Location London, England, United Kingdom Regions Europe, Middle East, and Africa (EMEA) Gender Male
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Simon Gillespie joined the British Heart Foundation in 2013, following seven years as Chief Executive of the Multiple Sclerosis Society. He has a family connection to heart disease, and fundraises and volunteers for the BHF.
His early career was in the Royal Navy, including command of HMS Sheffield and advising government ministers. From 2000
to 2004, he was Director of Operations at the Charity Commission. He then moved to become Head of Operations at the Healthcare Commission, where he was responsible for the inspection of NHS and independent healthcare facilities in England. Simon has extensive national and international experience of charity and non-profit governance as a non-executive director, advisor and trustee and is a former President of the European Heart Network.
Simon was recently honoured with an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours, recognising his services to patients and medical research. He was also the only charity CEO to win an Employee’s Choice Award from Glassdoor this year, after being voted one of the top 50 CEOs in the country by employees and volunteers, and was also named a 2018 Charity Comms Inspiring Communicator in recognition of his tireless public advocacy of the BHF’s cause.
Simon is working closely with the NHS in driving innovation - he has been selected as a member of the NHS Assembly and is now co-chair of NHS England’s Cardiovascular Disease Delivery Board, both of which are tasked with making the NHS’s long term plan a reality.
Simon has recently announced his forthcoming retirement from the BHF and he will leave at the end of this year.
