Non-Executive Directors

Shan joined the Trust as Chair on 1 April 2022. She has a wealth of experience from her career working in a variety of roles in both the Foreign Office and the home Civil Service. Her early experience was in policy work on social affairs issues at national and international levels. She was HM Ambassador to Argentina and Paraguay, and has represented the UK in the European Union and the UN system. In her previous role, Shan was head (Permanent Secretary) of the Civil Service of the Welsh Government in Cardiff and led over 5,500 staff with responsibility for a budget of £17bn. Shan was appointed Dame Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George (DCMG) in the Queen’s 2017 Birthday Honours.  She has been awarded Honorary Doctorates from the University of Kent (where she studied French) and the University of Plymouth.

Key Roles:

• Chair, Board of Directors and Council of Governors

Membership of Board Committees:

• Remuneration Committee – member

Attendance at other key Trust committees:

• Quality Committee (not a member but attends)

• Nominations Committee - Chair

• Patient Experience Committee (not a member but attends)

Kaye joined the Trust on 3 November 2025.  

Kaye brings a wealth of experience in financial leadership and strategic management across the healthcare sector, including in commissioning, provision and at a regional and national level.  She previously served as Director of Finance at NHS England South West, where she played a key role in overseeing the financial strategy and governance for the region’s NHS.

Born and raised in Devon, Kaye was instrumental in driving financial efficiency, ensuring effective use of resources, and supporting the delivery of high-quality care.  Kaye has been an independent non-executive member for NHS Devon, she is currently the Independent Chair of NHS England South West’s Joint Specialised Services Committee and has also recently provided senior financial advice and support to a number of integrated care boards and to the NHS England national finance team.

Key Roles:

• Audit Committee – Chair
• NED Maternity Safety Champion – Northern services

Membership of Board Committees:

• Finance and Operations Committee – member
• Remuneration Committee - member

Bill joined the Trust on 1 October 2025.

Bill is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales and an Associate of the Institute of Leadership and Management.  He has over 30 years of experience working as a Chief Finance Officer in the NHS and has worked in most sectors including large Acute Teaching Hospitals, Specialist Hospitals, Regional Office, Commissioning bodies, and Mental Health and Community services. While working for the NHS, Bill was a specialist adviser for finance and governance for the Care Quality Commission.

Bill holds several Non-Executive and Charity Trustee Roles including Health Data Research UK (HDRUK), The National Centre for Creative Health (NCCH), The South West Health Innovation Network and Arts & Health South West. Bill is an advisor for the Public Service Consultancy (PSC), a UK consultancy provider to the public services.

Key Roles:

• Charity Committee - Chair
• Finance and Operation Committee - Chair

Membership of Board Committees:

• Audit Committee - member
• Remuneration Committee – Vice Chair

Tim joined the Trust in August 2024. 

Tim is an experienced and successful senior leader, having undertaken non-executive and executive roles across social care, housing, government and welfare to work sectors. His most recent role was as Chief Executive of United Response, a charitable social business supporting people with learning disabilities and mental health conditions across England and Wales, enabling them to live active lives in their local communities.

Tim’s non-executive roles have included Chair of the Voluntary Organisations Disability Group, board member of Ridgeway Community Housing Association and Deputy Chair of National Star. He is Governor of Wiltshire College & Higher Education Centre and Board member of Progress Housing Group.

Tim’s skills include enabling organisations to deliver good social outcomes in a business-like fashion, delivering major organisational change to impact positively on culture, customer service and efficiency, and influencing in complex political environments.

Tim is a keen cyclist, enjoys travel and is a follower of Bath Rugby Club.

Key Roles:

• Non-Executive Maternity Safety Champion (Eastern)

Membership of Board Committees:

• Finance and Operations Committee - member
• People Committee – Vice Chair
• Quality Committee - member
• Remuneration Committee - member

Bridie joined the Trust in June 2021. Bridie is a registered nurse, with a background in both clinical and academic appointments, resulting in extensive experience in leadership, quality improvement, practice change, health services education and implementation research. She has held a number of senior academic positions, including head of school and executive dean at the University of Plymouth.

For the last 20 years, she has played a leading role in evidence-based practice uptake and implementation in the UK, New Zealand and Australia, working to enhance the transfer of evidence into practice, and improve quality of care for patients.

Bridie is a member of the Audit, Quality and Charity Committees and is Chair of the Organ Donation Committees in the north and eastern services.

Key Roles:

• Vice Chair
• Lead Non-Executive Director for End of Life Care
• Lead Non-Executive Director for Freedom to Speak Up and Whistleblowing
• Health and Wellbeing Guardian

Membership of Board Committees:

• People Committee – Chair
• Audit Committee – member
• Quality Committee – member
• Remuneration Committee – member
• Charity Committee – member

Attendance at other key Trust committees:

• End of Life Steering Group – member
• Organ Donation Group – Chair

Professor Sallie Lamb is Pro-Vice-Chancellor and Executive Dean of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences, and since 2019 the Mireille Gillings Professor of Health Innovation at the University of Exeter.

Sallie is a senior research and academic leader in healthcare and medicine. She has worked previously as a physiotherapist in the National Health Service, before moving to a career in medical research at the University of Oxford. For much of her career she has developed local and national capability in clinical trials in the National Health Service and delivered robust and trustworthy evidence of the value of new treatments for NHS patients in intensive and emergency care, surgery, and rehabilitation. She is the Director of the National Institute of Health Research Exeter Biomedical Research Centre which is a partnership between the Royal Devon, University of Exeter and other partner NHS Trust across the South West, designed to accelerate the development and uptake of new medical treatments in the NHS.

Martin joined the Trust in November 2022. Martin has been a GP for over 30 years, including 10 years as a GP partner in Exeter and most recently serving some of the most deprived communities in East London. He originally began his career as a junior doctor at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital (Wonford) and has relocated back to Devon. He has significant experience as a board member, having been a non-executive director for the Care Quality Commission, the Chair of the Royal College of General Practitioners, medical director and director of research and development at the Health Foundation, and deputy chief medical officer at the Department of Health. He has led programmes at the major academic health science network UCL partners and is currently chair of the Nuffield Trust, an independent think-tank which aims to improve the quality of healthcare in the UK through research and policy analysis.

Martin Chairs the Quality Committee and is a member of the Audit Committee.

Key Roles:

• Lead Non-Executive Director for Freedom to Speak Up and Whistleblowing

Membership of Board Committees:

• Audit Committee – member
• Quality Committee – Chair
• Remuneration Committee – member

Tim joined the Trust on 1 November 2023.  He has a strong record in senior university and Board positions, alongside his experience in academic leadership, including 12 years as a Deputy Vice-Chancellor.  Tim has experience of organisational transformation, innovation and building and embedding an inclusive and nurturing culture in organisations.  This sits alongside his track record of governance and assurance experience.  Tim is a NED for the NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board, Chair of AIM Community, an educational charity, Governor of the University for the Creative Arts, and an independent reviewer for the European Association for Quality Assurance in Higher Education.

Tim chairs the Charity Committee and the Our Future Hospitals Programme Board.

Key Roles

• Senior Independent Director

Membership of Board Committees:

• Charity Committee – Member
• Our Future Hospitals Programme Board – Chair
• Audit Committee – Vice Chair

Attendance at other key Trust committees:

• Inclusion Steering Group - member

Richard joined the Trust on 1 September 2025. He is an experienced Digital Strategy and Transformation expert with a career that spans the public sector, management consultancy and technology. He is currently a Director of Digital Strategy at Microsoft, a Board Advisor for Tech South West and Chair of the International Development charity, Temwa UK. Richard is a strategist, a communicator and technologist with extensive experience in AI and technology-enabled transformation.

Membership of Board Committees:

• Digital Committee – Chair
• Charity Committee – member
• Quality Committee - member
• Remuneration Committee – member