TARGET OVARIAN CANCER - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Trustee
- Founder and CEO of Events Management Company Quintessentially Events
Anabel is the founder and CEO of events management company Quintessentially Events, with a professional background in high-end music and events management. She has been voted in the top 15 most influential people within the UK events industry, and has helped raise over £20m for charities. Anabel is a winner of the First Women Award for Tourism and Leisure, a founding member of the Soho House Group and was involved with setting up The House of St Barnabas, the world's first philanthropic members' club.
Anabel is a successful entrepreneur and business leader with over 30 years' experience working in music, entertainment and luxury events. She is currently Founder-CEO of ALITE, a business that supports high level assistants to realise their full potential. Anabel is a recipient of the First Woman Award for Tourism and Leisure and has helped to raise over £20m for charitable causes. She is a proud champion of LGBTQ+ initiatives and excited to help support Target Ovarian Cancer in creating unique experiences to drive awareness, fundraising and lasting impact.
Angie is a physicist by training, and brings nearly two decades of experience in science and technology to the forefront. She co-founded Faculty: Europe's leading applied AI firm and a world leader in AI safety and responsible AI deployment. Having worked on transforming organisational performance through safe, impactful and human-first AI in the past decade, she is well-versed in navigating the intricacies of technology's role in driving impact and achieving strategic goals for organisations.
Anna joined Target Ovarian Cancer in July 2023 and brings a wealth of experience following years of working for some of the UK's most notable charities NSPCC, Macmillan Cancer Support, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth and the Royal Free Charity. As Director of Development she is responsible for driving our ambitious fundraising objectives to deliver further research into ovarian cancer, improve early diagnosis of the disease, and provide support for everyone affected by ovarian cancer.
Annwen has been Chief Executive of Target Ovarian Cancer since it was established in 2008. She has extensive experience of leadership, management and campaigning in the non-profit sector, having served previously as Chief Executive of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and as a trustee of the Association of Medical Research Charities in the UK. Annwen has also played a major role in developing international collaboration to scale up efforts against ovarian cancer. She is co-founder and Chair of the World Ovarian Cancer Coalition and a co-founder of World Ovarian Cancer Day.
Annwen was appointed by NHS England to the National Cancer Drugs Fund in 2014 and has served on several major clinical trial steering committees, including the UK Collaborative Trial of Ovarian Cancer Screening (UKCTOCS). A highly experienced leader, Annwen also holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Henley Business School. She has also studied non-profit leadership at Harvard Business School and is an alumnus of, and guest speaker for, the Windsor Leadership Group, an executive leadership development group founded by the late HRH The Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh.
Annwen was awarded an OBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours in 2019 for her services to charity.
Job Titles:
- Distinguished Employment Lawyer and Writer
Dame Janet Gaymer is a distinguished employment lawyer and writer. She served as a Civil Service Commissioner and Commissioner for Public Appointments 2006-10, where she regulated ministerial appointments to public bodies in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Consultant Clinical Geneticist, Cardiff
Alex trained at Charing Cross and Westminster Medical School in London, qualifying in 1993. After general professional training in Plymouth, she worked in Wellington, New Zealand and on her return to the UK in 2000 she started her career in clinical genetics. She worked in Oxford and Cambridge Regional Genetics Centres before moving to Cardiff to complete her training with the All Wales Medical Genetics Service. She was appointed to her current post as a Consultant Clinical Geneticist within the All Wales Medical Genetics Service in 2005, specialising in cancer genetics and neurogenetics.
She divides her time between South East and South West Wales, holding regular clinics at the University Hospital of Wales, Cardiff and Singleton Hospital, Swansea. Alex is the Clinical Lead for the All Wales Cancer Genetics Service and is a member of the Wales Cancer Network. She has a particular interest in familial breast and ovarian cancer and is passionate about improving cancer and genetics services for patients and families in Wales
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Psycho - Oncology Nurse Specialist, Southampton
I originally trained as a nurse and later switched to research. In 1996 I completed a PhD looking at the psychological aspects of breast cancer. After working as a Teaching Fellow at the University of Southampton for a number of years I decided to return to nursing and put some of the theory into practice. I now work as a psycho-oncology nurse specialist. I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2001 and my experience of surgery and chemotherapy has given me valuable insight into the physical and psychological consequences of the disease.
Job Titles:
- GP & Clinical Lead for Cancer & Specialised Commissioning, NHS Bristol, North Somerset & South Gloucestershire CCG
Job Titles:
- General Practitioner and Medical Director for E - Learning, Royal College of General Practitioners ( RCGP )
Job Titles:
- General Practitioner and Macmillan GP Cancer Lead for Velindre NHS Trust, Macmillan GP Advisor Wales
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Medical Oncologist, Birmingham
Jennifer is a medical oncologist working within the Pan Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Centre. She specialises in the use of chemotherapy to treat women with ovarian, endometrial and rare gynaecological cancers.
Jennifer is passionate about providing the highest standard of care for women with ovarian cancer through research, participation in clinical trials and importantly providing all patients with the information that they require to make fully informed decisions about their care.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Honorary Consultant, Department of Medical Genetics, Cambridge
Dr Marc Tischkowitz is a University Reader and Honorary Consultant in the Department of Medical Genetics, Cambridge. He completed his medical degree in 1993 and trained Medical Oncology before completing his specialisation in Medical Genetics. From 1999-2002 he undertook a PhD researching the role of Fanconi anemia gene mutations in the development of sporadic acute myeloid leukaemia. He held a consultant post at Great Ormond Street Hospital before moving to McGill University, Montreal in 2005 where he worked on faculty for six years before moving to Cambridge.
Much of his research has been on the Fanconi Anemia genes and hereditary breast and ovarian cancer predisposition but his interests cover all areas of hereditary cancer and at present he is focussed on translating the recent advances in genomic technology into clinical practice. He was the Lead Investigator for the GTEOC study, which is funded by Target Ovarian Cancer. This study pioneered an innovative method of service delivery for BRCA1/2 testing in ovarian cancer. The study finished in 2016 and he is currently implementing the findings in the NHS clinical service.
Job Titles:
- General Practitioner, Woodbrooke Medical Practice, Belfast
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Member of the Board
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Consultant Medical Oncologist and Honorary Clinical Senior Lecturer, University of Glasgow
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Consultant Medical Oncologist, Birmingham
Sarah trained in Birmingham and achieved her MBChB in 1998. After pursuing general medical training and achieving MRCP in 2002 she entered oncology training. She was appointed as a consultant in 2008 and looks after a large gynaecological practice treating women with ovarian, endometrial and rare gynaecological cancers in one of the country's largest gynaecological surgical centres. Sarah has a keen interest in research and clinical trials aiming to deliver optimal evidence-based treatment to patients.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- GP Principal, Parklands Surgery, Northants
Victoria Barber has been a GP for 18 years in a practice in Rushden, Northamptonshire. She has a particular interest in women's health and was involved in the British Medical Journal's GP educational tool on ovarian cancer. Her mother died from ovarian cancer in 2014 and Victoria has run the London Marathon and cycled from Lands End to John o' Groats to raise money for Target Ovarian Cancer.
Emma was first appointed as a trustee for Target Ovarian Cancer in March 2015. She is the Chief Executive of Newgate Communications and Deputy CEO of SEC Newgate. She is Vice Chair of The Elton John AIDS Foundation and Chair of its Global Development Board. Emma's stepchildren's mother, Heather Ash, died from ovarian cancer in 2007 at the age of 52.
Gaby Roslin is an English television and radio presenter.
Helen works at the MBS Group, the leading executive search consultancy, specialising in the consumer sectors. Prior to working at MBS, Helen completed a PhD at the University of Oxford. Helen supports Target Ovarian Cancer in honour of her wonderful and strong Aunt Eve, who lives in America and was diagnosed with Ovarian Cancer 13 years ago.
Helen joined Target Ovarian Cancer in 2020 with over 15 years' experience across campaigns, programme delivery and strategy development at a senior level. She leads our charitable programmes portfolio, responsible for delivering our commitment to improve early diagnosis, find new treatments and support women with ovarian cancer. Helen's expertise will ensure our evidence-based programmes reach more women, at the time they need us most. Previous charity roles have included Diabetes UK, Toynbee Hall and Alzheimer's Society. Helen has also been a trustee for UN Women UK and the Otesha Project UK.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Chairman of Oncology
Iain McNeish is Chair of Oncology in the Division of Cancer at Imperial, London and Professor of Gynaecological Oncology at the Institute of Cancer Sciences, University of Glasgow in 2012. Previously, he trained in medicine at the University of Oxford from 1986 to 1992. After graduating, he undertook junior medical jobs in Oxford and Glasgow from 1992 until 1995. He was then an MRC Clinical Fellow at the University of Birmingham until 1998 and an ICRF/Cancer Research UK Clinician Scientist from 1999 to 2007.
From 2007 until 2012, he was an MRC Senior Clinical Fellow at Barts Cancer Institute, London. He runs a lab that specialises in developing novel biological therapies for ovarian cancer including gene and viral therapies, as well as understanding the fundamental biology of ovarian cancer.
He's been a member of the NCRI Gynaecological Clinical Studies Group since 2006 and chaired the ovarian subgroup from 2009-2014. In April 2014, he was appointed Chair of the Gynae CSG. He also represents the UK on the Gynecologic Cancer Intergroup.
Job Titles:
- Advanced Nurse Practitioner and RCGP Nurse Champion
Jo is a Clinics Director at Bupa Health Clinics where she has worked for 20 years. Formerly she was Finance Director, having qualified as a chartered accountant at Deloitte. Bupa Health Clinics specialise in wellbeing services such as health assessments, along with primary care through GP appointments, menopause and period plans, physiotherapy and mental health services. One of Target Ovarian Cancer's key focus areas is supporting primary care professionals with education and training to diagnose ovarian cancer as early as possible, and Jo hopes to use her expertise in both finance and the healthcare industry to help the charity achieve its ultimate goal - to save more lives.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Trustee
Joanna founded Target Ovarian Cancer in 2008, and has over 30 years' experience in business and finance. Joanna's mother and sister died from ovarian cancer in 2005. She is a lay member of the Council of the University of Durham, which awarded her an honorary doctorate (D.Litt) in 2012. In 2014 she was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance & Corporate Services
Kate joined Target Ovarian Cancer in 2023, bringing 10 years of charity sector experience following roles at Diabetes UK and Macmillan Cancer Support. Before that, she qualified as a chartered accountant with EY in Bristol. Kate is responsible for finance, HR and IT and is passionate about the role of these functions in supporting the organisation to work in the best way, and to deliver as much as possible for everyone affected by ovarian cancer.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Board
- Director of Communications at Arla Foods
Lisa Attenborough is Director of Communications at Arla Foods. Lisa has held senior communications positions at major international companies and her experience covers a wide range of sectors and all communications disciplines. She has managed significant strategic initiatives working with boards for 25 years across global plcs, private equity and non-governmental organisations. Previous senior-level roles include Premier Foods, Mondi, Marks and Spencer, Siemens, Hilton Hotels and the Financial Times. Lisa's mother died of ovarian cancer in 2008.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Clinical Nurse Specialist, Southampton
Lisa works as a Macmillan Gynae-oncology Clinical Nurse Specialist in Southampton and has been in this role now for nine years. She has worked in a cancer care setting for over 20 years and has supported women and their families throughout each stage of their cancer journey. Lisa has a special interest in helping women regain a sense of their own identity after diagnosis and treatment.
Job Titles:
- Deputy Director of Services
Lizzy joined Target Ovarian Cancer in 2018. She is responsible for leading on the support and information programme for women with ovarian cancer, including our information guides, face-to-face events and the support line. Lizzy has experience running support programmes in health charities including the British Heart Foundation and Bloodwise, where she led on the delivery of information for people affected by cancer. Lizzy has a particular interest in the co-production of information and support services in partnership with the people they benefit.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Panel
- Clinical Nurse Specialist, Hull
Lynn lives and works in Yorkshire as a gynae-oncology clinical nurse specialist at Castle Hill Hospital and a psychosexual therapist at the Leger Clinic. She has over 20 years' experience working with all aspects of gynaecological cancers, supporting hundreds of women through their cancer journey. Her special interest is in late effects of treatments especially relating to sexual difficulties.
Job Titles:
- Consultant at the London City Law Firm
Margaret is a consultant at the London City law firm Travers Smith LLP, where she was a partner for 25 years. She's a solicitor specialising in the regulation of the financial services industry and has experience in non-profit-making, charity and professional services environments. Margaret is also a trustee of Parkinson's UK. Margaret has lost two beloved friends to ovarian cancer and this drives her to support Target Ovarian Cancer's work on early diagnosis, more research and support for those with ovarian cancer.
Miriam is a marketer and communications expert with over 30 years' experience in the UK and international markets. She was the New York-based Chief Brand Officer of Weight Watchers and has held senior positions at Saatchi & Saatchi and British Gas. Having been CMO and Chief Brand Officer at NCS Trust, she is now Public Affairs Advisor to the CEO and the Board. Miriam sits on the Board of Trustees for Voice 21 and Leukaemia UK, where she chairs the Acceleration Committee. She has a Master's degree in English from Trinity College, Dublin. She lost her mother and one of her closest friends, way too young, to cancers that particularly target women and is passionate about the vision and mission of Target Ovarian Cancer and proud to be a trustee.
Job Titles:
- Consultant Gynaecological Oncology Surgeon, Oxford University Hospital
Job Titles:
- Consultant
- Member of the Panel
- Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist, Birmingham
Mr Janos Balega is a Consultant Gynaecological Oncologist in the Pan-Birmingham Gynaecological Cancer Centre based at City Hospital, Birmingham. He has special expertise in radical ovarian cancer surgery and runs courses to teach colleagues on advanced surgical techniques.
Job Titles:
- Honorary Treasurer
- Trustee
Raj is an accomplished Chief Financial Officer. He has over 30 years' experience in listed (FTSE, Nasdaq), blue chip and private equity organisations including Exova, Invensys, Sony and Unilever. His sector experience includes technology, fast-moving consumer goods, food and beverage, transportation and construction. A number of members of Raj's family have been impacted by cancer, and his wife's grandmother died from a gynaecological cancer.
Professor Richard Edmondson is based in Manchester. His role is split between looking after patients at St Mary's Hospital Manchester, one of the biggest women's hospitals in Europe, and carrying out research within the Manchester Cancer Research Centre based at the University of Manchester. As well as treating patients with all types of gynaecological cancers, he leads a research team developing new ways to target treatments, including surgery, to ensure that patients get the best treatment at each particular stage of their cancer pathway.
Sarah Greene is an English television presenter and actress.
My first contact with the charity was in 2010 following the death of my mother, Marjie. She had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer just three weeks before she died. I had no idea that her symptoms could possibly be linked to ovarian cancer. Neither did her GP. Target Ovarian Cancer is determined to change this tragic and all too frequent scenario. I feel very proud to be a patron and I know that Marjie would be proud too.
Job Titles:
- Trustee
- Director of Research at WhatsApp
Saswati is Director of Research at WhatsApp. Her teams enable businesses around the world to use WhatsApp as an impactful means of customer acquisition and value creation. Saswati's passion for global inclusion, using technology to better connect and serve large populations and allow newcomers to leapfrog into a more agile future, have led her to drive innovation and growth for some of the world's most innovative companies - Uber, Google, Vodafone, Intel, Nokia and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Outside of work, Saswati supports children of migrant backgrounds, helping them integrate in society for Family Action. She is on the Board of an upcoming children's theatre (Peut-Être Theatre) and mentors multiple tech and non-tech start-ups, including those in the healthcare sector both in the UK but also globally.
Susan Calman is a Scottish comedian, writer and television presenter.
I knew nothing about ovarian cancer. After doing a comedy show to benefit Target Ovarian Cancer, I learnt about the symptoms and made sure all my family and friends knew them too. I'm delighted to now be an ambassador. I've seen the impact they have, and I'm delighted to be working with a charity that is achieving so much for women with ovarian cancer.