Non-Executive Directors

Helen Taylor joined the Ipswich Hospital Trust Board three years ago as a non-executive director and was re-appointed to the new East Suffolk and North Essex NHS Foundation Trust last year.

Helen joined the NHS as a student nurse and worked as a nurse and midwife before moving into social care. She is a former director of adult social care and has also worked as a national policy advisor with the Audit Commission. Helen’s first ambition is to meet colleagues and to visit all of the ESNEFT hospitals and community bases.

Eddie Bloomfield has held four Chief Executive roles at the Ministry of Justice, which have included Head of the Court Funds Office and Head of the Office of the Accountant General and as HM Chief Inspector of Court Administration for England and Wales. He is involved with several charities in and around Colchester in trustee and other voluntary positions and brings extensive experience in political, financial management and change management. He was previously a non-executive director at Colchester PCT and lives in Colchester.

Mike Gogarty began his career in the NHS as a GP in Clacton before moving into public health. He has spent the last 30 years in senior positions including being Director of Public Health for Tending and Colchester from 2003 until taking up his current role as Director, Wellbeing, Public Health and Communities for Essex County Council in 2013.

John Humpston 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 – Citizens Advice, Royal College of Nursing, Crisis and Emmaus.

He has held a variety of Non-Executive board roles in the public, health, community and voluntary sectors. John is currently a Non-Executive Director of Living Sport, Groundwork East and Emmaus Cambridge.  He is also the past Regional Director and Chair of East of England Samaritans and continues to work with the Samaritans as a listening volunteer.

Mark Millar has a long and distinguished career in the NHS as a chief executive and director of resources.

He was Chief Executive Officer at St Elizabeth Hospice in Suffolk for five years before his retirement in January 2020. Mark has also been Chief Executive of South Norfolk Primary Care Trust, Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Milton Keynes Hospital, Hounslow and Richmond Community NHS Trust, Director of Finance at Essex Strategic Health Authority, Director of Finance for NHS Suffolk, and Director of Finance for Ipswich Hospital.

Mark served as a Non-Executive Director at Royal Papworth NHS Trust for seven years.  He is currently the elected President of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants.

Karen is an experienced executive with 25 years spent building a career nationally and internationally across all disciplines of HR. She brings board experience and a significant track record of leading through change primarily in the highly regulated financial services industry, within complex cultures.

Currently People Director at Santander with strategic leadership responsibility for Transformation, HR Business Partnering and Service Delivery Operations teams, she is a member of the senior leadership team and sits on several steering committees and management forums where her role is to challenge strategic decisions and guide decisions through influence and advice.

Karen strives for continuous improvement and relishes transitioning organisations through cultural change. Living in Suffolk with her husband and daughter, she is passionate about healthcare and addressing health inequalities and is keen to use her business skills to support her local NHS trust and deliver improvements for the community.

Richard Spencer is a former BT employee and has held positions there as Director of Culture and Policy and Director of Corporate Social Responsibility, as well as nearly 10 years as their Head of Strategy and Partnerships.

He is an experienced executive coach, and since taking up early retirement from BT, he has been immersed in charitable and voluntary work with the homeless and more vulnerable people in society. Richard lives in Colchester.