Chief Executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer
1995 – 2005

Responsibilities

• Accountable to the Board of Trustees for developing and delivering the charity’s objectives and providing leadership to the whole organisation
• Responsible for compliance with company and charity law and all other applicable regulation
• Acting as the key spokesperson and representing the charity externally to funders, supporters, the media and government
• Safeguarding the charity’s reputation and promoting risk management
• Director of Breakthrough’s three trading companies

Achievements

• As Breakthrough’s first Chief Executive, creating a tremendously successful and high profile charity increasing income from £3m to £15m
• Establishing the Breakthrough Breast Cancer Research Centre at the Institute of Cancer Research/Royal Marsden Hospital
• Achieving excellent reviews at the centre’s first quinquennial review
• Establishing a governance structure adhering to best practice in the charity sector including financial and investment management
• Introducing best practice at every level from post opening to risk management
• Mentoring senior management team to promote a “can do” culture which resulted in a positive staff attitude to constant change
• Securing significant high profile and long term relationships with a vast array of supporters and companies, including HRH Prince of Wales as Patron, companies like Marks and Spencer, high value donors like James Dyson and thousands of individual survivors
• Establishing breast cancer as a high profile issue
• Merging with the UK Breast Cancer Coalition
• Campaigning effectively to achieve a number of government policy changes of benefit to NHS service users
• Appointed to the NHS Modernisation Board and the Cancer Task Force