Meet our Trustees

David has extensive experience of being a Chairman and Trustee within the public and the third sectors. He is Chair of the Royal College of Physicians, and Chair of the Public Health Advisory Committee at NICE, where he personally chairs a number of the committees creating national guidelines for subjects in social care and public health, including the Care of People with Dementia. Within and beyond his professional career, he has extensive experience of working nationally and internationally to improve the lives of disadvantaged and vulnerable people, and is committed to striving to obtain the best possible treatment and care of people with dementia and their carers.

A professional corporate strategist and strategic advisor to many UK and international organisations, he also holds a number of Ministerial Appointments and is a Ministerial Advisor on Carers at the DHSC.

Professor Croisdale-Appleby won the prestigious 2016 Sunday Times Non-Executive Director of the Year Award in recognition for his major contribution to UK health and social care policy and the not-for-profit sector over the past 20 years; and in particular for his leadership of Dementia UK which has helped to transform the charity, a turnaround further evidenced by winning the national Charity Governance Award in 2019.

Steve has extensive Board level experience as an NHS Finance Director and Deputy Chief Executive.

Em’s dad, the mighty Alan, lived with Young Onset Alzheimer’s. Alan and his family’s long (and not entirely successful) battle to secure accurate diagnosis and age-appropriate support inspired her to become involved with Young Dementia UK where she was a Trustee for two years before the merger with Dementia UK. Em is driven by the belief that people experiencing dementia at a younger age (and their families) require specialist care and support.

Em is passionate about the power of communications to improve people’s experience of their own health. Em co-founded and ran a successful global communications agency with a reputation for pathfinder thinking. Her work has helped to change people’s attitudes to, and the care and treatment of, a broad range of health issues including HIV, smoking cessation and neurodevelopment conditions.

Since selling her business, Em has helped a number of SME businesses to grow, transform or regenerate. Em loves to help build environments in which people can play to their strengths, explore new ways of working and discover time to think. She believes that common purpose can enable teams to achieve amazing things.

Em sits on the Alzheimer’s Research UK Dementia Action Taskforce, and is a Steering Committee member of Dementia Carers in Touch.

Gavin leads PwC’s global Energy, Utilities and Resources Advisory business. Additionally, he leads PwC’s UK Energy consulting practice and manages some of PwC’s largest global client relationships. He has over 25 years experience in organisational change and is focussed on helping companies, countries and cities transform to meet the challenges of an increasing demand for Energy with NetZero emissions.

Gavin has considerable international experience having managed, coached and worked with many global leadership teams. He combines his commercial background as a Chartered Accountant with his qualifications at Oxford and HEC in organisational change.

Gavin has held various charitable Trustee roles for 10+ years in charities including SkillForce, Shelter and NSPCC. He is passionate about helping share learning in both directions between the private and charity sectors.

Mark Stroyan is a Partner at Manchester Square Partners. Mark works with Executive Directors, Board Members and leaders of Professional Services firms as a sounding board and career management mentor. He supports leaders in making critical decisions and has a particular expertise in succession planning. Mark is also an accredited mediator helping clients to navigate differences in the workplace.

Prior to joining Manchester Square Partners, Mark was the UK and then European Managing Partner of Spencer Stuart, one of the world’s leading executive search firms. Mark was also an elected member of Spencer Stuart’s Global Board of Directors and led various important initiatives on firm governance. Mark is a qualified Solicitor and spent his early career as a finance lawyer with a leading city law firm.

Mark is a graduate of St Andrews University, the College of Law and the London School of Mediation. He was Chairman of the Governors of Aysgarth Preparatory School in North Yorkshire and is currently a Governor of Harrow School. He is also a Trustee of the John Lyon Foundation, an education and grant giving charity.

Philippa worked in the City of London as an Investment Manager/Director for many years at Robert Fleming Investment Management, and also at Henderson Administration. Her particular area of expertise was Emerging Markets. Taking time out to look after her growing family, she trained as a garden designer, raised funds for a local school and cared for her parents, one of whom had dementia.

She is a qualified financial advisor and works as a consultant helping clients navigate their way through the world of investment management. She is a Governor and member of the Finance Committee of a local boys’ school and is a Trustee on the Development Committee of an independent girls’ school.

An experienced chief executive and senior health leader, Steve Jamieson is currently Chief Executive of the Royal College of Speech and Language Therapists. He was previously CEO at the Royal College of Podiatry, where he led the organisation to attain Royal College status.

Prior to this Steve was CEO of The Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire, where he was instrumental in guiding the organisation successfully through a period of change and development resulting in the hospice receiving an outstanding rating from the Care Quality Commission.

A nurse by profession and a prominent nursing leader, Steve was Director of Nursing at the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and was responsible for leading on the RCN’s professional nursing agenda, and delivering its mission to represent nurses and nursing, promote excellence in practice and shape health policies. Prior to working at the RCN Steve held senior nursing posts at St Thomas Hospital and Kings College Hospital London.

Steve’s distinguished professional career includes roles as the President of the European Association of Nurses in AIDS Care and working as part of the International Council of Nurses (ICN) and World Health Organisation on projects relating to HIV/AIDS. He is a Trustee of Dementia UK and Dementia Adventure Trust and a former vice chair of the Board of Trustees at the Sussex Beacon Hospice in Brighton.

A key player in health and social care policy and practice Steve has made significant changes in the delivery of health policy both nationally and internationally, presented keynote addresses at national and international events and has published widely including book chapters, forewords and articles in respected health care journal.

Steve is Chair of Dementia UK Clinical Committee.

Bill worked in the retail industry for nearly 30 years in senior leadership and board level roles for Pick ‘n Pay, Safeway, Morrisons and Poundworld. These roles included a wide range of positions across operations, trading and strategy development.

More recently Bill has gained experience in the leisure and tourism sector, having been the Managing Director of one of the top attractions and historic gardens in The Lakes.

Bill now advises an estate and sits on the board of their farm shop business, as well as being a School Governor of a school in North Yorkshire.

In addition to being a Board Trustee for Dementia UK, Bill is also a Director of Dementia UK Trading Limited.

Jane Keir is a practising Family and Divorce Lawyer and a Partner at Kingsley Napley LLP. A former Senior Partner of the firm, in 2013 she became one of only four women to lead a UK top 100 law firm.

Jane represents clients across the UK and internationally, working with professionals from a variety of fields to provide a comprehensive service to her clients. She has worked on numerous landmark cases, many of which have been published in the legal press and law reports. Jane is a Fellow of the International Academy of Family Lawyers and has won a number of industry awards.

Jane became a Trustee of Dementia UK in February 2022. Her brother died of young onset Alzheimer’s disease in September 2021, at the age of 60. Supporting people with dementia is a cause that is very close to her heart and she knows from personal experience just how important it is to support not only the person with the diagnosis but also their families and friends through the provision of Admiral Nurses.

Jane is a very keen follower of horse racing. She owns and breeds thoroughbreds in the UK and is a former Trustee of the Racing Foundation. She was instrumental in organising the first ever horseracing charity day for Dementia UK and hopes that there will be more to follow.

Jane has also taken on the Great North Run for families facing dementia and is keen to encourage others to get involved with running and raising money for Dementia UK.