Non-Executive Directors and Associate Non-Executive Directors

Non-executive directors are not full-time employees of the Trust. They help to ensure the Trust is accountable to the people it serves. They are people who live or work in the area and have shown an interest in the provision of health services for the local people. The Board of Directors is accountable to the Board of Governors for the running and performance of the Trust.

Chair: Deborah Evans

Deborah is an experienced Chair with 25 years Board-level involvement in health and social care. Notable appointments from her executive career include Chief Executive of NHS Bristol; Chief Executive of Bristol, North Somerset, and South Gloucestershire PCT cluster; and latterly Managing Director of West of England Academic Health Science Network, which convened 21 NHS Trusts/CCGs, 3 universities and other stakeholders to promote innovation and spread improvement in the NHS. Since 2017, Deborah has been Trustee and Chair of Brunelcare, a housing and social care charity providing nursing homes, re-enablement, home care, and supported living.

Vareta Bryan

Vareta has over 25 years’ leadership and senior management experience in Social Care, Health and the voluntary sector.

She has expertise in health and social care service provision, partnership working across the health and social care system delivering service transformation that improves services and outcomes for patients, service users and staff. She also has a strong background in and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion in service provision, employment practice and organizational development.

Formerly a Lay Member with Gloucestershire NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, and a Trustee with North and West Gloucester Advice Bureau since 2015. Vareta has a longstanding commitment to the voluntary and community sectors having both worked and held voluntary positions on a range of boards in the sector.

Vareta’s interests are gardening, healthy lifestyle coaching, teaching plant based cooking, travelling, reading and enjoying her grandchildren.

Jaki Meekings Davis

Jaki has more than thirty years’ experience in the NHS in both commissioning and finance roles including Director of Specialist Commissioning for the South of England and Director of Finance of the South West Regional Health Authority.

Prior to joining the NHS she had a successful career as an accountant in local government and the water industry. She has lived in Gloucestershire since 1998.

Jaki is a former president of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the Healthcare Financial Management Association and is currently a member of Cipfa’s Practice Oversight Panel and Nomination Committee.

An experienced Non Executive Director and Trustee, her recent roles include Non Executive Director and Chair of the Audit and Charitable Funds Committees at North Bristol NHS Trust and Trustee of The Cheltenham Trust and Friends of the Wilson charities.

Claire Feehily

Claire Feehily has more than 30 years of experience in the health, social care, housing and government sectors. Formerly the Chair of Healthwatch Gloucestershire and an NHS non-executive director since 2010, Claire is also a qualified accountant and MBA. Claire is a Trustee and Audit Chair with the National Heritage Lottery Fund and more locally she is on the board of The Brandon Trust and is Chair of Stroud and Cotswolds Citizens Advice. In 2022 Claire was appointed to the BSW Integrated Care Board where she is Senior Independent Director and Audit Chair. Claire has particular expertise in financial and risk governance, and in helping organisations to engage properly with colleagues and those who use services. Claire provides non-executive Board oversight on Raising Concerns.

Marie-Annick Gournet

Marie-Annick Gournet has over 20 years’ experience of working in senior leadership roles both in higher education and the voluntary sector. Her formative years in teaching started in two Bristol secondary schools in 1987. She worked at both; the University of Bristol for five years, while completing her PhD there and the University of the West England (UWE) for 25 years. There she occupied a range of senior leadership roles, including Programme Leader, Director of Widening Participation and Disability, and Director of the Learning for All Hub.

Throughout her professional career she has volunteered with a range of organisations in diverse Non-Executive Director roles including Governor at South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Chair of the Strategic Advisory Group for Avon and Somerset Constabulary, Chair of Governor at Bristol Future Academy, Chair of the Black South West Network and Trustee at St Georges Bristol where she chairs the Education sub-committee.

In September 2017, Marie-Annick set up MAG Consulting which offer services in pedagogy, diversity and intercultural communication. She is passionate about diversity and inclusion and this sits at the heart of her professional approach. She enjoys working collaboratively and is always thriving to learn more.

Balvinder Heran

Balvinder was appointed Deputy Chief Executive of Dudley Council on 29 March 2021. She is responsible for four directorates – regeneration and enterprise, housing, public realm, commercial and customer services.

Prior to this she was Joint Strategic Director Information Assets and Digital Development for Buckinghamshire NHS Healthcare Trust, Clinical Commissioning Group, and County Council and Chief Information Officer (CIO) for the Buckinghamshire Integrated Care System (ICS).

Balvinder specialises in transforming services shaped around individual needs through the effective use of ICT, digital solutions, information, performance improvement measures and service re-design.

Kaye Law-Fox

Kaye Law-Fox has over 20 years public sector executive and senior management experience. Skilled in designing and delivering complex national and regional change programmes in regulated sectors; among others, she has worked for security agencies of the Home Office – Serious Organised Crime Agency and Security Industry Authority, and the London Ambulance Service. Her expertise and passion are for right-sizing regulatory regimes, strategic governance and corporate systems of internal control and risk management across the public, private and charity sectors.  

Kaye is Chair of Gloucestershire managed Services (GMS), the Trust’s wholly owned subsidiary estates and facilities company, and is the Senior Independent Director of a registered provider of social housing. Since 2003, she has been an independent board member for five housing associations which vary in size and complexity, and a sector skills body. She has chaired subsidiary companies and committees including commercial asset management and development, operations, audit and risk, remuneration and professional standards, and numerous task and finish groups and executive recruitment panels.  

Kaye has degrees in management systems, health management and rural resource management. 

Alison Moon

Alison is an established Board level Director with extensive Executive and Non-Executive experience both in the NHS and Charitable sector. Alison has held leadership and transformational roles at organisation, system and regional levels.

With a clinical background as a nurse, Alison brings a systems and people perspective and passion which focusses on population health, reducing health inequalities and the quality of healthcare services.

Alison is a Non-Executive Member of the Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Integrated Care Board. Alison has an MA in Management and is also an independent Executive Coach.

Mike Napier

Mike Napier is an experienced senior executive with a background covering a range of corporate services. He spent 31 years with Shell plc, during which time he headed their global Procurement, Real Estate, Shared Services and Corporate Communications divisions. He has lived and worked in a number of countries across five continents. He also has more than fifteen years’ experience as a non- executive director in the UK.

Mike is a keen sportsman; he runs, plays golf and club cricket and also follows Gloucester County Cricket Club and Gloucester Rugby Club.

Rebecca Pritchard

Rebecca Pritchard has held senior and board level positions in UK and US financial services companies, working across the public, private and third sectors.

She is a non-executive director of SWIG Finance, a social lender in the southwest, and a director of responsible finance, the membership and advocacy organisation for lenders supporting disadvantaged businesses and communities.

Until September 2020, she was head of UK Business Banking at Triodos, the leading European sustainable bank.

In addition to her banking and finance expertise, Rebecca has a strong interest in working with values-based organisations at a strategic level to tackle social inequality, improve sustainability, and successfully navigate change through strong employee and stakeholder engagement.

Rebecca has lived in rural Gloucestershire and worked in the southwest for more than 20 years. She has part-time caring responsibilities for a family member with chronic health conditions.

She joined as an associate non-executive director of the Trust in February 2021.