CHP Executive and Board

Catherine Mason joined CHP as Chair in September 2019. Catherine is also Chair of the Solent NHS Trust, a community and mental health trust in the south of England, and an independent member of the Network Rail System Operator Advisory Board.

She has a broad range of experience, including as Managing Director of NATS (National Air Traffic Services) Services division, the leading provider of air traffic control services at the largest airports in the UK, and previously worked in Northern Ireland as Group Chief Executive of Translink, a public corporation providing all of the public transport in the province, including rail infrastructure, bus and coach services, plus car parks, parcels and a tours holiday business. She has also worked for Arriva and United Biscuits.

Bob Alexander is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) with Board experience within the public and independent sectors at national, regional and local level.

He is currently the Independent Chair of the Sussex and East Surrey Sustainability and Transformation Partnership, a Trustee in the hospice and education sectors and an adviser to CIPFA on health and integration matters. Prior to this, Bob was Deputy Chief Executive at NHS Improvement that incorporated the responsibilities of the NHS Trust Development Authority (TDA) where he had been Finance Director and subsequently Chief Executive.

Prior to joining the TDA, Bob was the Finance Director of NHS South of England and the Director of NHS Finance at the Department of Health from 2007.

Bob is also the Chair of CHP’s Audit Committee.

Cha Patel has held senior positions, in a variety of sectors including healthcare, commercial, not-for-profit and social. She currently runs her own corporate finance consultancy, is the Deputy Chair of Bromley Healthcare and Non-Executive Director at Gateway Housing Association

Cha has been involved in the rationalisation and upgrading of the estates and facilities in the NHS in Camden and Islington; and in the integration of community healthcare services in Bromley, working closely with GPs, and using Big Data to significantly improve efficiency and deliver more for less.

She has a strong focus on governance, finance, risk and performance, and a passion for achieving effective improvement.

Cha is also the Chair of CHP’s Finance, Investment and Systems Committee.

Geraldine Strathdee CBE was the National Clinical Director for Mental Health at NHS England, providing leadership for England’s transformational mental health and integrated care policy, and population health approach. She has held senior roles in health policy, regulation and clinical management, at national and London regional levels. She has led transformational programmes, moving services from hospital based, to 24/7 home, and primary care models, and advises internationally on service design and quality improvement.

She is committed to therapeutic design estates that enable staff to provide access to safe, high quality care for patients. Geraldine is a Non-Executive Director at South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust, a co-founder of the Zero Suicide Alliance and a Vice Patron of the Poppy Factory. She is passionate about the development of leadership competencies and using information to enable informed decision-making.

Geraldine is also the Chair of CHP’s People, Culture and Remuneration Committee.

Claire Hewitt is Senior Commercial Strategy Manager at the Department of Health and Social Care, which involves performing the shareholder function on behalf of the Secretary of State for Health.

Claire is an accountant by background, having trained with one of the “Big 4” specialising in public sector organisations, and has also worked in the NHS.

In addition to her work in the private sector, Claire has over 14 years working with the DHSC alongside CHP, and is now the Shareholder Representative on the Board.

Richard has over 30 years of real estate and finance experience, having held a number of executive and non-executive roles for organisations in retail, housing, healthcare and retirement living with companies such as Aldi, McCarthy Stone, Octopus Healthcare and St Andrews Healthcare spanning both the public and private sectors.  This has included executive roles in operations, property development, real estate management and finance.

He is currently CEO of Brigid Investments, an asset owning business specialising in retirement rental property and also sits on the Boards of BexleyCo and Cognatum Property. Previously he sat on the  Board of one of the largest Housing Associations in the South of the Country (Radian).

Wendy has extensive CEO and Executive Board level experience within the NHS. She has worked across the complete spectrum of the healthcare system both in hospital providers and in commissioning and has experience in both England and Wales.  Wendy joined the NHS through the National Graduate Financial Management Training Scheme in the North West and undertook several senior roles prior to obtaining Finance Director positions, many including Estates and Investment.  She has also undertaken several national and regional Chair and leadership roles including: Chairman of the West Midlands HFMA; lead Chief Executive for the National Specialist Orthopaedic Alliance; Interim CEO for the British Academy of Audiology, and Chair of NHS West Midlands Providers.  She has worked as a Management Consultant and Executive Coach, and has undertaken many senior interim roles in Turnaround and CEO positions. She is currently a Non-Executive Director and Deputy Chairman for the West Midlands Ambulance Service NHS University Foundation Trust.

Malcolm has 30 years’ experience in corporate real estate, asset management, property development and estate management, working across large and diverse property portfolios.

Prior to joining CHP, Malcolm held the position of Head of Group Property at the Department for Transport, having worked on high-profile areas across the DfT Group, such as HS2, Highways England and the DVLA, as well as in the delivery of cross cutting central government initiatives.

A Member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (MRICS), Malcolm was also previously Head of Corporate Real Estate at Network Rail. He is also the Non-Executive Vice Chair of the Shepherds Bush Housing Group.

Nafees has a broad range of experience spanning 25 years. After training as an accountant, he worked for several investment banks and other large corporate organisations.

Nafees has previously held roles at CHP’s private sector partner Fulcrum, where he worked on NHS LIFT projects, followed by a number of complex PFI projects involving demand risk, bond financing and the management of multiple funders and investors.

After leaving Fulcrum, Nafees joined the West Midland Combined Authority to work on the Midland Metro extension programme. During his time there, he covered many roles, including leading a team of finance, commercial and Project Management Office professionals, and delivering new finance and funding strategies.

He was also the Finance Director for the Midland Metro operating company and a member of the transport for West Midlands Senior Leadership Team.

Nafees is passionate about making a real difference to communities, he is also Chair of Governors of Minet Infant School in West London.

Immediately before joining CHP, Alex led the student experience and satisfaction strategy at UPP Ltd, developing senior level relationships with partner universities and demonstrating the value UPP could add to the higher education sector through a strategic approach to enhancing the student experience. In addition, Alex provided strategic oversight and leadership to ensure the SPVs met occupancy and revenue targets throughout the concession period whilst also ensuring that the assets were maintained and FM services delivered in line with customer expectations.

After studying at Sheffield and Newcastle, Alex worked as a careers adviser helping young people get into work and training.  Alex went on to develop projects to support marginalised young people across several UK regions and later worked with organisations in Holland, Germany, Spain and Sweden advising on the development of similar initiatives.

From 2000, Alex worked at the East Midlands Development Agency for 12 years initially leading the Regional Observatory then later working in learning and skills, business growth and finally as Transition Director managing transition to the new economic development structures and the implementation of the corporate plan across the organisation.

From 2012, Alex moved into the higher education sector and was involved in the redesign of teaching and learning organisational structures and student experience enhancement at the University of Nottingham, both in the UK and at the overseas campuses.

Alex has recently completed a MA in Higher Education at Anglia Ruskin University.