Our Board and Executive Committee

Non-urgent advice: North West Leadership and Talent Board

The North West Leadership and Talent Board consists of board members from the North West region. They represent a wide range of organisations, systems and networks. The L&T Board are responsible for informing, overseeing and holding to account the delivery of inclusive leadership and talent priorities and activity that is aligned to national, regional and local system priorities. Board members bring a range of complementary skills and experience from across different areas to ensure representation from across systems, sectors and organisations.

Non-urgent advice: NHS North West Leadership Academy Executive Committee

The NHS North West Leadership Academy Executive Committee brings together representatives from across our member organisations. The committee provide strategic leadership and oversight of the work of the North West Leadership Academy, to align leadership and talent development priorities to the needs of member organisations. The Executive Committee work closely with the NWLA team and stakeholders to represent the organisations and systems we serve, share insights from our members and to ensure our offers and quality of service supports leaders now, and in the future.

Welcome from our Chair

I am delighted to welcome you, as Chair of the NHS North West Leadership Academy (NHS NWLA) and the North West Leadership and Talent Board, and to introduce the Board members who support and guide our work. 

Having been a part of the NHS since joining as a graduate trainee, and an active participant in the Leadership Academy’s development programmes throughout my career, I am committed to lending my support to ensuring impactful leadership development is accessible to our organisations and systems in the north west.  With continuing change facing the health and care sectors it is more important than ever that we work together to innovate, collaborate and strive to ensure our leadership community has the support it needs to lead and serve the needs of our people and communities across the region. 

There are exciting times ahead for the NHS NWLA as we continue our important work and build upon our strong reputation for supporting our members and stakeholders to navigate through challenge, maximise talent and enable our current and future leaders to realise their potential.

Silas Nicholls

Chief Executive Officer
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Professor of Leadership and Healthcare Management
Institute of Medicine, University of Bolton

Co-Chair and member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Dr Manisha Kumar

Chief Medical Officer
NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care

Co-Chair and member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Frances Dodd

Head of NHS Northwest Leadership Academy

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Chris Samosa

Chief People Officer
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Janet Wilkinson

Chief People Officer
NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Dr Neil Pease

Chief People Officer
Lancashire Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Co-Chair
NW HRD Network

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Jonathan Griffiths

Director of Primary Care
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Maggie Oldham

Chief Executive Officer
Blackpool Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Melissa Swindell

Chief People Officer
Alder Hey Children’s NHS Foundation Trust

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Jan Ledward

Executive Director of Strategy and Partnerships
Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Sally Senior

Regional Head of Talent and Resourcing
NHS England North West

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board

Gillian Bishop

Chief Executive Officer
North West Employers

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board

Paula Cowan

Medical Director Primary Care
NHS England North West

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board

Chris Cutts

Director of Workforce, Training and Education, NHS England – NW  
NHS England North West

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board

David Curtis

Non-Executive Director
Tameside and Glossop Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee

Heather Barnett

Chief People Officer
Liverpool University NHS Foundation Trust

Co-Chair
NW HRD Network

Member of:
NW Leadership and Talent Board
NHS NWLA Executive Committee