St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Dr Richard Jennings

Group Chief Medical Officer

Elaine Clancy

Interim Group Chief Nursing Officer

Kate Slemeck

Managing Director for St George's Hospital

Kate previously worked at Royal Free Hospital as director of operations in 2011 before being appointed as chief operating officer in 2012 and then becoming chief executive of the Royal Free Hospital in 2018.

Lizzie Alabaster

Group Chief Financial Officer (Interim)

Mark Bagnall

Group Chief Officer, Facilities, Infrastructure and Environment

Mark joined gesh in August 2024. He is a chartered building services engineer with many years' experience in designing, building and operating buildings in healthcare, higher education, historic buildings and MOD premises. Mark previously worked at Barts Health as their Group Estates, Facilities and Capital Development Director and prior to that he was in a similar role at University Hospital Southampton.

Michael Pantlin

Group Deputy Chief Executive Officer

Michael joined the NHS in 2008, after a successful career in the private sector, including IT, travel and banking industries. Before this, as a trainee in his profession, Michael commenced his career in palliative and HIV care in East London, where he grew a personal interest in health, care and well-being. In deciding to return to this field, Michael joined the NHS as a Chief People Officer – first for Royal Surrey NHS Foundation Trust and then nearly nine years on the Board for the Barts Health Group of hospitals, including the development of its successful group model. A growing interest in integrated care led him to Surrey Heartlands, where he led strategy across NHS, local authority, VCSE and social care sectors for workforce and digital development. In April 2025, Michael was seconded to the St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group as Interim Group Deputy CEO.

Stephen Jones

Group Chief Corporate Affairs Officer

Stephen joined the Trust as Director of Corporate Affairs in March 2018. Stephen was previously Chief of Staff and executive lead for corporate governance at the General Medical Council. Prior to this, Stephen worked as Stakeholder Engagement Director on Co-operation and Competition policy at Monitor (now NHS Improvement).

Victoria Smith

Group Chief People Officer

Vicky joined St Georges, Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals in July 2024 as the Group Chief People Officer. Vicky has a wide variety of experience, most recently as HR Director for the Ministry of Defence. She started her career in the private sector working as a Management Consultant with many well-known multinational organisations.

Bidesh Sarkar CBE

Non-Executive Director

Most recently he was the Chief Financial Officer at the Department for Business & Trade. He has previously held non-executive roles in education, housing and shared services. Bidesh is Chair of the Finance and Performance Committee and holds the same role at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.

Chiew Yin Jones

Non-Executive Director

Chiew Yin is a lawyer with over 25 years’ experience in criminal justice. She sits as a Legally Qualified Chair and acts as a Legal Adviser for Police Misconduct Panels in London, and for the General Pharmaceutical Council as a Deputy Chair. She is a Non-Executive board member at the Valuation Tribunal Service, and a member of the Standards Board, Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. She is also a Non-Executive Director at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and chairs the People Committee at both Trusts. In addition, Chiew Yin is a Non-Executive Director at West London NHS Trust. Chiew Yin was appointed as a Deputy Lieutenant for Greater London in 2026.

Claire Sunderland Hay

Associate Non-Executive Director

Beyond her role at St George’s, Claire is a senior executive in financial services. She has extensive experience in technology, innovation, and governance in highly regulated sectors, as well as working with Boards as both a non-executive and executive. Claire is a trustee and the Chair of the Risk Committee for UKSA. She was also previously a Non-Executive Director for Reliance Bank where she chaired their Board Conduct and Risk Committee. Claire was also an Independent Governance Advisor to the Royal College of General Practitioners.

Dr Andrew Murray

Non-Executive Director

Andrew is a practising GP at the Nelson Medical Practice in Merton, and formerly served as Medical Director for the South West London ICS and Chair of the CCG. He has acted as SRO for SWL and worked with the King’s Fund on Population Health Management, and contributed to the London data strategy. He led development of the SWL Whole School approach to children and young people’s mental health and helped establish a community health worker programme in Myanmar. He regularly advises NHS bodies on future models of care and system integration. He is also a Non-Executive Director at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and chairs the Quality Committee at both Trusts.

Dr Leonie Penna

Associate Non-Executive Director

Prior to that Leonie worked as a consultant in Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust and St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. She has held a number of leadership roles, initially focused on women’s health, at both King’s College Hospital and the Princess Royal University Hospital. Leonie is also an Associate Non-Executive Director at Epsom and St Helier University Hospital NHS Trust.

Khadir Meer

Associate Non-Executive Director

Khadir has held a series of senior leadership and delivery roles in the NHS and local government in London. As Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Chief Executive, at the London Ambulance Service he delivered significant workforce culture, estate and infrastructure improvements and transformation, alongside leading the Service in meeting the huge challenges experienced during the pandemic. Prior to this he worked as Chief Operating Officer for NHS London, providing strategic leadership across London’s NHS during a period that saw a number of major incidents both in London and nationally. Currently Khadir is Deputy Vice Chancellor and Clerk to the Board of Trustees of SOAS, University of London, where he has successfully led a process of change vital not only to secure the future of SOAS, but also to cultivate a fresh approach to leadership within the institution, and a thriving staff and student community. Khadir studied sociology as an undergraduate at Goldsmiths College and is deeply committed to the values of social justice and tackling systemic barriers to participation and achievement in society. He is chair of Minik Kardes , a children’s charity that provides affordable childcare to local families and family outreach in the communities they serve.

Pankaj Davé

Non-Executive Director

Pankaj joined St George’s as a Non-Executive Director in February 2025 and was subsequently appointed as a Non-Executive Director at Epsom & St Helier in October 2025. He is a qualified accountant and chairs the joint GESH Audit & Risk Committee. Pankaj brings extensive international experience from senior executive roles within globally recognised organisations. His career has encompassed leadership across finance, strategy, commercial, planning, performance management, and operations. Pankaj led and delivered a major five-year business transformation programme for Reliance Industries, India’s largest conglomerate, alongside the design and implementation of a new Group Operating Model. Pankaj previously served as a Non-Executive Director at University Hospitals Dorset, where he chaired both the Transformation Committee and the People & Culture Committee. In these roles, he played a key part in overseeing post-merger integration and a major hospital redevelopment programme. He also served a six-year term as a Trustee of the Royal College of Surgeons of England and has previously been a Trustee of Kidney Research UK.

Professor Natalie Armstrong

Non-Executive Director

Natalie’s academic background is as a social scientist and her research uses social science theory and methods to support the delivery of high quality, safe healthcare. Her interdisciplinary health services research typically involves mixed-methods collaborations with both clinical and non-clinical colleagues.