Non-executive Directors at ESNEFT


Mark Millar, Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 January 2021; reappointed 1 January 2024
Term of office: Expires 31 December 2026
Interim Chair of Board of Directors and Council of Governors with effect from 1 April 2025.
Mark has a long and distinguished career in the NHS as a chief executive and director of resources, having held a number of roles. Mark served as a non-executive director at Royal Papworth NHS Trust for seven years.
He is a Past Global President of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants as well as a former Chair of the Healthcare Financial Management Association.
He was also Chief Executive at St Elizabeth Hospice in Ipswich for 5 years.


David Eagles, Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 December 2024
Term of office:30 November 2027
Chair of the Audit and Risk Committee; member of the Performance and Finance Committee, Charitable Funds Committee, and the Remuneration and Nomination Committee; and Board lead for Security Management.
David is a retired external audit Partner, focusing on the public sector, with over 30 years of specialist experience covering the NHS, and local and central government. He led audits of a number of Acute and Mental Health Trusts in the East of England and London, as well as local government audits in Essex, Suffolk and London. At a national level, he was also his firm’s lead with various regulatory bodies, including the National Audit Office and NHS England, and previously with the Audit Commission, NHS Improvement and the Trust Development Authority. David is also a past Trustee of Suffolk Family Carers.


Mike Gogarty, Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 November 2021
Term of office: Expires 31 October 2027
Chair of Charitable Funds Committee, Member of Quality and Patient Safety Committee and of the Remuneration and Nomination Committee.
Mike lives in Suffolk and before retirement spent much of his working life in director of public health roles in Essex. He started his career as a GP in Clacton and lived in Tendring for more than 30 years.


John Humpston, Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 1 November 2021
Term of office: Expires 31 October 2027
Chair of Performance and Finance Committee and Remuneration Committee, member of Charitable Funds Committee.
John began his career in the NHS as a human resources director before going on to work at board level in four national charities and professional membership organisations – Trustee of Emmaus, Cambridge, Listening Volunteer, Samaritans, and Trustee Victor Batte-Lay Foundation.


Hussein Khatib, Non-Executive Director
Appointed: 5 April 2019; reappointed 5 April 2022
Term of office: Expires March 2026
Chair of Quality and Patient Safety Committee; member of Performance Assurance Committee and Remuneration and Nomination Committee. Board Safety Champion for maternity and neonates, Chair of the Maternity and Neonatal Improvement Board and the EDI Strategic Reference Group.
Hussein has experience of working in a senior clinical position in the NHS and substantial senior or board-level experience. He has a track record of executive leadership gained in a complex organisation.


Karen Sinnott, Non-Executive Director
Appointed: Associate non-executive director 17 April to 30 November 2023. Non-executive director 1 December 2023.
Term of office: Expires 30 November 2026
Karen is an experienced executive. She has worked in Human Resources for 25 years, both nationally and internationally. She brings board experience and a significant track record of leading through change. Her experience is in the highly-regulated financial services industry.
Karen is People Director at Santander. She has strategic leadership responsibility for Transformation, HR Business Partnering, and Service Delivery Operations. She is a member of the senior leadership team and participates in several steering committees. In these groups, her role is to challenge strategic decisions. She also guides their decisions by influence and advice. She strives for continuous improvement and relishes transitioning organisations through cultural change.
Karen lives in Suffolk with her husband and daughter. She is passionate about healthcare and addressing health inequalities. She wants to use her business skills to help her local NHS trust improve health services for the community.


Deborah Sturdy CBE, Associate Non-Executive Director
Deborah Sturdy was appointed as the first Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care in 2021 at DHSC. She has over 40 years of experience in nursing, spanning roles in management, research, policy, and practice within both social care and the NHS in England and Wales.
She brings a wealth of experience and remains grounded in the issues facing colleagues working in direct care through her extensive sector networks. She believes the workforce is the greatest asset in any organisation.
She holds four Visiting Chairs in Nursing a, Buckinghamshire New University, Coventry University, and the University of Salford.
Deborah was awarded a CBE in the 2022 Honours list and an OBE in 2017. She is a Fellow of both the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) and the Royal College of Nursing (RCN). In July 2023, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from Buckinghamshire New University for her contributions to nursing.


Richard Spencer, NED - Senior Independent Director
Appointed: 1 November 2018; reappointed 1 November 2021
Term of office: Expires 31 October 2025
Senior Independent Director, currently member of the People and Organisational Development Committee, the Audit and Risk Committee and Remuneration and Nomination Committee.
Richard is a former BT director whose career spanned commercial business development, strategy, corporate social responsibility, organisational culture. Since 2018 he has held a portfolio career, serving as a NED at ESNEFT, an advisor to Ofcom as a member of the Communications Panel until November 2024, and as a trustee of two charities based in Colchester providing supported housing to the homeless.