Peter was the chief executive of both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Peter joined one of our predecessor trusts, Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust which ran Musgrove Park Hospital, in 2005 as director of finance and performance. He then became deputy chief executive in 2008 and took on the responsibility of chief operating officer in 2010. Before Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust merged in April 2020, Peter became chief executive of both organisations in November 2017. Prior to joining Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, Peter was director of performance at Dorset and Somerset Strategic Health Authority, and also worked in both commissioning and provider organisations in Somerset prior to that. Peter is also a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants.

Andy was one of two chief operating officers for Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023 and is now the single chief operating officer and deputy chief executive for our trust. Andy joined the NHS in Somerset in 2014 when he joined Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust as chief operating officer. Having originally qualified as an occupational therapist, he worked in a number of clinical roles within mental health across the south west before moving into leadership roles during the 1990s. Andy played a role in the establishment of a new specialist NHS mental health trust serving the Avon and Wiltshire areas and became the general manager of mental health services for seven years up to 2006. Following this, Andy gained a broad range of experience in London and the south west in senior commissioning and provider roles in the NHS, and also in social care, with most of his work being focused on service modernisation. Andy maintains a strong interest in care pathway redesign and service transformation and in recent years has taken on a number of system leadership roles within Somerset, centred on improving patient flow and working with partners in the development of successful community alternatives to hospital admission. Andy was the joint senior responsible officer for the Somerset COVID-19 Vaccination Programme.

Dr Melanie Iles was previously national chief clinical information officer (CCIO) at NHS England on an interim basis, on secondment from her substantive role as NHS England’s medical director and CCIO for the East of England region. Dr Melanie joined Somerset NHS Foundation Trust on Monday 1 April 2024. Dr Melanie Iles is an experienced leader, having worked as a medical director in different settings for over 8 years, in an acute trust, for NHS Improvement and for NHS England at regional level. Prior to this, she held a variety of regional and national roles as a senior clinical leader focussed on children and young people. She is a paediatrician with over 31 years’ service in the NHS.

David was previously the director of strategy and digital development for both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. David first joined Musgrove Park Hospital in 2016 as director of finance and went on to become the director of strategic development and improvement for both Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust before the two trusts merged in 2020. David was previously director of operational finance at North Bristol NHS Trust from June 2014. Before that he spent six years at Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust, most of them as assistant director of finance. He originally joined the NHS in 1998 on its graduate financial management training scheme.

Hayley was previously the chief nurse for both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Prior to becoming an executive director, Hayley worked in senior clinical leadership roles in the southwest, London and the southeast. Hayley’s early professional career centred in critical care, first as an intensive care nurse and later, following a period of training at Birmingham Medical School, as one of the very first physician’s assistants to practise in the UK. As part of Hayley’s role at Somerset NHS Foundation Trust, she has executive responsibility for safeguarding, patient safety and quality (jointly with the chief medical officer). Hayley is Trust Board safety champion for our armed forces, children, maternity, and neonates.

Isobel was previously the chief of people and organisational development at both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Isobel started her career at Musgrove Park Hospital in 1988 and held several senior human resources and organisational development management roles, including at associate and deputy level, until she was appointed director of people and organisational development in 2018 for both Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust before the two trusts merged. Isobel has played a key role in developing the trust’s system of distributed leadership, ensuring that the organisation’s values are brought to life in everyday behaviour. Isobel is a fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Pippa was previously the chief finance officer for both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Pippa has over 20 years of experience in NHS finance and over thirteen years at deputy and director level. She has worked across regulator, commissioning and provider sectors and has a broad perspective on NHS finances. Pippa joined Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in June 2013 as director of finance and business development. She was then appointed as director of finance for Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in October 2017 before the two trusts merged in 2020. Pippa believes NHS resources must be used in the most efficient and effective way while ensuring patient safety is not compromised. Pippa is a fellow of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Phil was previously the director of corporate services for both Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital, NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023. Phil joined Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust in 2012, having worked in the NHS since 2000. He went on to become the director of governance and corporate development for both Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Somerset Partnership NHS Foundation Trust before the two trusts merged in April 2020. He worked for the Somerset Heath Authority before becoming director of corporate services for Taunton Deane Primary Care Trust and then director of corporate services and communications for NHS Somerset from 2006 – 2011. He previously worked for the Treasury Solicitor’s department, the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman and AXA PPP healthcare.

Colin was previously chairman of Somerset NHS Foundation Trust from 1 April 2020 until the merger between Somerset NHS Foundation Trust and Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust on 1 April 2023. He was chairman of Taunton and Somerset NHS Foundation Trust from 2014 and pro-chancellor and chair of governors of the University of Plymouth from 2016 - 2022. From 1992 to 2013 Colin was chief executive of Viridor, one of the UK’s leading recycling, renewable energy and waste management companies, and an executive director of Pennon Group PLC. He was then chairman of Viridor until the end of 2014. Prior to joining Pennon, Colin was chief executive of Coats Viyella Yarns Division, an executive director of Renold PLC, a consultant with the Boston Consulting Group and an official with the Bank of England. Colin was chairman of the Government’s Living with Environmental Change’ Business Advisory Board from 2009 to 2015 and of the Environmental Sustainability Knowledge Transfer Network from 2007 to 2013. He is master of the Worshipful Company of Water Conservators for 2022/23 (as previously in 2007/08) and chair of the 'WET 10’ City Livery Companies from 2008 to 2013. From 1997 to 2015 he was a trustee, and is now honorary vice president, of the Calvert Trust Exmoor. Colin holds an MA from Oxford University and an MBA from Harvard Business School where he held a Harkness Fellowship. He was appointed an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours 2012 for services to technology and innovation, and a Deputy Lieutenant (DL) of Somerset in 2016.

Following a degree and PhD in chemistry at Oxford University (where he used A.I. to design anti-cancer drugs), Alex started his career promoting apprentice partnerships as chief executive of an educational charity in London. In January 2016, he jumped from a successful career in intellectual property law to become chief executive of Mind (the mental health charity) in his home county of Somerset, where he now farms with his young family. Alex also holds various trusteeships and directorships in the property, education and third sectors. Alex was previously also a non-executive director at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust prior to the merger of the trusts in April 2023.

Barbara Gregory is a chartered accountant who has worked at senior management level in the NHS since 1993, including 15 years at board level in many different parts of the health system. She has an excellent working knowledge gained from first-hand experience of the health and social care system including working in strategic transformation programmes. Barbara has also worked closely with senior colleagues from local authorities on the integration of provision and commissioning and on the opportunities for the devolution of expenditure to providers as part of the potential development of accountable care organisations/systems.

Graham has over 40 years of experience in the financial and legal sectors and was previously an executive director of Bank and Clients PLC. Prior to this, in his capacity as managing partner and latterly chairman, he developed a legal practice to a multi office large employer. He has a deep understanding of commercial and risk management within the financial sector together with a thorough knowledge of the core strategic principles of heavily regulated and competitive sectors. He has also been involved in change management, developing policies for large and complex organisations including whistle blowing, IT security and data protection and people policies. Graham joined the Trust Board of Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in April 2018 and subsequently joined the Trust Board of the merged trust in April 2023.

Jan spent the early part of her career with Unilever, in an international perfumery business covering sales, marketing and general management roles, including two years in the USA. She has over 20 years’ experience of the NHS in Somerset, initially in public health and later as deputy chief executive for NHS Somerset, until she became managing director of the South, Central and West Commissioning Support Unit. Jan retired from this post in 2016. Jan has worked at senior level with all of the major health and social organisations in the county, including primary care, local authorities and the voluntary sector. She also has significant experience of structural change, having led the merger of three commissioning support units in 2015. Jan was previously also a non-executive director at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust prior to the merger of the trusts in April 2023.

Kate was appointed as a non-executive director on 1 July 2015 and has great experience in the strategic direction and transformation of services within the NHS. She established a new NHS Trust in 2010, which trebled in size in 2011 and became the first community trust to be licensed by Monitor as a Foundation Trust in November 2014. Previously, Kate transformed her own GP practice, taking it from a traditional reactive business to a forward-planning, innovative beacon site, with a sustained Investors in People accolade. Kate is currently a trustee of the Board of Skills for Health, a member of the Board of the National Skills Academy for Health, and a non-executive director at Symphony Health Services. In 2015 she was included in the HSJ “Top 50 NHS Chief Executives” list, being recognised for her approach to service transformation and the integration of services across NHS boundaries.

Martyn is a Fellow of the Institute of Chartered Accountants and chairs the Institute’s Internal Audit Advisory Panel. He has 40 years of experience in audit and risk management, operating at board level with both the public and private sector. Over the last 15 years he has led the internal audit functions first at a major UK bank and then at a global investment and wealth management bank. From 2010 to 2012, he was a board member of the East Kent Hospitals NHS Trust. Martyn chairs the Trust’s Financial Resilience and Commercial Committee. Martyn was previously a non-executive director and chairman at Yeovil District Hospital NHS Foundation Trust before the trusts merged in April 2023.

After a career spanning 41 years in the NHS, including 17 years as Director of Finance and Information at University Hospitals Bristol NHS Foundation Trust, Paul retired in June 2019. He became a non-executive director of Yeovil Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in March 2020 and joined the Trust Board of the merged trust in April 2023.

Inga has spent a large part of her career working in the NHS in a range of nursing, midwifery and education roles, but also has extensive experience working in senior roles in the Royal Navy. Inga was appointed Inspector General of the Defence Medical Services where she designed and implemented a new healthcare governance framework. Subsequently she took on the role of Head of the Medical Service and Medical Director General for the Royal Navy. Inga is a trustee of the White Ensign Association, which provides independent advice to all serving and former members of the Royal Navy, Royal Marines, Royal Fleet Auxiliary, and their families. Inga is currently a non-executive director for the Isle of Wight NHS Trust and the Portsmouth Hospital University NHS Trust and is a director of a private healthcare consultancy providing healthcare advice and reasonable challenge to executive teams with the aim of delivering enhanced governance and assurance.

Tina has over 40 years of experience working in a number of senior human resources, recruitment and organisational development roles in large organisations, covering British Airways, RHM Premier Foods, P&O Ferries and Gatwick Airport Ltd. Tina ran large operations as a Duty Check-in Manager for Terminal 4 and General Manager for British Airways' worldwide call centres generating revenue and delivering customer service to passengers including specialist Executive Club service centres and the global customer relations operation dealing with customer complaints and service recovery. She has also had involvement in crisis and emergency planning. Until recently Tina held the post of Amazon’s HR Director of Operations for the UK and Ireland where she managed the speed of growth from 8,000 employees to 60,000 employees. In addition, Tina was previously a non-executive director for Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust and is a Trustee and volunteer for the Trussell Trust Foodbank. The key focus in all her roles has been a passion for the employee and customer experience. Tina is currently a Parish Councillor for her local village.