Our Board

Kevin joined the Trust as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in January 2024 from Great Western Hospital NHS Foundation Trust where he was the CEO from 2019, leading over 5,500 staff and local communities through the COVID-19 pandemic.

Kevin has worked for the NHS since 2003, having worked for the South-Central Strategic Health Authority, before joining Great Western Hospital in 2009 where he was the Director of Strategy and Community Service before becoming CEO in 2019.

As CEO, Kevin is ultimately responsible for the day-to-day leadership of the organisation through his executive team and for ensuring the implementation of the Board’s strategic objectives.

Professor Mark Pietroni was appointed on the 1 of March 2019.

Mark’s career path has been varied, having spent 15 years in Bangladesh and, more recently, as Director of Public Health for South Gloucestershire; alongside this latter role Mark has worked as an Acute Physician and most recently also as Specialty Director for Unscheduled care at Gloucestershire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Mark will continue to practice as an acute physician one day a week while dedicating the rest of his week to his executive role

Karen Johnson is responsible for ensuring good stewardship of the public finances. She has worked in the public section for 23 years and prides herself on helping to make a difference to individuals and the community. She is fully committed to ensuring the Trust provides good value for money while maintaining good quality services.

Her key focus is to move the Trust to a financially sustainable position and will work closely with divisions and individuals to achieve this.

Karen joined the Trust in January 2020 from Great Western Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, where she was Director of Finance from 2015.

Al joined the Trust in December 2023 from Great Western Hospitals where he had held the position of Deputy Chief Operating Officer since May 2020. Prior to his time at Great Western, Al was Winter Director for the Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire Integrated Care System.

Al played a key role in establishing the Swindon Integrated Care Alliance Coordination Centre building on experience from his time on the Isle of Wight and West Yorkshire, where he led a team using video-based technology to support residents in over 750 care homes across the UK.

Ian has been with the Trust for 10 years and was previously the Deputy Director for Strategy & Transformation before taking on the interim Director role.

Having previously worked at the University of Birmingham and within the Electricity Distribution sector, Ian has over 25 years of Project and Programme Management experience in the delivery of IT, Organisational Change and the reconfiguration of clinical services as well as capital developments.

Within his Deputy role, Ian has led a team of Project and Programme Managers to deliver several of the Trust’s strategic programmes of work that have included the Strategic Site Developments, our Fit for the Future Programme, the Culture Engagement Programme and our Financial Savings Programme.

Ian will be responsible for working with our partners, staff and patients to define the Trust’s Strategy and for leading the Transformation Programme to get us there.

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 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

Mike Napier is an experienced senior executive with a background covering a range of corporate services. He spent 31 years with Royal Dutch Shell plc, during which time he headed their global Procurement, Real Estate and Corporate Communications divisions. He has lived and worked in a number of countries across five continents. He also has more than ten 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.

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.

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.

As a Professor in Health and Care Education Sally has over 20 years’ academic experience of developing and leading innovation and change within Higher Education. She is currently the Pro Vice Chancellor for Health and Science at the University of Worcester and is a member of the University Executive Board. She provides academic leadership to the Academic Schools of Nursing and Midwifery, Allied Health and Community, Medicine, Sports and Exercise, Science and the Environment and Psychology with a focus on delivering an outstanding academic experience for all students, enhancing research and enterprise, and developing the University’s educational offer. She previously worked in a range of senior leadership roles at the University of West of England, Bristol. She is passionate about ensuing that health and care programmes develop practitioners for the future who will have a positive impact in their chosen field. Sally’s professional background is in nursing and her area of expertise is within the field of Emergency Care and Advanced Clinical Practice, with a focus of developing and supporting new roles within the health and care sector. She has extensive experience of working in partnership with external organisations to develop innovative programmes to support workforce need.

Kaye 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.