Kirsten Major

Kirsten was appointed as Chief Executive in 2019. She joined the Trust in February 2011 as Director of Strategy and Planning. Kirsten took up the position of Interim Chief Executive in August of 2018. She first joined the NHS in 1994 and has held a number of Director level positions, including Health Boards in Scotland and at the North West Strategic Health Authority.

Kirsten is a health economist by profession and was active in a range of professional and research-based collaborations. Since January 2020, Kirsten has also held the position of Non-Executive Director at the York Health Economics Consortium (YHEC) and in May 2021, was appointed as a Trustee at Sheffield Theatres Trust. From 1 April 2024, for a one-year term Kirsten will be Chair of the Shelford Chief Executives’ Group.

Chris Morley 

Chris joined the Trust as Chief Nurse in October 2018 from The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust where he also held the position of Chief Nurse. Prior to this Chris was Deputy Chief Nurse here at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

He has previously held a number of leadership roles in healthcare governance, patient safety and nursing management.

Chris is a Visiting Professor in the College of Health, Wellbeing and Life Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University and the nominated Chief Nurse for the North-East and Yorkshire Genomic Medicine Service Alliance. Chris also chairs the national Safer Nursing Care Tool Committee on behalf of the Shelford Group. In this role Chris will also Co-chair the Safer Staffing Faculty Steering Group Meeting with the Deputy Chief Nursing Officer for England on behalf of the Chief Nursing Officer.

Dr David Black

David was appointed in February 2022. Prior to this David was acting regional medical director for NHS England and Improvement North-East and Yorkshire region. He was also part time deputy medical director at The Rotherham NHS Foundation Trust. From 2012 David worked for NHS England, and his responsibilities included specialised commissioning, systems oversight and also responsible officer. David is also an experienced medical appraiser.

David was director of public health in Derbyshire from 2002 until 2012. David began his career in general practice, and he also worked overseas in a psychiatry and general practice. David has a longstanding interest in clinical effectiveness and he was a member of a NICE Technology Appraisal Committee for nine years. David is interested in reducing health inequalities and the part the NHS can play in meeting the needs of vulnerable and disadvantaged patients.

Dr Jennifer Hill

Jennifer joined the Trust in 1999 as Consultant Respiratory Physician having trained in Nottingham, Leeds and Glasgow. Jennifer was Clinical Director for Respiratory Medicine and Deputy Medical Director before taking up the post of Executive Medical Director (Operations) in December 2020.

Louisa Cowell

Louisa was appointed to the role of Chief Finance Officer at the start of the new calendar year, having joined the Trust in January 2022 as one of two Deputy Chief Finance Officers. She had previously held senior finance posts in Acute, Community, Mental Health and Commissioning NHS organisations in the East of England. Louisa originally trained with the accountancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers and is member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW). 

Mark Gwilliam

Mark is Director of Human Resources and Staff Development. He took up his original post as Director of Human Resources and Organisational Development in May 2009 bringing with him a wealth of experience.

He was previously an Associate Director of Human Resources at Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Mark joined the NHS in 2004 through the Gateway to Leadership Programme and was assigned on placement at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Prior to this he worked in the fast-moving consumer goods sector in numerous operational management and human resource management roles.

Michael Harper

Michael joined the NHS through the NHS Management Training Scheme and undertook placements at Bassetlaw Hospital, Sheffield City Council and Good Samaritan Hospital Phoenix, Arizona USA.

Upon completion of the Scheme, he joined the Northern General Hospital in 2000 and has worked in a number of operational leadership roles in A&E, Medicine, Cardiothoracics, Orthopaedics and Surgical Services throughout the Trust since this time.

He became Chief Operating Officer in January 2015 and from June 2019 the position of Chief Operating Officer has been an Executive member of the Board of Directors.

Mark Tuckett

Mark joined the Trust in April 2022 as Director of Strategy and Planning. He has worked in Sheffield for 14 years, in performance, policy and strategy roles at Sheffield City Council, and as Director of Sheffield Health and Care Partnership. Before this, he worked in a range of sectors and roles, including at Transport for London, at McKinsey and in the charity sector working in sub-Saharan Africa.

Sandi Carman

Sandi has 30 years’ experience working in NHS acute, community, and commissioning organisations. Sandi’s career started in Occupational Therapy at the Northern General Hospital. She has since gained a wealth of experience in various operational and managerial roles before returning to the Trust in 2010. In 2016 Sandi took up the post of Assistant Chief Executive.

Julie Phelan

Julie was a journalist in both print and broadcast media before moving into public sector communication in local government and health. She was previously Director of Communications for University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire NHS Trust, Director of Communications for Worcestershire Acute Hospitals and Worcester Health Authority and Head of Communications at Sandwell and West Birmingham Hospitals NHS Trust along with Head of Communications for Birmingham Women’s Hospital.

Annette Laban

Annette was appointed to the Board as a Non-Executive Director in July 2013 and was appointed Trust Chair from 1 January 2021. Annette has more than 35 years’ experience working within the NHS and local government in senior positions and throughout her career she has been responsible for overseeing many innovations which have directly impacted on frontline NHS care. Her past roles have included Chief Executive for NHS Doncaster, Director of Performance and Operations at NHS North of England - Strategic Health Authority and Executive Director of Performance and Delivery at NHS Yorkshire and the Humber.

Sheilla Wright

Shiella Wright joined the board in April 2019, bringing with her over 11 years experience as a NHS Non-Executive Director. She has served on several Public and Voluntary Sector Boards and is the current Chair of Age UK Nottingham and Nottinghamshire and a Trustee of Improving Lives CIC. Shiella is the former Deputy Chief Executive, Director of operations of Nottinghamshire Probation Trust. She has developed and delivered transformational change, in particular Organisational development, performance and leadership. She has also developed and delivered a mentoring scheme for under represented groups, which has been adapted by NHSI for its nExt Director Scheme. Shiella hails from Sheffield and has worked in many executive roles across Yorkshire and Humberside.

Dean Royles

Dean is a highly experienced NHS leader. He is the former Executive Director of HR and OD at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, Chief Executive of NHS Employers and Director of Workforce and Education at NHS North West. He has been Chair of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and President of the Health People Management Association and is currently a Non-Executive Director at Humber NHS Foundation Trust.

Dean has a long association with Sheffield, having commenced his career with Sheffield Council, and has lived in the city for over forty years.

Rosamond Roughton

Rosamond brings widespread experience of working in policy at national level, as well as experience at board level in the NHS. Most recently, she was the Director of Adult Social Care at the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC). Prior to her DHSC role, Rosamond was an Executive Director at NHS England, where from 2014 she had national responsibility for general practice and primary care services and the commissioning of armed forces healthcare, national screening and immunisation programmes, healthcare for people in the criminal justice system, and sexual assault referral services. Her NHS career has also included Director of Workforce and HR at the Christie Hospital NHS Trust and Director of Strategy for Yorkshire and the Humber NHS. She is an honorary fellow of the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Ashley Blom

Professor Ashley Blom joined the Board of Directors as the University of Sheffield representative in April 2023.

He is the Vice-President and Head of the Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health at the University of Sheffield, and from 2019-2022 was Head of the Medical School at the University of Bristol.He trained as an orthopaedic surgeon and is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences, an NIHR Senior Investigator and past-President of the European Orthopaedic Research Society.

Dr Toni Schwarz

Dr Toni Schwarz joined the Trust in May2021. She has had a 35 year career working within the health sector and the NHS, and is the Dean of the College of Health Wellbeing and Life Sciences at Sheffield Hallam University. She trained as a nurse and worked in clinical practice in hospital and the community for almost 20 years before moving into higher education. She moved to Sheffield in 2014 to take up the role of Head of Department for Nursing and Midwifery at Sheffield Hallam before stepping up to the position of Dean.

Maggie Porteous

Maggie Porteous joined the Trust in May 2021. She has more than 30 years of business experience working for John Lewis, where she was Director of Shop Trade until 2020 and responsible for the leadership of 51 John Lewis shops. She is also Chair of the John Lewis Foundation, working with a wide variety of non-governmental organisations and charities on international and UK projects, and a non executive Director of Silva Homes, a not for profit social housing association.

Ann Harris

Ann Harris joined the Board of Directors in April 2023.Ann’s experience is predominantly within the public sector, in Finance, governance and major change programme roles, most recently holding a senior role in Universal Credit. Since leaving full time work, Ann has held a number of Executive and Non-Executive roles which include the Gambling Commission, The Pension Advisory Service, Defence Business Services and Citizens Advice. She is currently a Non-Executive Director and Chair of Audit and Risk Assurance Committees in both Social Work England and The Money and Pensions Service.

Sonia Gayle

Sonia joined the Board in November 2024 and brings with her over 30 years’ senior management expertise within global financial services as a former regulator, consultant and chartered banker.

Her specialisms include board governance, strategic policy, risk management and organisational transformation. More recently, Sonia was a member of strategic ‘city-level’ boards (the Sheffield Cultural Strategy Steering Group and Sheffield City Goals Taskforce) and a former trustee for Steel City Schools Partnership and commissioner for the Sheffield Race Equality Commission.

Sonia is also trustee/risk committee chair at Breast Cancer Now; chair/co-founder of the African Heritage Culture Forum; community adviser to the SY Police Race Action Plan and Race Equality Partnership Sheffield; and mentor/presenter for Women on Boards UK.

Francis Patton

Francis joined the board in November 2024. He has more than 30 years’ experience of the hospitality sector and held the positions of Customer Services Director and Commercial Director for Punch Taverns. He started his career at Tetley Pub Company and Allied Domecq Inns, serving firstly as an area manager in Leeds then as a general manager for Sheffield.

He has held non-executive director roles within the hospitality sector, and within the NHS for Barnsley Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust.

He has extensive experience in strategy, financial management, operational performance and customer service.