Welsh Ambulance Service appoints first Head of Charity, plus more mover news
Melanie May | 21 October 2024 | News
Welsh Ambulance Service has appointed David Hopkins as its first Head of Charity, while Church Army and Sense are among the charities to have announced new CEO appointments. More on these and other movers below.
NHS Charities Together announce new Chair of Trustees
NHS Charities Together has announced Peter Phippen as its new Chair of Trustees. Formally co-opted as Chair of Trustees by the Board of Trustees on 18 September, he will take up his voluntary role in November.
Phippen is an experienced CEO and Chair who spent a significant part of his career with the BBC, ultimately becoming Managing Director of its commercial activities in the UK and then CEO of all BBC activities in North and South America. For the past 12 years he has bridged the commercial media, education, public and charity sectors, with key appointments including being Deputy Chairman of ‘Immediate Media Co.’ Chair for Texere Ltd, and Chair for English language businesses, Bell, based in Cambridge. He has also been a Trustee of The British Heart Foundation, a Board Member at The National Archives and an Independent Board Advisor on the commercial board of the British Council.
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Matt Barlow to join Church Army as CEO
Matt Barlow will start his role at Church Army on 5 November and brings over 30 years of charity and ministry leadership experience, both from large charities and local churches. This includes working for Mary’s Meals, and leading his local church. Much of his previous career was with Christians Against Poverty (CAP). He joined as it was forming and served there for 21 years, with 14 of those as CEO. His leadership was recognised with five ‘Best Leader’ awards and two ‘1st places’ in the ‘Sunday Times Best Companies to work for’ awards.
Barlow also founded and led the Light Church, an inner-city church in Bradford. He served for 14 years in leadership, including four years as full time Lead Pastor.
Welsh Ambulance Service appoints first Head of Charity
David Hopkins joins the Welsh Ambulance Service from National Youth Arts Wales, where he was Fundraising and Development Manager. At the service, he will be responsible for the day-to-day management of the Trust’s charity, including the generation of income and compliance with its regulatory and governance obligations.
Hopkins will be the organisation’s expert on charity matters and will also be charged with recruiting and developing a small team to support the charity’s fundraising activities. His past roles include Sustainability and Growth Manager at Newport Mind and Marketing and Communications Executive at the BBC National Orchestra of Wales. He is also a Chair of Trustees for independent Welsh dance company, Jones the Dance/Y Ddawns.
Sense appoints James Watson-O’Neill as Chief Executive
James Watson-O’Neill has been appointed as Sense and Sense International’s new Chief Executive. He will start at the disability charity in February 2025 – its 70th anniversary year, when its current Chief Executive, Richard Kramer, stands down.
Watson-O’Neill, who is deaf, joins from SignHealth, the deaf health charity, where he has been Chief Executive since 2016. He has worked in the charity sector since 2001, including roles at Scope and the NSPCC. James is a trustee of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group and in 2022 he was awarded an OBE for services to Deaf people.
Dr Rob Calder to join Society for the Study of Addiction as CEO
The Society for the Study of Addiction has announced that Dr Rob Calder will become its Chief Executive Officer from 1 January. Calder has more than 20 years of experience in policy, research, and treatment in the substance use sector, and has been working for the SSA since 2019, most recently as Head of Communications and Operations.
He takes over from Martin Wheeler, who will be retiring at the end of 2024, after leading the Society for the Study of Addiction (SSA) for over 17 years. Wheeler became the Society’s inaugural Chief Officer in 2007.
The Brain Tumour Charity co-founder retires as Trustee
The Brain Tumour Charity and guests marked Trustee Neil Dickson’s retirement in October, 27 years after he and his wife Angela founded the charity. Neil and Angela Dickson first set up a group to support and raise funds for others in 1996 following the death of their daughter Samantha from a brain tumour a few days before her 17th birthday.
The Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust was formally registered as a charity in February 1997 and has grown from a two-person operation to a national organisation with 120 employees based in Fleet, Hampshire, and with an income of £14mn a year. Dawn French, Lord Charles Spencer, Nicki Chapman, Hal Cruttenden and Olympian diver Tom Daley were among supporters who sent video messages to the couple wishing them well.
DFN Foundation announces appointment of Philippa Charles as new Director
DFN Foundation has appointed Philippa Charles as its first Director, underlining the Foundation’s ambitions to drive sustainable change in special needs education, employment, healthcare, and conservation.
Charles is a seasoned leader in the charitable sector, previously serving as Director of the Garfield Weston Foundation for over 16 years, making grants of over £1 billion and developing all aspects of the organisation during her tenure. The appointment comes as the DFN Foundation embarks on a new chapter under the guidance of its Founder and Chair, David Forbes-Nixon, with a renewed focus on scaling its work to support diversity, inclusion, and social change across multiple sectors.
Aileen Ryan appointed Chair of Trustees role at Sick Children’s Trust
Aileen Ryan has been appointed as the new Chair of The Sick Children’s Trust Board of Trustees. Ryan is the President and CEO of the RAIN Alliance.
After a transition period, Ryan will take over from Paul Jardine who is stepping down after nine years as Chairman of the board. She is The Sick Children’s Trust first female Chair and is joining 18 months into the charity’s new five-year strategy.
Together Trust welcomes Mel Dunn as Chief Executive
Mel Dunn will start her role at Together Trust in January 2025, taking over from current CEO Mark Lee who is retiring at the end of the year after 11 years in the role.
Dunn has more than 30 years of experience working in the health, care, charity and housing sector, with 16 years at a managerial or executive level. A qualified social worker registered with the Health and Care Professions Council, she is an advocate for social justice with experience in delivering and commissioning services, and in championing the rights and needs of children, young people and adults.
About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.