Charity Governance

I was born in Bristol but I’m a Yorkshire lad: my parents moved north when I was a small child. School years were spent in Northallerton. At 18, I had no plans for higher education but geography fascinated me. One degree led to another and, following that, I spent over 40 years at university! My final one-stop-job was Vice-Chancellor and President of Loughborough University, with responsibility for 18,000 students, 4,000 staff and an annual budget of £350million. I stepped down in 2021 and since developed a portfolio career. The Trustees appointed me as Chair of The Air Ambulance Service in March 2022. One of my philosophies is that an organisation is as good as its people. I realise how important this is with our charity and I am grateful to everyone for their contribution and commitment.

Andrew is an Assistant Director at the General Medical Council. He is registered as a doctor with a licence to practise and he is also a practising barrister. Andrew’s expertise is in medical law, where he has wide experience of advising senior members of government and public sector organisations, and was previously Head of Medico-legal Services for part of the UK government.

Jo is a Chief People Officer with over 20 years’ experience in People and Leadership roles. She is an executive coach and Neuro Linguistic Programming master practitioner, as well as being CIPD qualified. She has worked in senior People roles across a variety of sectors including Retail, Aerospace, and Consumer and is passionate about building successful businesses where talent prospers, creativity flourishes, and individuals grow.

John is Honorary Treasurer of TAAS and a Chartered Accountant. He is managing Director of Corporate Edge, a business and strategy consultancy. His previous roles were as Honorary Treasurer of Samaritans, Helen & Douglas House and PACT. He sits on the Charity Committee at ICAEW and writes for the Economist. He is a volunteer at Twickenham Rugby Stadium helping steward the public on match days.

Phill has worked in a number of senior finance roles across the public sector and currently works in the NHS as Chief Finance Officer for the North Central London Integrated Care System where he is responsible for around £4bn of expenditure on Healthcare services. Prior to that he was Chief Finance Officer at Homerton Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust and spent the first part of his career in the Civil Service at the Department for Work and Pensions and the Cabinet Office. He is a member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance Accountants and sits on the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport’s Audit and Risk Committee. Phill lives with his partner and four children in Essex and in his spare time enjoys as much time outdoors as possible!

With specialist expertise in marketing and communications, Sarah Baumann joins the Board following key roles within the UK’s major advertising agencies. Until recently, Sarah was the Managing Director of VaynerMedia. Sarah has expertise in all areas of marketing and advertising, most recently in the digital and online realm.

Tina is the Chief Safeguarding Officer at The Scout Association. Prior to this, she was the Head of Safeguarding at Suffolk County Council. Tina is a member of the senior leadership team at The Scout Association, responsible for leading and delivery of health & safety and safeguarding of 160,000 staff and volunteers.

Tony has worked at NSG Group since September 2020 as Chief Transformation Officer and Main Board Director. Previously he was employed as Global Head of Automotive Business and SEO there, and as Managing Director of Pilkington Automotive Glass Replacement Europe. Tony is an expert at influencing organisations to trigger an entrepreneurial outlook when executing strategies designed to achieve profitable growth. He is highly skilled at directing business turnarounds, transitions, and cost enhancement projects to deliver continual change, adding tangible financial value to performance.

With over 25 years’ experience as a CEO and Board member in the healthcare and not for profit sectors, I have led a diverse selection of health and social care institutions, including Willen Hospice, Enham Trust, Uttlesford PCT and The Terrence Higgins Trust and championing change and development in all these organisations. I have also been as a Trustee of Sue Ryder.

Having worked for the NHS Ambulance Services and pre-hospital medicine for over 20 years, as both a clinician and senior manager, it is an absolute privilege to work for The Air Ambulance Service. It is a pleasure to lead and support such a dedicated team of people.

I’m the clinical lead for the local Air Ambulance and have been with Warwickshire & Northamptonshire Air Ambulance since 2003. I’m committed to providing the best possible care for our patients and ensuring they receive the treatment they need as quickly as possible.