Rowena Burns

Chair of Health Innovation Manchester

Rowena is the chair for Health Innovation Manchester with an approach to drive forward the organisation’s vital work in accelerating research and innovation across Greater Manchester’s health and social care system. Rowena’s role as chair involves extensive joint working with the City’s universities, major hospitals, and industry partners.

Rowena was a founding member of HInM in 2017 and has an impressive track record in senior leadership, including previous roles as group director of the Manchester Airports Group and eight years at the helm of Manchester Science Partnerships, both as CEO and latterly Chair.

Rowena is a significant advocate for the health innovation agenda, with a real passion to ensure local people benefit from some of the best and most advanced health, care and treatment the world has to offer.

Ben Bridgewater

Chief Executive, Health Innovation Manchester

Ben Bridgewater is Chief Executive of Health Innovation Manchester, an academic health science system that brings together health, academia and industry. The mission is to accelerate innovation into practice at pace and scale, so to transform the lives of Greater Manchester’s 2.8 million citizens.

He is a leading expert on health informatics, national clinical audit, clinical governance, healthcare transparency, patient experience measurement and digital transformation in healthcare, publishing numerous high profile academic outputs and delivering innovative IT tools for disseminating clinical outcomes to professionals and the public.

Prior to joining Health Innovation Manchester, Ben worked for global technology company DXC Technology as the Director of the Healthcare and Lifesciences Global Build Advisory Team. Until January 2016, he was a cardiac surgeon at the University Hospital of South Manchester for nearly 18 years.

Ben also provided clinical leadership for the UK national cardiac audit programme, as well as leading analyses that provides UK hospital and cardiac surgery mortality rates to the public. The programme is world-leading and associated with a 50% reduction in risk-adjusted mortality over 10 years.

Joanne Roney

Chief Executive, Manchester City Council

Joanne has been the Chief Executive of Manchester City Council since April 2017, driving the Council through the fundamental changes to Health and Social Care.  She is lead Chief Executive for skills across Greater Manchester.

Before moving to Manchester, Joanne was previously Chief Executive of Wakefield Metropolitan Borough Council, where she held the top post from 2008.

Joanne’s career started in local government as an apprentice with Birmingham City Council when she was 16.   She has a strong track record in transforming public services and delivering major regeneration initiatives such as the Hepworth Gallery Wakefield and Parkhill Housing in Sheffield.  She has extensive experience  in housing and local government having previously worked as Director of Housing at Kirklees Council and Executive Director with responsibility for housing, communities and adult care services at Sheffield City Council.  Joanne  is a Fellow of CIH and a regular contributor to Inside Housing.

Joanne is a Trustee of the We Love Manchester Emergency Fund, established in the wake of the Manchester Arena attack, to provide financial support to victims and families affected.

Joanne was awarded the OBE for services to local government in 2009.

Sir Richard Leese

Chair Designate, Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board

Sir Richard Leese was appointed as Chair Designate of Greater Manchester Integrated Care Board from 1^st November, 2021. Until December 1^st, 2021 he had been Leader of Manchester City Council since 1996.

Richard’s interests include devolution, place-based budgets and the links between economic development and social policy; public service reform as the route to tackling social determinants and inequality; developing open democracy and the community leadership role of local authorities; and the role of cities in creating a sustainable future.

His involvement in Health and Care goes back over two decades to when he chaired the Manchester/Salford/Trafford Health Action Zone. He chaired Manchester’s Health and Well-Being Board from its inception, and was the GMCA Health portfolio holder for Greater Manchester, chairing the GM Health and Care Board.

Dr Helen Routh

Non-Executive Director

Dr Helen Routh is a board director and advisor, with extensive experience as a global healthcare executive solving complex problems at the intersection of research, innovation and business. Until 2017 she held diverse business and functional roles at Philips, building strategies and solutions that combine products, software, and services.

As well as being a non-executive director at Health Innovation Manchester, Dr Routh is currently non-executive Chair of Ultromics, an outcomes-based ai company spun out of the University of Oxford. She is also a non-executive Director and member of the Audit Committee for Agfa Gevaert N.V., a Belgian listed company delivering imaging & IT solutions to the printing industry, healthcare sector & industrial applications.

A physicist by training, Dr Routh uses her ability to translate between clinical problems and technical solutions to work among the worlds of technology, clinical development, and business. In 2006 she was appointed the General Manager of Philips Research in North America, connecting research and business teams to grow both internal and external funding. In 2009 Dr. Routh took her innovation understanding into business, as General Manager of Philips’ clinical software divisions, leading the integration of multiple Philips divisions with acquired companies, and launching a new software platform. Combining innovation and business management experience, she worked across both the professional and consumer health businesses at Philips to lead the development of Innovation Strategy and head the new Integrated Solutions team.

Since 2017 Dr Routh has worked as a strategy advisor to a number of healthcare groups in both the US & UK including an integrated health system, startup companies and industry and clinical member organizations.

Graham Lord

Vice President, The University of Manchester and Dean of Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Vice President, The University of Manchester and Dean of Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health

Graham Lord became Vice-President and Dean of the Faculty of Biology, Medicine and Health in February 2019.

He also holds the role of Executive Director of the Academic Health Science Centre as part of Health Innovation Manchester, and represents the University on the board of the Northern Health Science Alliance.

Professor Lord qualified in medicine from the University of Cambridge in 1991 and undertook a period of general clinical training as a junior doctor in Cambridge, Hammersmith, Oxford and at the Royal Brompton Hospital.

Following specialisation in nephrology, transplantation and general medicine at the Hammersmith Hospital, he undertook a period of research in molecular immunology at Imperial College London that led to a PhD in 2000, funded by an MRC Clinical Training Fellowship.

He was appointed as a Consultant in Nephrology and Transplantation at the Hammersmith in 2003. From 2003-2008, funded by an MRC Clinician Scientist award, he was a visiting scientist at Harvard University and then came back to the UK to become the Chair of Medicine at King’s College London.

He has built up a research group at King’s, investigating fundamental immune cell biology and the translation of this knowledge to the diagnosis and treatment of patients with organ transplant rejection and autoimmune diseases. As a consultant at Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust he practices clinical nephrology with a particular interest in renal and pancreatic transplantation.

He led the successful application for the NIHR BRC at Guy’s and St Thomas’ and was appointed as Director of the Centre in 2012. In this role, he was responsible for the delivery of programmes of translational research and experimental medicine with a significant part of the Centre’s portfolio focussed on regenerative and personalised medicine, advanced therapeutics and informatics.

He was elected as an NIHR Senior Investigator in 2013 and a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences in 2016. He has sat on the NIHR Strategy Board and the National Clinical Research Network Co-ordinating Centre Board. He has also advised the UK Government as a member of the Expert Advisory Group of the Accelerated Access Review, representing the BRCs across the UK.

Dr Owen Williams OBE

Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust, Group Chief Executive

Owen started in post as Chief Executive of the NCA FT in November 2021. Prior to this appointment, he was Chief Executive of Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Foundation Trust (CHFT), a position which he has held since 2012. In 2020 he was granted the degree of Doctor of Business Administration by the University of Huddersfield following the successful completion of his thesis which commenced 6 years previously in 2014. In the 2019 New Year’s Honours list he was awarded an OBE for service to health care across West Yorkshire and was asked to lead a National piece of work across the NHS in England with regards to reducing Health Inequalities. He was previously Vice Chair of the NHS Confederation and prior to joining the NHS he has worked across Local Government including two roles as Chief Executive at Calderdale Metropolitan Borough Council and Rossendale District Borough Council. Before working in the Public Sector, he worked in commercial business including his first employment at the Yorkshire Building Society. He is passionate about reducing health inequality and ensuring that no communities – regardless of race, colour or creed – get left behind.

Prof Helen Marshall

Vice-Chancellor of The University of Salford

Professor Helen Marshall has led the University of Salford as Vice-Chancellor since April 2015, having joined in November 2013 as Deputy Vice-Chancellor.

Under Helen’s leadership the University has re-defined its role as an innovative, forward-looking, industry-focussed institution by creating a 21st Century version of the institution’s industrial heritage. Helen’s vision for a real-world approach to learning with a flexible, industry-informed and research-based curriculum has seen the university go from strength to strength. Salford is now positioned as the university of choice for students wanting a hands-on, work-based high-quality learning experience, as well as for industry wanting to engage in applied research and to recruit work-ready, dynamic graduates.

As the fifth fastest growing university in the UK, the largest provider of NHS staff in the North of England and with an over £1billion joint masterplan with Salford City Council and English Cities Fund, with innovation, collaboration and a clear civic mission at its heart, Salford continues to drive forward its strategy at pace under Helen’s leadership.

Helen is also actively engaged in the wider higher education sector through her role as a Board Member at the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW), continuing to undertake institutional reviews with the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA) and working with organisations such as the British Council on international academic projects.

Prior to joining the University of Salford, Helen was Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic and Business Development) at the University of South Wales. During her tenure a new curriculum in creative industries was developed, a Centre for Financial and Professional Services established and a successful review and renewal of the law curriculum. She also led on widening participation and was Director for the Guardian award winning Universities Heads of the Valleys Institute (UHOVI) – a groundbreaking initiative backed by the Welsh Government to provide opportunities for local people and businesses to improve skills and qualifications by making learning accessible across the Valleys region.

Helen studied Law before continuing to postgraduate research in Corporate Merger Law at the University of Birmingham. Born in Cardiff, Helen has lived in the North West for a significant period of her career. Before moving to South Wales, Helen held senior positions at the University of Central Lancashire and at the University of Cumbria, as well as gaining extensive experience in quality assurance through a secondment to the QAA.

Sir Mike Deegan

Chief Executive, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Sir Mike Deegan holds a first degree in Law and a Masters degree in Industrial Relations from the University of Warwick. He was previously Chief Executive at Warrington Hospital and then North Cheshire Hospitals NHS Trust. Mike was involved in the preparation of the Government’s NHS Plan in 2000 and has held the post of Director of Human Resources for the NHS
He has worked widely across the public sector including roles in local government and education.

Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust is the host trust for: GM National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) components (Biomedical Research Unit (BRU), Clinical Research Network (CRN), Clinical Research Facility (CRF)

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwell

President and Vice Chancellor of The University of Manchester

President and Vice Chancellor of The University of Manchester

Professor Dame Nancy Rothwelljoined the Victoria University of Manchester in 1987, became Professor of Physiology in 1994 and held an MRC Research Chair from 1998 to 2010. Concurrent with her Faculty posts she has also held University roles as Vice-President for Research (2004–2007) and as Deputy President and Deputy Vice-Chancellor (2007–2010).

She was elected Fellow of the Royal Society in June 2004 and made Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in June 2005 in recognition of her services to science.

Professor Rothwell became President and Vice-Chancellor in July 2010 – the first woman to lead The University of Manchester or either of its two predecessor institutions. She was the founding President of the Royal Society of Biology and has also served as a non-executive director of AstraZeneca. She is currently Co-Chair of the Prime Minister’s Council for Science and Technology, a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater Manchester, Chair of Corridor Manchester Board, a member of the Greater Manchester Local Enterprise Partnership Board and a member of the Northern Powerhouse Partnership Board.

Professor Rothwell takes a strong and active interest in the public communication of science.

Eamonn Boylan

Chief Executive, Greater Manchester Combined Authority

Roger Spencer

Chief Executive, The Christie NHS Foundation Trust

Roger was appointed Chief Executive at The Christie in March 2015, having previously worked as Interim Chief Executive and Chief Operating Officer.

Roger has managed significant service developments including satellite radiotherapy & chemotherapy centres across Greater Manchester, transforming delivery of Christie services to an outpatient model. He directed the establishment of Christie partnerships for pharmacy, pathology, specialist diagnostic services and private patients & our academic investment plan. Roger leads for Greater Manchester in the National Cancer Vanguard developing & testing new models of care. In 2016 Roger led the Trust to a CQC Outstanding rating and is in the top 15 chief executives ranked by the HSJ in 2017. Roger leads the Christie in delivering the first national Proton Therapy service in the UK, operational in 2018.

Roger holds an MBA, an honours degree in Nursing Studies, is a Registered Nurse and is an independent director of Southway Housing Trust.

Roger previously worked at Salford Royal, East Lancashire Hospitals & Greater Manchester SHA.

Mark Fisher

Chief Executive, NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care

Chief Executive, NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care

Mark grew up in the West Country. He joined the Civil Service as a fast stream trainee in 1983. From June 2017 until June 2022 he was a Director General in the Cabinet Office and Secretary to the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry. Since 1st July 2022, he has been Chief Executive of NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care.

Mark has worked in the Benefits Agency, as HR Director of the (then) Department for Social Security, and as deputy Chief Executive of Jobcentre Plus. He has been Chief Executive of the Sector Skills Development Agency, promoting employer investment in skills, and Labour Market Director in the DWP during the 2009 recession. Immediately prior to his appointment to the Grenfell Tower Inquiry he was Director of the Office for Civil Society at the Cabinet Office (and later DCMS) with responsibility for social action, social investment, support for charities, business partnerships and youth policy.

Mark has been a Director of Working Links (Employment) Ltd, an advisor for the Prince’s Trust Team (formerly volunteers) programme, and a Public Member of Network Rail. He is Chair of the Estates and Finance Committee at Huddersfield University, and a Trustee of the Clore Social Leadership Foundation. He is also Chair of the Civil Service Sports Council (CSSC). In January 2010, Mr Fisher received a CBE.

Mark lives in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.