Three new trustees join our board – British Heart Foundation

3 November 2020 BHF Press Office

Category: About BHF

Three new trustees with sector-leading financial and medical research expertise have been appointed to our governing board. Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed, University of Liverpool

Prudentials Mark FitzPatrick, Professor Jill Pell from the University of Glasgow and Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed from the University of Liverpool joined our board in October 2020.

They replaced outgoing trustees Professor Dame Anna Dominiczak and Professor Liam Smeeth, who both joined in 2014, and Iain Mackay, who joined in 2015.

Mark FitzPatrick is Group Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Prudential plc, having joined the company in 2017. Prior to this, he worked at Deloitte for 26 years and has extensive experience in financial services, insurance and investment management.

Jill Pell (right) is the Director of the Institute of Health and Wellbeing and Henry Mechan Professor of Public Health at the University of Glasgow. She has championed the use of routine data and record linkage as a resource for health services research for more than 20 years and was awarded a CBE for her work in 2017. Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed is the David Weatherall Chair in Medicine at the University of Liverpool, and a Consultant Physician at the Royal Liverpool University Hospital. He is also Director of the MRC Centre for Drug Safety Sciences, and Director of the Wolfson Centre for Personalised Medicine. He was knighted for his services to medical research in 2015.

Dr Doug Gurr, our Chairman, said: Were delighted to welcome Mark, Jill and Munir to the Board. They join at a critical moment in our history, but I know their expertise in finance, medical research and healthcare will put us in an even stronger position to take on the challenges ahead.

I want to thank Anna, Iain and Liam for their immense contribution over the last five years. Their leadership and individual expertise have been vital in overseeing significant progress for us in the delivery of its charitable mission. This includes the launch of our new strategy, the creation of ambitious research initiatives like the Big Beat Challenge and the development of even more robust governance processes.

Mark FitzPatrick,Group Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer at Prudential plc

Mark FitzPatrick, who will also be chairing the charitys audit and risk committee, said: "Working for a global health insurer, I am acutely aware of the widespread and debilitating effect of heart disease on patients and their families, as well as the benefits of early diagnosis, good treatments and effective management. I am hugely looking forward to working with the British Heart Foundation, which leads in the international endeavour to improve our response to all heart and circulatory diseases.

Professor Jill Pell said: I have been impressed by the commitment, enthusiasm and drive shown by the British Heart Foundation over many years in tackling heart disease and circulatory disorders which affect so many people in the UK and beyond. I am delighted to be able to lend my support to their important work going forwards.

Professor Sir Munir Pirmohamed said: "I am delighted to join the British Heart Foundations Board. These are challenging times for all charities including the BHF, but the important work that it undertakes must be supported and upscaled to ensure that it meets the targets set out in its strategy to 2030. It is a great privilege and honour to have a chance to contribute to the world class work of the BHF.

The new trustees join at a critical time for the BHF. The charity projects a 50 per cent fall in its net income this financial year due to the to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on its fundraising and retail activities. As a result, it expects to cut its budget for new research by around 50 million this year. Its now calling for urgent Government and public support to maintain the progress of its vital research.

The British Heart Foundation is governed by a Board of Trustees composed of 14 members, half of whom are lay members and half medical.

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Three new trustees join our board - British Heart Foundation