Today is a red-letter day for our charity as Jennifer Winter takes up her appointment as our new Chair of Trustees. This is a vital role for all charities. A Chair provides a number of functions, but I would suggest some of the most important are:

• Providing oversight to make sure we are acting in line with the relevant regulation (and our supporters’ expectations)
• Bringing the best out of all the skills and experiences of our Trustees (we currently have 10 in total)
• Making sure the charity has a clear strategy to deliver for our beneficiaries
• Acting as a sounding board for me, as Chief Executive.

The search for our new Chair took several months and was led by our senior Trustee, Caroline Bault. We worked with an executive search firm to make sure it was a comprehensive and inclusive process. Trustees making the appointment were particularly excited by Jennifer’s track record of success leading commercial organisations and her deep commitment to improving health. The team at the Charity are really excited to work with Jennifer in the coming months and years.

This also means that today is Richard Hunting’s last as our Chair. Richard has provided a decade of service leading our charity and many more years supporting Royal Brompton and Harefield hospitals, including a period as a non-executive director of the Foundation Trust. He has overseen growth, change and many projects that made life for patients and staff at the hospitals that bit better. We thank him for his extraordinary contribution.

Lord Jamie Borwick also steps down today at the end of a decade-long term as a Trustee. Jamie’s connection with the hospitals stretches back more than 30 years, when two of his sons were treated there. In addition to contributing his wisdom and energy to our charity, he was instrumental in founding our sister charity, the Brompton Fountain. Our gratitude goes to Jamie as well.

I know that Richard and Jamie will stay closely involved in the work of this charity as we set out on the next stage of our journey to provide new possibilities for heart and lung patients.

Thank you for your support, now and always.