East Midlands Ambulance Service NHS Trust

Ben Holdaway

Director of Operations

Ben has also worked nationally on the Ambulance Response Programme, and previously worked in a senior management position within our Emergency Operations Centre prior to taking up a role at Yorkshire Ambulance Service where he was the Locality Director for West Yorkshire Clinical Business Unit. Ben joined us in May 2016 as Associate Director of Operational Improvement but was appointed Deputy Director of Operations in November 2016. He then started as our Director of Operations in January 2018.

Keeley Sheldon

Director of Quality

She is committed to being a compassionate leader, seeking to provide quality services at the right time and in the right place, for the people who need the NHS.

Kerry Gulliver

Director of People

Kerry is qualified to Master’s Level and is an experienced and qualified coach and mentor. She is also the Association of Ambulance Chief Executives Human Resource Director lead for the Ambulance Sector in relation to wellbeing and suicide prevention.

Stuart Poynor

Director of Finance

He is focused on collaborating with local healthcare partners to maximise resources available to EMAS to help us deliver high-quality care to our patients, and ensuring investment is targeted to areas of our business which will make a positive impact to our colleagues and local communities we serve.

Will Legge

Deputy Chief Executive

Will left a Chief Information Officer role at a Leicestershire NHS Trust to join EMAS and has held multiple Executive Director positions at EMAS since. Will has also supported the development of the Ambulance sector nationally through his leadership of the National Ambulance Strategy and Transformation Directors group, shaping and influencing national ambulance strategy.

Ballu Patel

Non-Executive Director

Ballu has contributed to national policy through the Cabinet Office's Social Inclusion Unit, and he uses this experience to support strong governance and inclusive decision-making at EMAS.

Jackie Jones

Non-Executive Director

Jackie's most recent role was the Director of Ambulance and 111 Commissioning for the East Midlands with NHS Derby and Derbyshire Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). She started her career as a Registered General Nurse, specialising in theatres, before progressing to various senior manager posts, including executive director roles and national roles. Jackie also has a great understanding of the ambulance sector, having been the commissioner lead for the national Ambulance Response Programme, along with other NHS England led programmes of work.

John Kelly

Non-Executive Director

He has been a chartered accountant for 35 years and has spent the last 25 years in senior management and Executive roles within mutual organisations in retail financial services. These roles included responsibility for strategy, corporate planning, business and digital transformation, IT and customer operations. He is also Vice-Chair of the Board and Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee at a Multi-Academy Trust in Derbyshire and a Non-Executive Director of a Housing Association based in the Wirral.

Oliver Newbould

Non-Executive Director

Oliver has been a Non-Executive Director with EMAS since December 2025, and an Associate Director with the organisation since January 2024. Prior to this, Oliver worked in the NHS for over 30 years, having joined as a Graduate Trainee in 1991. He held a number of senior roles in the Midlands in both provider and commissioning organisations which encompassed capital planning, strategy development, population needs assessment and performance management. In the latter part of his career, Oliver specialised in system development and organisational turnaround.

Perminder Heer

Non-Executive Director

Perminder is also a Non-Executive Director with a multi-academy Trust in Coventry and has a Master’s in Business Administration (MBA) from University of Birmingham.