Meet the team

Caroline has extensive board-level strategic and operational experience in highly regulated environments including in FTSE 100 international companies. With over 30 years of healthcare experience, Caroline has worked across the NHS and independent providers in communication, marketing, reputation management and public affairs. As a Director, Caroline has established and led high performing teams at Bupa, Standard Life Healthcare, Vitality, Nuffield Healthcare and at KIMS Hospital, the largest independent hospital in Kent. In the charity sector, Caroline has held a number of roles, including as a school Governor, Communications Advisor at The Children’s Trust, the UK’s charity for childhood brain injury and most recently, as a National Trust volunteer. Caroline has acted as a trusted advisor to Board colleagues, CEOs and government advisors including Healthcare Select Committees and think tanks. Caroline has family in Dorset but lives in Surrey with her husband, son and rescue cat. A passionate hillwalker, sailor and lover of the great outdoors, Caroline is an advocate for the health and wellbeing benefits from embracing nature and the outdoors.

Gail is Chief Nurse at University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust and is the link trustee on the Charity’s Board. Gail joined the UHS in 2010 as deputy director of nursing and head of patient safety. Prior to this, she has worked at the Strategic Health Authority as head of patient safety, and director of clinical services at Portsmouth Hospital. Gail has also worked in Brisbane, Australia as a hospital Macmillan nurse, and as general manager of a special purpose vehicle company for the private finance initiative at South Manchester Hospitals. She has a number of responsibilities in her portfolio including leading on infection prevention and under her leadership UHS launched the COVID ZERO and then #DontGoViral campaigns that have underpinned our response to the pandemic. Gail is also hugely proud of her role leading on the Trust’s Quality Improvement agenda and embodying the value of Always Improving.

Peter has board experience of a wide range of organisations, including as Chief Executive of a FTSE 100 company and a leading national charity. From 1992 to 1998 he was chief operating officer of European Vinyls Corporation in Brussels, before returning to the UK as Chief Executive Officer of British Energy. In 2003 Peter became Chief Executive of the British Heart Foundation, from which he retired in 2013. A substantial non-executive career saw Peter take on a variety of roles including becoming a board of member of the World Heart Federation, trustee of the Association of Medical Research Charities, President of the European Heart Network, chair of CLIC Sargent cancer charity, and non-executive director and then chair of University Hospitals Southampton NHS Foundation Trust until March 2022.

Professor Mark Smith is the President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton and has overall responsibility for its operations. He took up this role on 1st October 2019. Professor Smith was Vice-Chancellor at Lancaster University from January 2012 until September 2019. He was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor of the University of Warwick. In addition to his role as President and Vice-Chancellor of the University of Southampton, Mark holds several external appointments including Senior Independent Member of UKRI EPSRC’s Council; and board member of the Higher Education Funding Council for Wales, chairing their Research Wales Committee. He also chairs UKRI’s Financial Sustainability of Research Group and was the former Chair of the University and Colleges Employers Association (UCEA) 2016-2022. He was awarded a CBE for Services to Research and Higher Education in the 2019 Queen’s Birthday Honours.

I look after the Fundraising and Marketing team, across Philanthropy, Individual Giving, Corporates, Trusts and our Community and Events. I am also responsible for developing the brand and increasing awareness both internally and externally. My role centres around building excellent relationships, inspiring people to support the amazing work of Southampton Hospitals Charity. I’ve worked in the charity sector for 31 years with specific focus in Health Charities and have successfully increased income across multiple income streams.

I’m responsible for the financial aspects of the charity, everything from preparing accounts and ensuring we meet Charity Commission standards, to paying staff and suppliers. I’ve worked in the charity sector for thirteen years, and love being Director of Finance – it means you have to get to know how everything and everyone in the organisation works. It’s a privilege to be part of a charity with such impactful outcomes, and every day when I walk into work, I’m reminded of the stories and people behind the numbers.

My role is to provide strategic leadership to the Charity, supporting the team to be able to achieve our ambition to improve and enhance the care and treatment of patients at our hospitals. I’m responsible for all of the Charity’s day-to-day activities and I’m particularly passionate about ensuring that the donations we receive deliver measurable improvements to the experience of patients, families, and staff.

My role is centred around projects and grants, ensuring we are delivering impactful projects which make a difference to our staff and patients. I am responsible for making sure the donations we receive are used effectively and efficiently, that could be on a new piece of equipment to improve a patients treatment journey, the refurbishment of a ward or research.  We are so privileged to see first-hand the difference our donors make to the patients and their families. Having worked in the Charity sector for over 16 years in both healthcare and the youth sector, I am passionate about the work we do.

In my role as a fundraising assistant, I support different areas across the charity with the admin, receiving of donations, the fundraising and the day to day running of the office. Speaking to and getting to know the people who take the time out of their lives to donate is special and it really does make a difference to the work we do. I have always had a passion for charity work, where I’ve participated in various fundraising challenges, so being able to support and be a part of the inner workings of the wonderful things the Southampton Hospitals Charity does is a joy.

Having joined SHC in January 2025, I feel I have come home. The enthusiasm and energy of the companies that support us are wonderful. Each company has their own reasons to support and goals they want to achieve. My role is to help them maximise the value of their charity partnership and ensure they see the great work they fund. Their staff bring skills, experience and new ideas that propel the Charity forward.

I help to organise and coordinate the events for the Charity, and am excited to bring some new events to the Charity calendar for 2023-24! Another key part of my role is community fundraising and supporting the events that people are doing to raise money for the hospital.

The main purpose of my role is to build and cultivate long-term relations with major donors and manage income generation from various charitable trusts and foundations. I am passionate about connecting people with a cause that is close to their heart and helping them see the meaningful difference their donations make. Your gifts are so vital to support the incredible work of the University Southampton Hospital and we are ever so grateful for your invaluable contributions! Please do get in touch if you would like to know more.

My role is to develop and steer an arts programme to enhance the well-being and recovery of patients and staff across University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust.  I am responsible for multiple projects, including improving the hospital environment and managing the art collection and arts engagement programme for patients, staff and visitors. In addition, I closely work with artists, service users and staff to develop and install artworks across the hospitals. I strive to make our strategic approach to arts at UHS relevant to the broadest possible audience and look to create, manage, preserve, and expand existing art activities.

My role involves a lot of face-to-face interaction with our supporters and UHS staff. If you visit the charity office, I’m usually the friendly face you’re greeted with at the front desk. Often the first point of contact within the charity, I ensure that supporters are connected to the relevant person in our team. I love interacting with the community through my work, it is a privilege to hear people’s stories and reasons for giving.

My role as Grants Manager involves managing how we distribute funding that has been donated to the charity. We work to support staff from UHS to apply for funds, assess applications, and distribute grants to have the biggest impact for patients, carers, and staff. I have worked in fundraising and grant-making for a range of charities over the last ten years and am excited to be back in a local organisation supporting the local community.

My role involves tracking the progress of projects funded by Southampton Hospitals Charity. The role plays a significant part in helping us to understand the benefits our funding has on patient care and experience. It involves developing and implementing a robust and credible monitoring and evaluation system to help track the results and changes in the projects implemented.