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.

Bernadette Conroy has over 20 years’ experience of senior roles in the corporate and investment banking sectors, latterly as Global Head of Strategy and Planning at HSBC.

At a non-executive level, Bernadette has worked in the health, housing, property and regeneration sectors including roles with Barnet CCG, North London Estates Partnerships and Poplar Harca. Bernadette is the current Chair of Building and Space Management at University of Cambridge.

Bernadette has an MA in Mathematics from University of Cambridge and an MBA.

Bernadette is also the Chair of CHP’s Property and Tenant Management Committee.

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 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.

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.

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.

Matthew Holloway joined CHP as a Corporate Management Accountant and has progressed through the company in various roles including as Financial Controller and is now Interim CFO.  

He joined in 2013 just after CHP took on the Head Tenant responsibility, following changes brought by the Health and Social Care Act 2012, and played an integral role in building CHP’s finance capacity and capability to support this new role.  Matthew has been instrumental in leading change within CHP, setting up the Strategic Delivery Team and Steering Groups to successfully drive performance in key priority areas. 

After graduating from the University of Salford, Matthew went on to work in the private sector holding various finance roles within a HVAC provider based in Manchester.  Matthew is a member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA).

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.