Board of Directors

Appointed in April 2024 for a term of three years.   

Aruna brings to the Trust a host of boardroom experience, both as an executive and a non-executive, with particular expertise in governance. 

She has had a 25-year career in banking and finance, with responsibility for global risk and control, developing particular expertise in the implementation of governance, risk and compliance frameworks. She was Managing Director and Global Head of Operational Controls at JP Morgan and is a Senior Associate at The Value Circle, which provides governance, leadership and strategy development across a range of sectors. 

Through a decade of experience as a non-executive director, Aruna has experience from a variety of different sectors including housing and education. She has served as a non-executive director at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust and St George’s, Epsom and St Helier Hospital Group. 

In addition to her role at our Trust, Aruna took on the role of Chair at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust on an interim basis, from December 2025 until April 2026 to support the merger between North London Foundation Trust and the Tavistock and Portman.

Aruna was born in Sri Lanka and educated in India and the UK.

Qualifications: BSc in physics and computer science from Kings College London - 1st class honours degree - Commonwealth Science Prize .

Appointed in April 2022 for a term of three years. Re-appointed for a second term from April 2025.

Carol qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young LLP and subsequently worked in international development. She has over 25 years experience as an accountant. Since 2012, she has worked across a number of NHS clinical commissioning groups in Sussex as a lay member for governance.

Carol has also been a charity trustee and is currently a trustee of the Money and Mental Health Policy Institute. She has written and spoken widely on health issues and is co-author of a book on a common long-term health condition.

Qualifications: BA Hons (Oxon) English Language and Literature, ACA, Foundation Certificate in Transactional Analysis.  Level 6 Diploma in Psychotherapeutic Counselling – Carol is an accredited member of the National Counselling and Psychotherapy Society.

Appointed in May 2019 for a term of three years. Re-appointed for a second term from May 2022. This was extended for a further 12 months from May 2025.    

Vivek has over 30 years of experience in senior roles across a range of sectors, including Education, Hospitality and Consumer Products. He was formerly the Managing Director for U.K. Education at Oxford University Press and is now a Senior Adviser with North Star Transition, after recently completing a MSc in Environment, Politics and Development.

Vivek was born and raised in India and moved to the U.K in 2011. He has been the governor of a special needs school and a private online school and a council member of the Publishers Association. He is a trustee of E-ACT Academy Trust and of CRY UK.

Qualifications: MBA (Indian Institute of Management), MSc Environment, Politics and Development (SOAS, University of London), Bachelor of Commerce (Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics)

Appointed in June 2023 for a term of three years.

Denise has four decades of experience in technology and transformation across a range of business sectors including Banking, Retail, the NHS, Airline and Tour Operations. She has been a panel advisor to corporations focussing on specific aspects of technology strategy and policy. Most recently she was Chief Information Officer with dunnhumby, a global retail data science company based in London. In 2021 she was recognised in the Global 100 Chief Information Officer awards.

In 1997 she was appointed Chair of Governors of Brockham Primary School. She currently  volunteers as a data ethics advisor for DataKind, St Pauls Cathedral as an independent member of the Risk and Audit Committee, and works with several local community groups. 

Appointed in January 2023 for a term of three years. Reappointed for a second term from January 2026. 

Sue has worked in the NHS since 1982, initially starting as a nursing auxiliary in older age. She is a dual registered nurse in both mental health and physical health. She has predominantly worked in mental health covering a wide number of clinical areas. She has held various clinical positions and leadership roles with the latest being Director of Mental Health in the Essex area. 

Sue has a passion for fairness, justice and equality. She has worked regionally and nationally focusing on equality and diversity.

She was the Programme Lead for gender equality in mental health for the South East region. She moved on to work nationally holding the position of National programme lead for gender equality before taking on the role of deputy director for all equality strands nationally. These roles focused on the implementation of national policy. Whilst working nationally Sue was seconded into the Home Office to work with other government departments on a cross-governmental strategy focused on violence and abuse against women and children. 
 
Sue joined Surrey and Borders Partnership Trust in January 2023 and will focus on quality and equality. 
 
Qualifications: Registered Mental Health Nurse; Registered General Nurse; Diploma in Nursing (Higher Award); Non-medical prescriber (V300); Master of Business Administration.

Appointed in May 2024 for a term of three years.  

Bernie has held a number of senior roles in both local government and the Higher Education sectors. She has served as a Director of the Borough of Poole and was also Chief Executive of Eastleigh Borough Council. More latterly, she moved to the University of Portsmouth where she was Chief Operating Officer and Deputy Vice Chancellor until her retirement in September 2023. Bernie has been involved in all aspects of senior leadership but has particular expertise in physical and social regeneration, change management and partnership working. 

Bernie has significant Board level experience in the charity and education sectors and Chairs a Community Interest Company and is a Director of a charitable trust in Portsmouth. 

Qualifications: MBA (University of Plymouth); BA (Hons) English literature University of Southampton

Appointed in November 2024 for a term of three years.

Joe has wide-ranging leadership experience in the transport and travel industries, having held senior roles with Strategy, Transformation, Commercial and Operational remits. He worked at Virgin Atlantic for 17 years, including 6 years as a member of the leadership team, before joining the First Bus executive team. He now combines his role at the Trust with advisory work.

Throughout his career, Joe has championed a customer perspective and the intelligent use of insight to improve their experiences. He is excited by the opportunity to support the Trust in achieving this objective for service users, their families and carers.

Qualifications: MA Natural Sciences, PhD Materials Science (University of Cambridge)

Karen was appointed as an Associate Non-Executive Director in December 2024.

Dr Karen Roberts has a background of working within the education sector and has been Chief Executive of The Kemnal Academies Trust since September 2013. 

Karen has been a successful Headteacher of two secondary schools in Kent and East Sussex. She was described by Ofsted as an “outstanding and inspirational leader”.

Karen’s commitment is to ensure that all The Kemnal Academies Trust pupils, regardless of the traditional barriers to success, have the opportunities and resources to achieve their academic and career aspirations within a safe, inclusive and ambitious environment.

Professor Roi Cohen Kadosh is an internationally recognised cognitive neuroscientist and Head of the School of Psychology at the University of Surrey. His work focuses on learning, attention, and neurodevelopmental conditions such as ADHD and dyscalculia, combining psychology, neuroscience, and technology to develop evidence-based interventions.

He has advised national and international bodies, published widely, and led innovations that support both clinical practice and education. As an Affiliated Member of Surrey and Borders Partnership since April 2025, Roi contributes specialist expertise in psychology, neuroscience, and neurotechnology, helping to advance research, strengthen collaboration with the University, and improve outcomes for the communities the Trust serves.

Graham was appointed Interim Chief Executive in 2021 and was appointed substantively as Chief Executive in 2022, having previously been our Chief Finance Officer and Deputy Chief Executive. His ambition is for the Trust to go from ‘good to great’, and that much of what we need to do to reach that goal is simply about changing our approach to problems and slightly adjusting our thinking. It will lead to better clinical care, a happier workplace and fewer people finding our services difficult to access.

Graham joined the Trust in February 2015 from Leonard Cheshire Disability, a charity which provides support for disabled people, where he was Chief Financial Officer. During his time as Chief Financial Officer, Graham worked very closely with the Chief Executive in developing future plans and managing the day-to-day performance of the charity. 

He started his career in 1995 with British Airways and then with food retailer, Safeway, working across a wide number of finance roles including supply chain, retail, operations and change management and has played a significant role in implementing efficiency projects.

Qualifications: BA in Economics, Leeds University; MA in Transport Economics, Leeds University. Member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Helen joined the Trust in 2012 as Director of Innovation and Therapies and was promoted to Chief Innovations Officer & Chief Therapies Officer in December 2014. In 2021, Helen was appointed Deputy Chief Executive. Helen’s responsibilities include Research and Development, Digital and Psychological and Allied Health Professions.

Helen was seconded to the Surrey Heartlands Executive Board to lead mental health strategic commissioning from 2021 to 2023 and led the mental health portfolio across Frimley ICS from 2016 to 2024/25. Helen is the lead for the Surrey Heartlands ICS Health Tech Accelerator which involves a partnership with the University of Surrey, the Kent, Surrey and Sussex Academic Health Science Network, and industry. In addition, Helen provides strategic leadership for the Trust regarding the integration of mental health within the Neighbourhood Health Agenda, linking with East and West Surrey Alliance Boards and also North East Hampshire, and leads on large scale transformation at system and organisational level.

Helen is a consultant clinical psychologist and began her career in learning disability services, followed by roles in the National Schizophrenia Fellowship and a multi-agency child, young people and family service. She was a senior lecturer in clinical psychology at the University of Birmingham for 10 years. 

Qualifications: B.Sc. (First Class Hons) in psychology from the University of Birmingham, awarded clinical doctorate (Clin PsyD) in 1997, Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership. Fellow at the National Institute of Health and Care Excellence between 2018 and 2022. Completed the Institute of Health Improvement Quality Leaders programme in 2023.  Level 7 Diploma (with distinction) in Strategic Management and Leadership. 

Areas of Responsibility:

• Clinical Strategy
• Therapies and Allied Health Professions
• Innovation, Transformation & Business Development
• Digital
• Research & Development
• Strategic Transformation
• Systems Partnership & Leadership
• Quality Improvement

Dr. Emma Whicher is a consultant psychiatrist with broad experience in medical leadership. She has been the CMO of SABP since April 2023 and is passionate about working with people who use services,  families and communities, to improve the care people receive and reduce health inequalities.

She has previously worked as the Medical Director of South West London and St Georges NHS Trust, as London Regional Medical Director at NHSI, as Medical Director at North Middlesex University Hospital, leading the trust response to Covid with executive 
colleagues and Clinical Director of Transformation at North London Partners ICS, leading the transformation of paediatric, maternity and neonatal services in NCL. Throughout she has continued to practice clinically as a psychiatrist.

She has led large strategic projects including as Co-chair of the London 
Strategic Clinical Network for Mental Health, the development of the London Health Based 
Place of Safety Standards and the implementation of 7-day service standards in  London.

Qualifications: BA Cantab; MB, BS - University of London; MRC Psych; MSc in Clinical 
Psychiatry - University of Leeds; MSc in Addictive Behaviour - St George’s Hospital University of London.

Areas of responsibility:

• Responsible Officer for Medical Workforce
• Medical Education
• Clinical Outcomes (including Getting It Right First Time – GIRFT)
• Setting Clinical Standards
• Leading Clinical Transformation (including crisis care and flow)
• Medicines Management
• Working with People who use Services, Families, Primary Care, Acute Trusts, and the Voluntary sector to improve care.

Clare Scott joined our trust as Chief Nursing Officer at the start of April 2026.

Clare, was previously the Chief Nurse at the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.

Clare is a dual‑registered learning disability and mental health nurse, and has a strong background in clinical practice and professional leadership.  She has worked in senior nursing roles across systems and organisations, leading the Nursing Workforce Programme across North Central London and as Director of Nursing in Barnet, Enfield and Haringey Mental Health Trust. 

Qualifications: Registered Learning Disability Nurse,  Registered Mental Health Nurse, B.Sc in Health and Social Care,  M.Cs in Clinical Forensic Psychiatry, Nye Bevan Executive Healthcare Leadership Award.

Areas of Responsibility:

• Nurse leadership
• Quality, Risk & Safety
• Nominated individual for Care Quality Commission
• Physical Health including Infection Control
• Director of Infection, prevention and control (DIPC)
• Health, Safety and Security
• Complaints
• People’s Participation and Experience
• Volunteering
• Legal Services & Mental Health Act
• Use of Force Act Lead
• Caldicot Guardian
• Carers Lead
• Connect Network

Lorna was appointed to post in April 2017, and was previously Divisional Director at Central and North West NHS Foundation Trust. She comes from Australia with a background in health and adult social care and commenced her career in the UK in adult social care in 2006. Commenced in the NHS at Board level at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust following a six-year period as a Director of Adult Social Care she also held housing and public health responsibilities. Working in the Victorian Department of Health, she was responsible for policy and commissioning for Mental Health, Older People and Primary Care. In Mental Health she oversaw the review of the Mental Health Act, the implementation of Clinical Outcome measurement and a new clinical information system in 23 Mental Health Trusts.

Qualifications: Maitrise es Lettres, Paris V, Sorbonne University; Master of Arts (Honours), Melbourne University; Cycle International Court, Ecole Nationale d’Administration.

Areas of Responsibility:

• Operational clinical service delivery
• Social Work leadership & management
• Delegated Commissioning
• Specialised Provider Collaboratives 
• Emergency Planning (EPRR)
• New Hospitals Programme
• LGBTQ+ Executive sponsor

Roshan is Chief Finance Officer, appointed in November 2024, and is an experienced NHS finance leader with more than 20 years’ service across commissioning, provider, system and national roles.

Since joining the NHS through the National Graduate Training Programme in 2002, he has built a career spanning acute, mental health and system leadership. He has held Chief Finance Officer roles across North East Hampshire and Farnham CCG, a wider group of CCGs in Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, and Hampshire and Isle of Wight Integrated Care Board.

Before joining Surrey and Borders, Roshan served at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, where he led the organisation’s financial recovery programme. He is particularly recognised for his expertise in financial improvement, strategic planning and partnership working, with a strong appreciation of the different priorities across the health and care system.

Roshan is an Associate Member of CIMA, holds a BEng (Hons) in Chemical Engineering from the University of Bath, and has completed the King’s Fund’s Building Collaborative Leadership across Health and Care programme.

Areas of Responsibility:

• Strategic Finance
• Financial Management and Financial Services
• Chair of NHS Commercial Solutions
• Procurement and Contracts
• BME Executive Sponsor

Non-voting member

Cheryl joined us in 2021 after some years of working outside the NHS. In her previous role, she was the Director of Human Resources for the not-for-profit organisation Certitude, a leading adult social care provider for people living with learning disabilities, autism, mental health support needs and their families and carers. They support over 1,600 people in 15 London boroughs. Cheryl worked for Certitude for four years and was a member of their Board and Executive Leadership Team. 
 
Before this, Cheryl held several other HR leadership roles stretching back to 1999, including HR Director at Royal Holloway University; Director of HR Consultancy, Organisation & Staff Development at University College London; Director of HR for Lewisham College; and HR Director of both The Learning Trust and The Terrence Higgins Trust. Cheryl began her career in local government and the NHS.

Areas of responsibility:

• Workforce development & planning
• Human resources
• Occupational Health
• Staff Engagement & Whistleblowing 
• Freedom to Speak up Guardian
• Staff Health  & Wellbeing 
• System leadership of strategic workforce planning and development

Non voting member

Julie joined the NHS in 1992 as a graduate management trainee and has since held multiple operational and strategic roles. 

She started with Surrey Hampshire Borders, our founder Trust, as Service Development Manager in 1998 and when the Trust merged with North West Surrey and Surrey Oakland’s (to form Surrey and Borders Partnership NHS Foundation Trust) Julie was responsible for the merger and integration. 

Julie was Director of Corporate Affairs until November 2011 when she took the role of Assistant Chief Executive. Since April 2017 Julie has been the Director of Governance and Planning, and her responsibilities in this role include our Board and Council, as well as our corporate governance structure and the strategic planning for our annual operational plan. 

Julie has a degree in English Literature and Language from the University of Reading and holds a certificate from the Institute of Health Management. 

Areas of responsibility:

• Company Secretary
• Corporate Governance
• Board Assurance Framework
• Board of Directors 
• Council of Governors
• Strategic Planning
• Project Management Office
• Communications
• Disability Network

Non voting member

Susie Gray joined the Trust in 2016, having previously run her own business providing commercial real estate strategy advice to private and public sector organisations. This is her first role in the NHS since qualifying as a Chartered Surveyor in 1990. Her previous roles include Portfolio Director at Land Securities, Director at Laing Property and President of CoreNet.

Susie has applied her commercial and property background to the challenge of providing Mental Health Services in high-quality care and healing environments that support the well-being of people who use services, carers and staff.

Qualifications: BSc (Hons) Urban Land Administration, Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, Master of Corporate Real Estate.

Areas of Responsibility:

• Property portfolio and asset management
• Facilities management
• Capital investment programmes
• Environmental Health & Safety
• ICS Estates Board

Andy was appointed as Deputy Chief Operating Officer in July 2021. He previously worked in a variety of leadership roles within our operating divisions. He also held a role to help develop mental health plans across Surrey Heartlands and Frimley Health Integrated Care Systems. He enjoys taking on new challenges and supporting service changes (such as the Community Transformation Programme or the development of Safe Havens).

Andy is a qualified social worker and was previously a manager within adult social care at Surrey County Council. He started his career as a volunteer playscheme worker for children who have learning disabilities for a local charity.

Qualifications: LLB Hons (University of Manchester); Diploma in Legal Practice, Diploma in Social Work and Post-Graduate Certificate in Strategic Leadership. 

Justine was appointed to the role of Director of Services for Children and Young People in September 2017. 

She started her NHS career in 1992 when she qualified as an Occupational Therapist at Brunel University. With a passion for mental healthcare Justine brings extensive clinical, operational and strategic experience of the full range of mental health services including Children and Young People’s Services, Adult Mental Health, Dementia Care and Specialist Services.

Previously, Justine was a Service Director at Kent and Medway NHS and Social Care Partnership Trust for over 13 years. More recently she worked with South Kent Coast and Thanet CCG’s, together with GPs and other primary care colleagues, in the development of Enhanced Primary Care Services.

Qualifications: Diploma of the British Association of Occupational Therapists (DipCOT), College of Brunel University (1992), Post Graduate Diploma in Leadership and Management, Salomons, Christ Church College and Canterbury University (2001), Nye Bevan Programme – Leading Care 111, NHS Leadership Academy Award in Executive Healthcare Leadership (2015).

Philippa is a qualified social worker and was appointed as Director of Services for People with Learning Disabilities in November 2017.

She has extensive experience of partnership working, commissioning, and creating new models of care.

Philippa was previously responsible for running provider services across five London boroughs, and has held senior roles in Surrey County Council and Croydon Council. Her areas of interest include recruitment, retention and succession planning, and she is looking forward to supporting our Director of Workforce in delivering their strategy.  

Qualifications: Diploma in Social Work, BA Hons in Health and Social Care, Diploma in Management Studies.

Claire became the Director of Hospitals and Specialist Services in 2023. Before this, she worked extensively in the Learning Disability Division and then the Mental Health Division for Surrey and Borders.

Claire is passionate about providing quality person-centred care for all and involving families and people who use services at every level of the organisation. She is keen to work with staff to ensure they feel valued and supported in the division.

Claire has a nursing background and is registered as a Learning Disability Nurse and a Mental Health Nurse. She joined the trust in 1996 and has worked as a ward manager, modern matron, service manager and Associate Director.  She also trained as a DBT Therapist and has completed a MSc in Healthcare Leadership. 

Qualifications

Registered Mental Health Nurse, Registered Learning Disability Nurse, MSc in Healthcare Leadership