Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice has appointed Niels de Vos, CEO at UK Athletics, as its new chair of trustees.
The experienced CEO will join the Hospice board as chair elect on 1 September, ahead of taking up the role of chair in November.
Niels – who was born in Birmingham and attended King Edward VI School in Edgbaston – has been chief executive at UK Athletics for 10 years, which is the national governing body for athletics in Britain. Under his leadership, the organisation delivered the best Olympic and Paralympic performance in 50 years at the London 2012 Summer Games.
At Birmingham St Mary’s – which provides vital care and support to local families living with terminal illness – Niels will play a crucial role in delivering the charity’s ‘Hospice Care For All’ strategy. The ambitious four-year-plan was recently backed by the CEO of NHS England, and aims to ensure that the best hospice care is available for all individuals, families and carers across Birmingham and Sandwell.
Niels de Vos, chair elect at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, said: “As a proud Brummie who is dedicated to improving the local community, I feel incredibly humbled to have been asked to chair the board of trustees at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice. I believe high-quality end of life care is a fundamental need, and the Hospice is already providing this to over 1,200 local families each year.
“As chair, I look forward to working with the board and staff to help lead the next phase of growth for the Hospice, helping them to reach even more communities across Birmingham and Sandwell.”
Niels will succeed Vij Randeniya – the former chief fire officer at West Midlands Fire Service – who has been chair at the Hospice since September 2014.
Tina Swani, CEO at Birmingham St Mary’s Hospice, added: “Niels has a proven track record in the public, private and third sector and his expert leadership skills – along with his genuine passion for what we do – will help us transform end of life care across our communities and beyond. We are honoured to have him join our board and are even more thrilled to see that he has already got stuck in and is fundraising for us by cycling the Velo Birmingham this September.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Niels’ predecessor, Vij, for the great contribution he has made to the Hospice and for shaping the organisation over the past three years.”
To find out more about Birmingham St Mary’s board of trustees, take a look here.
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