This page details who sits on the Group Board of Directors. For a quick overview, please click on the button below.
Chair and Chief Executive
Group Chair: David Flory CBE
David was appointed as Group Chair on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT on 27 February 2023 as the interim Trust Chair. He was appointed as a Joint Chair between the Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust from 1 March 2024 to 28 February 2027.
He has extensive board-level experience as Independent Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Director of NHS organisations in England and healthcare organisations internationally, including six years working as Deputy Chief Executive Director General in the Department of Health for England. David was awarded a CBE in the 2009 New Year Honours List.
Between 2015 and 2019, he was the chief of hospitals at Hamad Medical Corporation in the State of Qatar, responsible for 14 hospitals with 2,500 beds, providing a full range of secondary and tertiary services for the country.
Group Chief Executive: James Sumner
James was appointed as Group Chief Executive on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT as Chief Executive in May 2022. He was appointed as a Joint Chief Executive between the Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust in December 2023.
He has worked in the NHS for over 20 years in Primary and Secondary Care, System Improvement and Integrated Care roles across the North West.
James was previously Chief Executive at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust before joining LUHFT.
James joined the NHS in 1999, initially working in Primary Care before moving on to several regional quality improvement roles.
He moved into the acute sector in 2005 and has held a number of operational and strategic roles since, including Deputy Chief Executive at Stockport NHS Foundation Trust, Chief Officer of Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust and latterly Chief Executive of Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.
Non-executive directors
Group Non-Executive Director: Geoffrey Appleton
Geoffrey joined Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust as a Joint Non-Executive Director in September 2024.
He has held several high-profile positions in his hometown of St Helens, including Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chair of Mersey and West Lancashire Teaching Hospital and Chair of the St Helens Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) - and is currently the independent chair of St Helens Cares Place Partnership Board, and Deputy Chair of the St Helens People's Board, a joined-up multi-agency approach to improve health outcomes and tackle inequalities in the borough.
Geoffrey is also the Joint Senior Independent Director for LUHFT and LWH.
Geoffrey’s term of office runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2027.
Group Non-Executive Director: Professor Thomas Walley
Professor Thomas Walley joined LUHFT as a Non-Executive Director in July 2021. He was appointed as a Joint Non-Executive Director for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on 1 September 2024.
Tom is the associate Pro-Vice Chancellor for Clinical Research at the University of Liverpool. He was previously a Consultant Physician at The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust between 1991 and 2018, and Professor of Clinical Pharmacology. He was director of several National Institute for Health and Care Research programmes, and a member of the National Institute for Health and Care Research Strategy Board for many years.
Tom was awarded a CBE for services to medicine in 2008. He is a life fellow of the British Pharmacology Society and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences.
Tom’s term of office runs from 1 September 2024 to 30 June 2026.
Group Non-Executive Director: Mike Eastwood
Mike was appointed a Non-Executive Director at LUHFT on 1 October 2019 – he was previously Non-Executive Director and Interim Chair at The Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals NHS Trust. Mike was re-appointed for a further three-year term which runs from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2026. He was appointed as a Joint Non-Executive Director for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on 1 September 2024.
Mike is currently Diocesan Secretary (Chief Executive) of the Diocese of Liverpool as well as the Chief Officer at Liverpool Cathedral.
He has significant experience of working at director level in the third sector. He currently holds a number of voluntary positions supporting the church and local community development. He has a BA (Hons) in Modern History.
Mike’s term of office runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2026.
Group Non-Executive Director: David Gilburt
David joined LUHFT as a Non-Executive Director in December 2022. He was appointed as a Joint Non-Executive Director for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on 1 September 2024.
David is an experienced Director with a strong track record both as a Non-Executive and Executive Director. He is a qualified accountant, highly skilled in financial management, recovery and turnaround with a demonstrable track record of delivering improvement.
He was previously a Non-Executive Director at the Robert Jones & Agnes Hunt NHS Foundation Trust in Oswestry.
David is currently a Non-Executive Director of the Dudley Integrated Health & Care NHS Trust where he is Chair of the Audit Committee. He also an independent member of the Governance Audit and Risk Committee of the Muir Group Housing Association.
David is Chair of the Audit Committee.
David’s term of office runs from 1 September 2024 to 30 November 2025.
Group Non-Executive Director: Jackie Bird
Jackie joined LUHFT as a Non-Executive Director in April 2024 – Jackie was also a Non-Executive Director at the Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. She was appointed as a Joint Non-Executive Director for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on 1 September 2024.
She has a BSc (Hons) in Nursing Studies and an MA in Management and Leadership. Her clinical practice was in Oncology, and she was the first Nurse Director of the Greater Manchester and Cheshire Cancer Network.
Jackie spent five years at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust as Deputy Director of Nursing and Governance and was part of their patient safety journey and it was there that her passion for quality, patient safety, experience and outcomes began. She was awarded a Florence Nightingale Travel Scholarship in 2007 to work further on the patient safety agenda with a bespoke two-week programme at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Boston and in 2012 she was awarded a Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholarship.
Jackie has held Chief Nurse positions since 2007, including as Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Quality at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust where she led the Trust to be rated twice as an Outstanding organisation by the CQC in 2016 and 2018. More recently, Jackie was the Regional Chief Nurse for NHSE/I where she provided executive and professional leadership for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals and was the accountable executive for the operational delivery of the regional governance and quality agenda. She was the Senior Responsible Officer for Nightingale NW, part of the NHS response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Jackie’s term of office runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 March 2025.
Group Non-Executive Director: Zia Chaudhry
Zia joined Liverpool Women's Hospital as a Non-Executive Director in December 2021. He was appointed as a Joint Non-Executive Director for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on 1 September 2024.
Zia spent 27 years as a barrister specialising in criminal law. Aside from his legal work, he has been involved in interfaith work for over twenty years and, in 2013, wrote Just Your Average Muslim. In 2015, he was awarded an MBE for services to interfaith relations and, in 2017, was conferred with an Honorary Fellowship by Liverpool John Moores University for his services to community relations.
In 2018 after a lengthy career at the Bar he opened up a new chapter at LJMU where he became instrumental in the university’s civic engagement work and quickly became involved in LJMU’s outreach activity, speaking at many schools and colleges and using his story to inspire others, particularly those from minority backgrounds.
Zia’s term of office runs from 1 December 2021 to 30 November 2024.
Group Non-Executive Director: Sarah Walker
Sarah joined LWH as a Non-Executive Director in December 2021. She was appointed as a Joint Non-Executive Director for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on 1 September 2024.
Sarah has 27 years within the IT industry and is the current Chief Executive for Cisco UK and Ireland. Also the on the Board of Trustees for Greater Manchester Academies Trust, Sarah is an industry advocate for STEM, Social Impact and Women in Technology.
She has worked with a number of charitable organisations to raise awareness of baby and infant loss and is an avid ambassador for Mental Health and Wellbeing.
Sarah’s term of office runs from 1 September 2024 to 31 August 2027.
Group Non-Executive Director: Tracy Ellery
Tracy joined LWH as a Non-Executive Director in March 2022. She was appointed as a Joint Non-Executive Director for Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust on 1 September 2024.
Tracy was previously Director of Finance of the North West Ambulance Service in August 2015 and retired on 31 January 2019.
In addition to Finance her remit covered responsibility for Patient Transport Services, Fleet, Estates, IT, Procurement and Contracting, and she was the lead Director for the Trust’s Foundation Trust application.
Tracy began her NHS career in 1982 in East Cheshire and is a professionally qualified accountant (FCCA) with a business degree. Her previous roles included being Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Finance at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, a post she held for 10 years. She brings over 16 years experience at the Board level and has been Director of Finance in five other NHS organisations. Her experience spans mental health, learning disabilities, community, primary care, commissioning and acute organisations.
Tracy’s term of office runs from 1 September 2024 to 30 June 2025.
Executives
Group Chief Finance Officer/ Deputy Chief Executive: Rob Forster
Rob was appointed as Group Chief Finance Officer / Deputy Chief Executive on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT as Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Chief Finance Officer in April 2020.
He was previously Director of Finance and Deputy Chief Executive at Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh NHS Foundation Trust. After qualifying academically and professionally in Law, Rob then went on to become a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers, and subsequently achieved a Masters in Business Administration.
Rob worked in a variety of senior finance and director roles within General Motors, living and working in both the UK and Europe for a number of years. Rob joined the NHS in 2009.
In addition to his Trust role, Rob chairs the national HFMA Technical Issues Group, Cheshire & Merseyside Provider CFO Group, Finance Skills Development Steering Group and is on the Board of the NHS Finance Leadership Council.
Rob is passionate about advancing the inclusive reach and effectiveness of the Finance profession in the NHS and beyond, with a special interest in innovation and Social Value.
Group Chief Medical Officer: Dr Jim Gardner
Jim was appointed as Group Chief Medical Officer on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT as Chief Medical Officer in June 2022.
In a career of over 30 years, Jim has undertaken senior leadership roles across primary and secondary care, the private sector, charitable sector and academia.
Having studied medicine at Cambridge University and London, Jim undertook a series of clinical roles across England and Australia before becoming a GP Partner in a high performing practice in Cumbria. During this time, he established an out-of-hours GP co-operative for South Lakeland and was the founder executive chair for several years.
Jim then became the Medical Director of North Lancashire Primary Care Trust and subsequently the Medical Director and Responsible Officer for the Lancashire Area Team of NHS England. He was a Health Foundation Leadership Fellow and a member of the NHS Top Leaders programme.
Jim also worked in the School of Medicine at the University of Central Lancashire and helping to establish a brand-new medical school for the northwest of England. At this time, he also held posts as a trustee of a hospice and a non-executive director of an NHS hospital trust.
In January 2020, Jim was appointed as the Executive Medical Director at Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and held that post until his appointment to LUHFT.
Group Chief Nursing Officer: David Melia
David was appointed as Group Chief Nursing Officer on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT as Chief Nursing Officer in July 2022.
David is the former Director of Nursing and Quality at The Mid Yorkshire Hospitals NHS Trust, a role which he held between 2015 and 2022.
Originally from Liverpool, David is both a Registered General Nurse and Registered Nurse for People with Learning Disabilities. His main clinical speciality was neurology and neurosurgery, and he has previously held Director of Nursing roles at The Walton Centre NHS FT and Warrington and Halton Teaching Hospitals NHS FT.
David’s main focus is to further develop a culture within organisations that sets patient safety at the heart of what everyone does by engaging colleagues to be the very best that they can be.
Group Chief People Officer: Heather Barnett
Heather was appointed as Group Chief People Officer on 1 November 2024. She joined LUHFT in January 2023 as Chief People Officer.
She was previously Executive Director of People and Organisational Development at Mid Cheshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a role which she held between 2018 and 2022. Heather also became the Interim Deputy Chief Executive at Mid Cheshire Hospitals Foundation Trust for a period of time, during 2022.
Heather has previously worked at Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust as the Director of Workforce and Organisational Development and brings a wealth of expertise in successful change management, organisational development and executive coaching. Her career started in the NHS in 2002 at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board in Wales, leading the wellbeing and inclusion agenda.
Heather has over 10 years’ experience of working as a Director within the NHS. During this time, Heather has focused her energy and passion in developing leadership capability and actively promoting women in leadership.
Heather has a Masters degree in Human Resource Management and a further Masters degree in Executive coaching.
Group Chief Delivery Officer: Beth Weston
Beth was appointed as Group Chief Delivery Officer on 1 November 2024. She was appointed Chief Delivery Officer at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust on 1 October 2019 – she was previously Chief Operating Officer at Aintree University Hospital.
Beth joined Aintree University Hospital in April 2015 and was appointed Acting Chief Operating Officer in October 2017 before becoming substantive on 1 February 2019. Beth previously worked at Central Manchester University Hospitals (CMFT) for 12 years as director for a number of hospitals, more latterly as Director of Trafford Hospital following its acquisition by CMFT in 2011.
Beth joined the NHS in 1995 and graduated from the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme in 1997. During this period Beth also graduated from Manchester University with a masters in managing healthcare organisations.
Group Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer: Jan Ledward
Jan was appointed as Group Chief Strategy and Partnerships Officer on 1 November 2024. She joined LUHFT as Director of Strategy and Partnerships in April 2023.
Jan started her career as a temporary band 2 clerical officer in the supplies department at the Royal Albert Hospital, Lancaster in March 1984. She worked for 10 years in NHS Supplies in various roles including Regional Transport Buyer for the North West, a national role transferring wheelchair services from the Civil Service into the NHS, before being appointed as Deputy Director of Commissioning at Salford Health Authority at the time of the purchaser provider split.
In 2005, she worked for the North West Strategic Health authority as Programme Director for the Advancing Quality programme, developing the programme and rolling it out to all trusts across the North West. She has worked in many commissioning leadership and Board roles becoming the Accountable Officer of two Clinical Commissioning Groups, Great Preston and Chorley and South Ribble, before taking on the same role in Liverpool Clinical Commissioning Groups in 2017 leading the development of the One Liverpool strategy. More recently she was Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board Place Director for Liverpool upon the creation of the Integrated Care Board in 2022.
She is professional qualified in Procurement and Supply Chain Management and has an Master of Business Administration from Hull University.
Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Company Secretary: Daniel Scheffer
Daniel was appointed as Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer and Company Secretary on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT in January 2021 as Director of Corporate Affairs / Company Secretary and joined Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust in a joint role from June 2024.
Following a successful career in high street and private banking in the UK, and further afield, Daniel chose to make the move into the civil service. From an initial role in the NHS South East regional office he moved into a number of roles in Whitehall. These included working in the private office of a number of Health Ministers and latterly as the Ambulance Policy lead for England. His time in Whitehall was pivotal in cementing his desire to work in the NHS.
Daniel took on challenging operational roles in the NHS in Cumbria, gradually building expertise in organisational governance. He left the NHS in Cumbria as a trusted Company Secretary, with a strong track record of supporting organisational culture change.
His previous experience of building high performing and happy teams is something he seeks to bring to his role at LUHFT.
Group Chief Communications and Marketing Officer: Chris Mawdsley
Chris was appointed as Group Chief Communications and Marketing Officer on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT initially as the Interim Director of Communications and Marketing in October 2019. He took up the permanent position from 1 June 2020.
Chris brings 20 years’ experience of working in a range of communications, engagement, marketing and policy roles across the public and private sectors prior to joining the NHS.
He brings extensive experience of delivering high profile communications projects, community engagement working with hard-to-reach communities, campaigns and public consultation. For over a decade, Chris ran the parliamentary office and campaigns for a North West Member of Parliament. He also brings experience from working in regeneration and economic development, local government, and consultancy. Chris also led on the communications and engagement for major planning and development schemes in the property sector.
Group Chief Quality Improvement: Siobhan Roberts
Siobhan was appointed as Group Chief Quality Improvement Officer on 1 November 2024. She joined LUHFT in August 2021 as the Director of Quality Improvement and was appointed to implement an organisation-wide approach to improvement with evidenced-based methods.
Siobhan began her career at The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) in Boston, Massachusetts, USA, a global leader in applying improvement science in healthcare. While at IHI, Siobhan’s particular focus was on improving evidenced based care delivery for people with chronic conditions and levelling up communities with healthcare disparities. Siobhan worked with the Indian Health Service and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality on implementing improvements in primary care for communities across the US.
Siobhan joined the NHS in 2008. Prior to joining LUHFT she was the Director of Quality Improvement at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust, latterly the Northern Care Alliance. She held this role for 12 years and during her tenure there, led the development and implementation of several successful Quality and Safety Strategies. Siobhan is an enthusiastic advocate for the benefits of applying various sciences and disciplines to improve care for patients and joy in work for our staff.
Group Chief Digital and Information Officer: Matt Connor
Matt was appointed as Group Chief Digital & Information Officer on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT in February 2024 in a joint role covering LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to this, Matt was Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust, a role he held from December 2019.
Matt has worked for more than two decades in a number of digital services roles at NHS organisations across Cheshire and Merseyside and has held a number of senior leadership positions. Prior to his CIO role at Liverpool Women’s, he held the position of Deputy Director of Informatics at Mid-Mersey Digital Alliance, and at Southport and Ormskirk Hospital NHS Trust, where he was Head of Digital Services. He is also the Cyber Security Digital Lead and Chair for the Cheshire and Merseyside ICS.
Group Chief Transformation Officer: Tim Gold
Tim was appointed as Group Chief Transformation Officer on 1 November 2024. He joined LUHFT as Chief Transformation Officer in February 2024 and joined Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust in a joint role from February 2024. Tim has worked for more than two decades in public sector transformation and improvement in the NHS, local government, and private sector.
Before joining LUHFT as Chief Transformation Officer, Tim had been working with LUHFT as Improvement Director from NHS England, where he led work with our Executive team to design and implement an improvement plan to move the Trust out of NHS England’s Oversight Framework segmentation 4 and national Recovery Support Programme.
Before joining NHS England, Tim gained operational leadership and improvement experience in acute hospitals, including being Interim Chief Operating Officer at Harrogate and District Foundation Trust and Director of Operations at Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust, with accountability for medicines, surgery and maternity services.
Prior to joining the NHS, Tim was a Director at PwC and latterly Capita. For PwC Tim was a Director in their Healthcare Consulting practice, where he led numerous engagements to work alongside health and care economies to achieve system change, with clients including: Greater Manchester STP, Humber Coast & Vale STP, Morecambe Bay Health & Care Economy, Leeds Health & Care Economy and Mid-Nottinghamshire Health & Social Care Economy. At Capita Tim ran their Health & Care Transformation and Programme Delivery & Control practices leading teams across NHS consultancy work, Capita’s outsourcing programmes and Capita’s internal transformation work.
Executive Managing Director for Aintree University Hospital: Peter Turkington
Peter Turkington joined LUHFT in May 2023 as Executive Managing Director for Aintree Hospital. Before joining LUHFT, Peter worked at Salford Care Organisation, firstly as Medical Director between 2013-2019 and then as Chief Officer and Medical Director.
He was also chair of the division of Salford healthcare between 2010 and 2013, where he led on the development of the Emergency Village.
Peter’s experience in overseeing several of these initiatives are of great value to the ever-developing Aintree site where he manages all elements of care,
as well as leading and managing the Aintree Hospital against our agreed strategy and objectives.
Executive Managing Director for The Royal Liverpool University Hospital: Natalie Hudson
Natalie Hudson joined LUHFT as Executive Managing Director for the Royal Liverpool site in May 2023.
Natalie commenced her NHS career in 2009 as a qualified accountant before working as Director of Operations at East Lancashire Hospitals and more recently, Blackpool Teaching Hospitals where she was Chief Operating Officer from April 2021 to before she joined LUHFT.
She has a wealth of knowledge and experience in surgery, theatres, critical care and emergency medicine. She has also led on several large-scale initiatives to improve patient experience and flow.
As Executive Managing Director, Natalie plays a critical role in supporting the delivery of our ongoing improvement plan by working alongside our Hospital Leadership Teams and managing all elements of care.
Executive Managing Director for Liverpool Women’s Hospital: Jenny Hannon
Jenny was appointed as Executive Managing Director for Liverpool Women’s Hospital on 1 November 2024. She returned to the Liverpool Women’s in January 2024 having formerly held the position of Chief Finance Officer at Lancashire and South Cumbria NHS Foundation Trust.
Jenny has worked in senior roles in the NHS for over ten years having previously trained with professional services Ernst & Young.
She is passionate about enabling the efficient delivery of safe, effective and sustainable care and quality services.
