for the Single Hospital Programme at Manchester Foundation Trust. She has also held the positions of Interim Clinical Quality Director for the North of England with the Trust Development Authority/NHS Improvement, Associate Director for Quality Improvement Programmes at the Haelo Innovation and Improvement centre based at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and post-doctoral Senior Research Fellow at the University of Central Lancashire. Ailsa is a Health Foundation Generation Q Fellow, graduating from Hult Ashridge with a Masters degree as part of this improvement fellowship.

Her PhD and programme of research were in the field of clinical nutrition. Ailsa has experience of designing and delivering quality improvement and large-scale change programmes at national, regional and local levels. Ailsa has a particular interest in system level improvement, working across organisational boundaries. She is currently working with the Improvement Directors and Clinical Leads across Lancashire and South Cumbria in collaboration with Professor John Clarkson FREng, University of Cambridge, to test the Engineering Better Care framework across the Integrated Care System. As part of this collaboration, the team is designing a bespoke Improving Improvement framework, building on the learning from their initial work at system level.

Dr Amar Shah, National Clinical Director for Improvement, NHS England

Dr Amar Shah is Consultant forensic psychiatrist and Chief Quality Officer at East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT). He leads at executive and Board level at ELFT on quality, performance, strategy, planning and business intelligence. Amar has led the approach to quality at ELFT for the past 10 years, and has embedded a large-scale quality improvement infrastructure and quality management system, with demonstrable results across key areas of organisational performance.

Amar is the first National Clinical Director for Improvement at NHS England, leading the application of improvement across England’s health and care system.

He is the national improvement lead for mental health at the Royal College of Psychiatrists, leading a number of large-scale improvement collaboratives on topics such as restrictive practice, workforce wellbeing and equalities.

Amar is chair of the Scientific Advisory Group at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI), and also acts as faculty with IHI, teaching and guiding improvers and healthcare systems across the world.

He is a member of the Q advisory Board at the Health Foundation and a member of the reference group for the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. He is on the health advisory board for the UCL global business school for health, and a Council member for the Healthcare Costing for Value Institute.

He is honorary visiting professor at City University (London) and the University of Leicester. Amar has completed an executive MBA in healthcare management, a masters in mental health law and a postgraduate certificate in medical education. Amar is a regular national and international keynote speaker at healthcare improvement conferences and has published over 50 peer-review articles in the field of quality management.

Aidan Fowler, National Director of Patient Safety and Deputy Medical Director, NHS England

Aidan Fowler is the National Director of Patient Safety and Deputy Medical Director in NHS England and a Deputy Chief Medical Officer at the Department of Health and Social Care. In this role he has developed the first ever National Patient Safety Strategy and implemented the complex programmes within it. He was previously the Director of NHS Quality Improvement and Patient Safety and Director of the 1000 Lives Improvement Service for NHS Wales. He had responsibility for QI/PS across the Welsh NHS and was a board member of Public Health Wales.

Aidan was a Consultant Colorectal Surgeon in Gloucestershire for ten years and Chief of Service for Surgery for four before entering the NHS Leadership Academy Fast Track Executive Training Programme during which he worked as an executive at University Hospitals Bristol and subsequently worked briefly as a Medical Director in Mental Health and Community care in Worcestershire. Aidan trained as an Improvement Adviser (IA) with the IHI in Boston and was IA and worked on Patient Safety Programmes in the South West of England. He has also worked as faculty with the IHI in the peri-operative safety domain in Qatar, infection reduction in Portugal and teaching improvement and safety in the UK and internationally. Aidan’s surgical training was in the South West but he graduated in medicine from University College London.

Alison Finney, Patient and Public Voice Partner of the National Improvement Board

Diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in childhood, Alison grew up realising that the best healthcare happened when the patient was at the heart of every decision.

Professionally Alison is a law graduate with 20 years’ experience in managerial roles in a FTSE 100 company, specialising in transformation, communication and engagement.

She’s regularly found wherever a strong patient voice would make a difference. She was a trustee of the national charity Diabetes UK for 7 years, was a lay expert on the recent NICE assessment for the next generation of hybrid closed loop insulin pumps and spent several years as Chair of her local Maternity Voices Partnership.

Bob Klaber, Director of Strategy, Research and Innovation, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust 

Bob Klaber is a Consultant General Paediatrician and Director of Strategy, Research and Innovation at Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust. Bob trained as an educationalist alongside his postgraduate paediatric training in London and has a strong interest in individual and systems learning, quality improvement, behavioural insights work, leadership development and kindness. He has completed a mixed methods MD researching leadership approaches in healthcare. Bob is also a member of the NHS Assembly.

In 2015 Bob set up a team who continue to drive an ambitious project to create a culture of continuous quality improvement across Imperial College Healthcare, has worked as Deputy Medical Director and led work on the development and implementation of the Trust’s new organisational strategy. In his current Executive Director role he is responsible for strategy, research, innovation and improvement across the Trust. This also involves clinical leadership around redevelopment, sustainability, improving population health, developing the Trust’s role as an anchor institution and reducing health inequalities.

Bob is also a strong advocate for child health and co-leads the Connecting Care for Children (CC4C) integrated child health programme in North West London www.cc4c.imperial.nhs.uk , which is focused on developing whole population integrated care models of care and learning within paediatrics and child health.

Caroline Clarke, Regional Director – London Region, NHS England

Caroline Clarke is the Regional Director for the NHS in London, which leads the NHS’ work in the capital and has an ambitious transformation agenda.

Caroline was previously Group Chief Executive (2019 – 2023) and Deputy Chief Executive (2012 – 2019) at the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust since 2019, leading one of the largest teaching trusts in the country.

Prior to this, Caroline held senior positions including as Finance Director at multiple NHS Trusts and as Associate Partner in KPMG’s health strategy team.

Caroline is a trustee of the Healthcare Financial Management Association (HFMA), the representative body for finance staff in healthcare.

Passionate about both the NHS and London, Caroline started her NHS career as a finance trainee in 1991 and has lived in London for 35 years.

Chris Hopson, Chief Strategy Officer, NHS England

Chris joined NHS England (NHSE) in June 2022 as the newly created Chief Strategy Officer, responsible for NHSE’s strategy; policy; communications; stakeholder management including the formal relationship with Government; health inequalities and a greener NHS.

Previously, for ten years, he was Chief Executive at NHS Providers, following a career spanning the public, private and voluntary sectors.

Between 2005 and 2012, Chris worked at HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), initially as board level communications and marketing director, where he led the communications function during the merger of Inland Revenue and HM Customs and Excise, and then strategy and capability director. In his last role, as HMRC’s customer contact director, he led 12,500 staff across 300 locations, in one of the UK’s largest customer service businesses.

Before joining HMRC, Chris was board level corporate affairs director at Granada Media where he was one of the senior team that took Granada from being the fifth largest ITV franchise, through four mergers and acquisitions, to a separately quoted, newly floated, FTSE 100 international media company: ITV plc. Chris has been a Ministerial Special Adviser, and a communications consultant.

Chris is a graduate of the cross-Whitehall, civil service, High Potential Development Scheme, designed to identify and develop the next generation of top civil service leaders, and he holds an MBA from Cranfield Business School. He has held a range of non-executive roles including, currently, membership of the British Standards Institute (BSI) Standards Policy and Strategy Committee which oversees BSI’s role as the UK’s national standards body.

Chris regularly appears in Health Service Journal’s list of 100 most influential people in NHS policy and, in 2005, in PR Week’s 21st anniversary edition, was identified as one of the 100 most influential figures in UK communications/external relations over the previous 21 years.

Dr Claire Fuller, Medical Director for Primary Care, NHS England

Dr Claire Fuller, a practising GP, is the Primary Care Medical Director for NHS England. She was previously the CEO for Surrey Heartlands Integrated Care System, having had system leadership roles within Surrey for a decade with a focus on the wider determinants of health, population health management and a drive to make sure it is as easy as possible to deliver and to receive good quality care. In November 2021 Claire was invited by NHS England Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard to lead a national piece of work looking at primary care within integrated care systems to identify what was working well and why. The output became known as the Fuller Stocktake and was co-signed by all 42 ICS Chief Executives who committed to the recommendations. Next steps for integrating primary care: Fuller stocktake report was published in May 2022.

As the Primary Care Medical Director for NHS England Claire’s priorities are improving GP retention, improving the primary/secondary care interface and improving the awareness of patient safety issues within primary care.

Claire has been a practising GP since 1985, spending most of her career in Surrey, with a spell in Northumberland, where she worked in a single-handed rural practice.

Claire has also been appointed as Visiting Professor in the Faculty of Health and Medical Science at Surrey University.

Clare Panniker, Regional Director- East of England Region, NHS England      As a former nurse who has spent over 30 years working in the NHS, Clare joins East of England from Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust, where she has been Chief Executive since the Trust formed in April 2020.

Clare’s frontline and leadership experience will be key to supporting NHS colleagues to provide better and more joined up patient care. She will lead the region’s work with integrated care boards and focus on improvements in the provision of healthcare and outcomes for the East of England, as well as shape future policy and strategy as part of the national executive team.

Forzana Nasir, Patient and Public Voice Partner of the National Improvement Board

Forzana is a Lived Experience Partner for NHS England, contributing to the Nutrition and Hydration Board and the Strategic Coproduction Group. Since beginning her journey in 2021, she has been dedicated to improving healthcare with the people who use it, ensuring their voices shape meaningful and lasting change.

She has co-designed and delivered training for staff across North Central London on personalised care plans and shared decision-making, drawing on her role in developing the “I Statements” for the Personal Health Budgets (PHB) framework. Forzana also mentors others with lived experience, supporting them to take active roles in shaping services and driving improvements.

Forzana has been invited to share her work nationally, including a Pecha Kucha presentation at the IHI Quality Improvement Forum 2024 and globally co-presenting at the PJ Paralysis conference, about the importance of helping patients eat, drink, and move after surgery. Her contributions have been recognised nationally, with her being named runner-up for Individual Contribution at the Patient Experience Network Awards 2024.

Her lived experience of managing multiple chronic conditions inspired her to study for a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, equipping her to tackle health inequalities and advocate for better access to care for all. Her national contributions include co-designing Experience of Care Week programming, evaluating lived experience involvement, and participating in the Health Inequalities Collaborative, Strategic Coproduction Group member and the Personalised Care London Knowledge Forum.

Dr George Findlay, Chief Executive Officer, University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust 

Dr George Findlay became Chief Executive of University Hospitals Sussex on 1 June 2022.

George was formerly the Chief Executive of Medway NHS Foundation Trust, where he oversaw an improvement programme that removed all CQC “inadequate” ratings and moved the emergency department from “inadequate” to “good”.

Prior to taking up the post of Chief Executive at Medway, George was our Deputy Chief Executive and Chief Medical Officer.

He was a pivotal member of the executive team of our legacy Trusts, Western Sussex Hospitals and Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals, providing leadership, stability, and a dedication to Patient First improvement through to our merger.

George contributed to Western Sussex Hospitals becoming the first non-specialist acute trust in the country to be rated ‘Outstanding’ in all the key inspection areas assessed by the Care Quality Commission. He was also part of the leadership team at Brighton during the period when the Trust exited special measures and climbed three inspection ratings to Outstanding for Caring and Good overall.

A specialist intensive care consultant, George is an experienced clinical leader at national and regional level, and a Fellow of the Health Foundation’s GenerationQ leadership develop and quality improvement programme.

John Ashcroft, Director of NHS IMPACT and Pathway Transformation, NHS England

John is currently Director of NHS IMPACT and Pathway Transformation at NHS England. John has held a number of posts in both the NHS and private sector healthcare and was previously Chief Executive of Manchester Royal Eye Hospital and University Dental Hospital of Manchester Trust. He has also worked at Great Ormond Street and the Royal Free London hospitals. John has expertise in leadership, strategy and operational delivery both within and across organisations in health and care.

Sir Julian Hartley, Chief Executive Officer, Care Quality Commission

Sir Julian Hartley joined the Care Quality Commission (CQC) as Chief Executive in December 2024.

Julian was previously the Chief Executive of NHS Providers from February 2023 to November 2024. Prior to joining NHS Providers, Julian was chief executive of Leeds Teaching Hospitals since 2013.

During his decade of service at Leeds, Julian led a major programme of culture change and staff engagement to deliver improved quality, operational and financial performance.

In 2019, Julian was managing director at NHS Improving Quality and was asked to be the executive lead for the development of the interim NHS People Plan. In 2022 he was awarded the Knights Bachelor for his services to healthcare in the Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Mark Radford, Deputy Chief Nursing Officer, Policy, Research and System Transformation, NHS England

Professor Mark Radford is currently National Director of Intensive Support, and Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England and was formerly the Chief Nurse of Health Education England.  During the COVID-19 pandemic, Mark led the national NHS vaccine workforce program ensuring the success in phase 1 delivery of 15m vaccinations.   The program recruited and trained over 250k people including 90k clinicians and 70k volunteers in a few months to launch one of the world’s fastest programs. He also led the deployment of Student nurses in the pandemic response waves 1 and 2, with 71 Universities in England.

As Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England, Mark supports the Chief Nursing Officer in ensuring the NHS workforce is fit for the future. This includes recruitment and retention, skills development, maintaining the quality of management and leadership, tackling inequality and breaking down barriers, ensuring places of work are rewarding, positive and filled with opportunity, and enabling more volunteers to support front-line staff.

Throughout his clinical career, Mark has maintained his academic interests. He has been involved in multiple research projects looking at the roles of nursing in advanced practice, gender disparity and pay, as well as big data analysis of nursing and retention, among others. He has also published five books on emergency and perioperative surgery throughout his career. He is also a Professor of Nursing at Birmingham City University and Coventry University, with research covering emergency care models, advanced practice, staffing, risk modelling, clinical decision-making, expertise and sociological issues in healthcare.

Mark was honoured with a CBE in The Queen’s New Year Honours 2022 list.

Maria Kane OBE, Joint Chief Executive Officer, North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust

Maria Kane OBE was appointed as Joint Chief Executive of North Bristol NHS Trust and University Hospitals Bristol and Weston NHS Foundation Trust in July 2024. Prior to this she was Chief Executive of NBT from April 2021.

Maria previously worked as Chief Executive of North Middlesex University Hospital NHS Trust from 2017 until 2021, as Chief Executive of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health NHS Trust between 2007 and 2017, and as Executive Director at North West London Strategic Health Authority between 2002 and 2006. Maria has held a variety of senior roles in corporate and strategic development for the Royal College of Midwives, Medical Protection Society and the National Council of Voluntary Organisations.

In 2019, Maria was made an OBE for services to health care leadership over two decades, particularly in North London.

Maria is Chair of Bristol Health Partners, a member of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board, and sits on the board of Health Innovation West of England. She is also the South West representative for the NHS Genomics Board, and is the representative for the South West on the NHS Impact National Improvement Board.

Maria has previously been a trustee of Open Door, Umbrella Mental Health, and Young Minds, as well as an adviser to the Lullaby Trust and a special adviser to the Care Quality Commission. She was also chair of governors of a primary school for ten years.

Meghana Pandit, Chief Executive Officer, Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust 

Professional Qualifications: MBBS, FRCOG, MBA

Meghana trained in Obstetrics and Gynaecology in the Oxford Deanery and was Visiting Lecturer in Urogynaecology at University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, USA. Meghana was a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist, Clinical Director and Divisional Director at Milton Keynes University Hospital before joining University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire where she was Chief Medical Officer from May 2012 to December 2018 and Deputy Chief Executive from 2014. Meghana completed an MBA at Oxford Brookes University (Distinction) and the Innovating Health for Tomorrow Programme at INSEAD, Fontainebleau. Meghana was awarded the Founding Senior Fellowship of the Faculty of Medical Leadership and Management, and is an Honorary Professor at Warwick University. Meghana is also an Associate Fellow at Green Templeton College, University of Oxford, a Non-Executive Director and member of the Council of the Medical Protection Society, and a trustee at Medical Detection Dogs (registered charity).

Meghana has been Chief Executive Officer at Oxford University Hospitals since July 2022.

Ming Tang, Chief Data and Analytics Officer, NHS England

Ming has over 20 years’ experience in managing and delivering large scale change involving implementation of new operating models in complex and challenging environments.

She joined the NHS in October 2009, initially leading commissioning support services in the West Midlands as the Managing Director for Healthcare Commissioning Services and then as the Managing Director for South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw Commissioning Support Unit.

Ming is currently the Chief Data and Analytics Officer for NHS England responsible for strategic development of data and analytics capability across NHS.

Dr Navina Evans CBE, Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer, NHS England

Navina is the Chief Workforce, Training and Education Officer at the new NHS England, leading the Workforce, Training and Education (WT&E) Directorate. This means that NHS England has now taken on responsibility for all activities that were previously undertaken by HEE. This includes planning, recruiting, educating, and training the health workforce; ensuring that the healthcare workforce has the right numbers, skills, values and behaviours in place to support the delivery of excellent healthcare and health improvement to patients and the public.

Dr Navina Evans was HEE CEO from October 2020 to April 2023, HEE was part of the NHS, and work with partners to plan, recruit, educate and train the health workforce.

Previously Chief Executive of East London NHS Foundation Trust (ELFT) from 2016 to October 2020

Navina has over twenty years of clinical experience in psychiatry, medicine and paediatrics and previously held the positions of Deputy Chief Executive and Director of Operations.

Navina has worked as the Clinical Director for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services at ELFT. She has also been involved in medical education and provided pastoral care to medical students.

Navina acts as a trustee for Think Ahead Organisation which develops training programmes for mental health social work. She was awarded an honorary fellowship by the Royal College of Psychiatrists in 2020. She is a senior fellow at the Institute of Healthcare Improvement.

Navina uses her voice in support of staff wellbeing and coproduction with patients, advocating for the best possible quality of life and creating a culture of enjoying work for staff. She was awarded the Commander of the British Empire in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List for services to NHS Leadership and the Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic community.

Nick Broughton, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board

Dr Nick Broughton is the Interim Chief Executive of the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board (ICB). He has been a partner member of the ICB Board since its establishment on 1 July 2022 and was Chief Executive of Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust for three years from June 2020.

He brings considerable chief executive and system experience to the ICB having previously led both Southern Health NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Under his leadership both trusts saw their CQC rating move from ‘Requires Improvement’ to ‘Good’.

He is a forensic psychiatrist by background and spent the majority of his clinical career working in a variety of settings in west London including prisons and secure psychiatric hospitals. He was Medical Director of West London Mental Health Trust for six years during which time he was Clinical Director of NHS London’s mental health programme and sat on the board of Imperial College Healthcare Partners.

He has held a variety of other board level and leadership positions including at both regional and national level. He obtained his medical degree from Cambridge University and completed his training at St Thomas’ Hospital Medical School, London.

Philip Wood, Chief Executive Officer, Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust 

Phil was appointed Chief Executive in February 2023. Prior to this he was Chief Medical Officer for the Trust and Deputy Chief Executive.

He joined Leeds Teaching Hospitals in 2002 as a Consultant Immunologist and during his career Phil has worked in many operational and strategic roles including Clinical Director for services such as Pathology and Oncology and Medical Director for Strategy and Planning.

Phil has held a number of regional roles including Senior Responsible Officer for the rollout of the Covid-19 vaccination programme in West Yorkshire, one of the most successful programmes in the country, and Chair of the West Yorkshire Vascular Board. He is currently Chair of the North East and Yorkshire Genomic Medicine Service Board and a member of the national Genomics England (GEL)/NHSE Joint Board.

An Honorary Professorship in Healthcare Leadership from the University of Leeds was awarded in November 2022, recognising Phil’s leadership contribution across research, innovation, education and training.

Richard Amos, Patient and Public Voice Partner of the National Improvement Board

Rich has orientated himself to take up positions across social care, health, housing and technology enabled lives – all of which are aligned to advocating for social justice and elevating how people, who draw on support, should be enabled to live a life of their choosing. He draws on support himself, and is passionate about contributing to agendas that, through the power of co-production and personalisation, create system level change, by being informed by local need.

He is an alumnus of the Leadership for Empowered Communities and Personalised Care program, the NHS Peer Leadership Development Programme, and the New Economy Organisers Network (NEON) Movement Builders programme.

Rich’s diverse roles include membership in Think Local Act Personal’s (TLAP) National Coproduction Advisory Group (NCAG) and the TEC Services Association’s (TSA) Sector Risk and Innovation Group (SRIG). He also volunteers as a trustee for six charitable organisations focused on disability and community causes.

Rich is deeply interested in how strategic decisions and policies impact people, describing himself as a ‘humaniser.’ He is committed to working alongside marginalised groups, leveraging his Level 3 award in Community Organising to inspire and empower them.

Drawing on his experiences with care and support from three different local authorities, Rich trains others on social care legislation. He is known for his ability to build rapport with diverse audiences and has a growing portfolio as a public speaker, including appearances at international events like TSA’s ITEC Conference.

Richard Mitchell, Chief Executive Officer, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group

Richard re-joined UHL as chief executive in October 2021, having worked as the chief executive of Sherwood Forest Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for four years.

Richard is the Chair of the East Midlands Cancer Alliance and Midlands Regional Talent and Leadership Board. Richard is proud to work in his local hospitals and he and his family live in Leicestershire.

Rob Moriarty, Patient and Public Voice Partner of the National Improvement Board

Rob Moriarty has over 25 years lived experience with a high-level spinal cord injury sustained as a 16-year-old after a family holiday diving accident in 1998. With a less than 5% prognosis for any meaningful recovery, he left hospital after a year of rehab and returned to full-time education. Since graduating from the University of Leeds in 2005 and being one of the first Erasmus scheme students to study and live abroad with 24/7 care, he’s managed his own team of PAs through a range of self-directed support schemes including direct payments, personal budgets, continuing healthcare and a personal health budget.

In addition to running his own technology consultancy, Rob participates in service user involvement at a number of universities, sharing his experiences of working with and receiving support from the health and social care sector as an associate lecturer. He’s actively engaged in the VCSE sector as director and trustee of Leeds Centre for Integrated Living and a Centre for Welfare Reform Fellow.

Rob’s been an NHS England Strategic Coproduction Group member since September 2017 and brings a wealth of lived experience representation experience to the National Improvement Board following similar roles for the Personalised Care Collaborative, System Transformation Group, Digital Personalised Care, NHS@home, Organisational Development and Universal Personalised Care.

Rob is a strong advocate for personalised care including personal health/wheelchair budgets, delegation of healthcare tasks and continuing healthcare and has particular interests in long-term neurological conditions, digital and assistive technology, co-production and lived experience partnership working.

Samantha Allen, North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board Chief Executive

Sam is an experienced NHS Chief Executive and joined the North East and North Cumbria to set up the ICB in January 2022.  She is also the Chair of the Health and Care Women Leaders Network for the NHS Confederation, a member of The Kings Fund General Advisory Council, a Leadership Fellow at St. George’s House and a Trustee of the Chartered Management Institute.