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Press release

The King’s Fund appoints five new trustees

  • 17 Dec 2021

Independent health and care charity The King’s Fund has announced the appointment of five new trustees. The newly appointed trustees bring a range of expertise from many different areas including finance, law, general practice, biotech and clinical science.

The appointments come as The King’s Fund continues work to achieve its strategic priorities: supporting people and leaders, building healthier places and communities and tackling the worst health outcomes.

The new trustees:

  • Alan Brown: Alan has a background in international investment management. He was recently a governor of the Wellcome Trust and Chair of its Investment Committee. He also served as Chair of CDP, a climate change non-governmental organisation.

  • Dr. Annalisa Jenkins: Annalisa trained as a physician and later specialised in cardiovascular medicine. She went on to spend more than 20 years leading research and development medical programs in the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industry and was founding Chief Executive of gene therapy company Dimension Therapeutics (2014–17). Annalisa is now Chair of the Court at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and sits on the board of Genomics England.

  • Professor Kamila Hawthorne: Kamila has been a general practitioner for more than 30 years with a keen interest in health inequalities. She has held a position on the Royal College of General Practitioners Council since 2002 and was the organisation’s Vice Chair, Professional Development, 2015–18. Kamila is a Bevan Commissioner and served as a trustee for Diabetes UK.

  • Richard Clark: Richard has more than 35 years of experience in the legal profession and was head of dispute resolution and executive managing partner at Slaughter and May until his retirement in 2017.  He is a commissioner of The Royal Hospital Chelsea, a trustee of the Thrombosis Research Trust and non-executive chair of The College of Legal Practice. He is also a commercial mediator, Honorary Fellow, Harris Manchester College, Oxford and a member of the Commercial Law Centre at the University of Oxford.

  • Dr. Stephanie Kuku: Stephanie spent more than 15 years in the NHS as a clinician-scientist and currently works in healthcare innovation. She is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow at University College London and has sat on the Council of the British Gynaecological Cancer Society. She is a Senior Consultant at Hardian Health and an advisor to the World Health Organization on digital health and innovation.

Commenting on the appointment of the new Trustees, Lord Kakkar, Chair of The King’s Fund Board of Trustees, said:

‘All five new trustees bring excellent skills, experience and diversity of opinion. Their knowledge, enthusiasm and understanding of the work of The King’s Fund will help to deliver our vision that the best possible health and care is available to all. I look forward to working with each of them.’

They were appointed after more than 80 candidates applied for the roles. Trustees of The King’s Fund are appointed for a three-year renewable term. The Board of Trustees agree the organisation's overall strategic direction, in line with its charitable objectives, and scrutinise management functions delegated to the Senior Management Team. Trustees are not involved in the day-to-day running of the organisation or the formation of its policy positions.

Notes to editors

For further information, or to request an interview, please contact the Press and Public Affairs team on 020 7307 2585 (if calling out of hours, please ring 07584 146035).

The King's Fund is an independent charity working to improve health and care in England. We help to shape policy and practice through research and analysis; develop individuals, teams and organisations; promote understanding of the health and social care system; and bring people together to learn, share knowledge and debate. Our vision is that the best possible health and care is available to all.