About Richard

Richard joined Demelza’s Board of Trustees in 2022, after a long career predominantly in the healthcare sector.

Richard’s specialism is in finance and policy; he first qualified as an accountant in 1983 while working for the National Audit Office. In the early 1990s, he moved into employment with the Department of Health, resulting in his rise to the position of Deputy Director of Finance and later Chief Financial Officer for the organisation in 2001. He held the position of CFO for 14 years before retiring from full-time executive work in 2015.

Since then, Richard has taken on a number of private consultancy roles for companies in the healthcare sector. He also held the position of Non-Executive Director for NHS England for five years and currently serves as Chair of the South East London integrated care system (ICS).

With more than 40 years of accumulated skills and expertise in the healthcare sector, Richard wants to give back to his local community. In 2022 he joined children’s mental health charity Place2Be as a Trustee, and three months later joined Demelza’s Board of Trustees. He hopes to use his knowledge of the sector to help strengthen Demelza’s engagement with the NHS and other healthcare providers and to extend our reach to families not yet accessing our services.

When he isn’t working, Richard likes to spend time with his wife, their three grown-up children, and their five grandchildren. He is a keen supporter of Leeds United and travels to see their home games in Yorkshire whenever he can.