Board of Directors

The Board considers all non-executive directors to be independent as they were appointed to their roles through open competition and are not employees of the Trust.

Heidi Travis OBE
Acting Chair

Heidi joined the Trust as a Non-Executive Director in March 2018. She joined Sue Ryder in March 2010 as Director of Retail, and took on the role of Chief Executive in September 2013.

Previously, Heidi had worked as a business consultant developing small businesses. Before that, she spent 25 years at Marks and Spencer, most recently as an executive in group planning and strategy as well as managing a buying group.

Heidi also worked as a lay member of the Aylesbury Vale CCG until 2013. She became a non-executive director for Bucks PCT (now Bucks NHS) in 2008.

Heidi took on the role as Acting Chair at MKUH in April 2024.

Gary Marven
Senior Independent Non-Executive Director
(Chair, Finance & Investment Committee)

Gary joined the Trust as a Non-Executive Director in April 2022. Gary is an accomplished senior executive with over 20 years’ leadership experience, the majority of which he operated at board level, spanning both private and public sector organisations, from SMEs to globally-recognised brands. Gary commenced his career as a Chartered Accountant with Ernst & Young and progressed through various financial director roles in a major retail company, before moving into general management at the BBC where he ultimately led a major technology project, before becoming CEO of MLL Telecoms.

Gary retired as CEO in 2020 and has continued to work with MLL Telecom as a Non-Executive Director. Gary also provides free consultancy to charities supported by The Cranfield University Trust.

Haider Husain
Non-Executive Director
(Chair, Charitable Funds Committee, and Chair, Workforce & Development Assurance Committee)

Haider joined the Trust as a Non-Executive Director in April 2020. He has held senior positions in a variety of multi-national companies in the technology sector, including GE Healthcare and Microsoft. He has a passion for quality, and has previously been an ISO auditor, Six Sigma Blackbelt and is currently a British Standards Institute committee member for Healthcare Organisation Management.

Haider serves as the Chief Operating Officer for Healthinnova, which specialises in transformational healthcare technology. He holds a BSc in Medical Informatics, and a Master of Informatics. Haider is married to a nurse, has a young son and lives in Bedfordshire.

Mark Versallion
Non-Executive Director
(Chair, Audit & Risk Committee)

Mark joined the Trust as a Non-Executive Director in January 2023, previously serving on the boards of Luton & Dunstable NHS Hospital from 2013-20, and NW London NHS Hospitals Trust from 2008-13. He brings experience from the commercial sector with BAE Systems plc, Capgemini plc, and ten years as director of a London marketing agency.

He has worked for a US Senator and for a UK Government Minister and has held a number of national and local government roles, as well as directorships in the public and private sectors.

He was a Royal Navy officer for 14 years in the Reserves, and was a London Councillor for nine years. Since 2011, he has been a Central Bedfordshire Councillor, holding senior positions in schools, social services, housing and healthcare. Mark is married with four sons and lives in Heath and Reach, Bedfordshire.

Sarah Whiteman
Non-Executive Director
(Chair, Quality and Clinical Risk Committee)

Sarah is a local Milton Keynes GP and recently retired as the Chief Medical Officer of our Integrated Care Board.

She has always enjoyed a portfolio career with a breadth of senior roles with the General Medical Council, Health Education England and the wider NHS. Latterly she was the interim joint Group Medical Director for Jersey before returning to Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes as Medical Director and then Chair of the Clinical Commissioning Group.

In her retirement Sarah will be undertaking several non-executive director roles with other trusts, is an active member of a local gym and is also enjoying grandmotherhood!

Precious Zumbika
Non-Executive Director

Precious joined the Trust as an Associate Non-Executive Director in January 2023 Precious is an experienced Executive, Chartered QS, Cost & Commercial Expert and Strategic Advisor who commands over 20 years’ experience in the construction industry. Precious is the founder of Carus Advisory Services, a boutique construction and management consultancy. She is an advocate of diversity equity and inclusion and a strategic change expert drawing from her own professional and personal experiences. She has extensive experience facilitating leadership team (SLT & Board level) conversations and is a Cranfield University Executive Development Associate/ Facilitator where she curates and develops leadership modules on inclusive leadership and how to develop high performing teams.

She is current Chair and founding committee member for the Milton Keynes Ethnic Business Community whose purpose is to connect business owners and professionals from black, asian and other minority ethnic backgrounds with the wider Milton Keynes business community.

She was named one of the NatWest Top 100 most inspirational women in 2021 in the Oxford Cambridge Arc and is a passionate speaker on leadership, inclusion and sustainable procurement. Precious was made a full Non-Executive at MKUH in November 2024.

Ganesh Baliah
Non-Executive Director

Ganesh joined the Trust as an Associate Non-Executive Director in January 2023 and became a full Non-Executive Director in November 2024. Ganesh graduated in Podiatric Medicine over 20 years ago and has worked in the NHS since that time. He has previously held consultant privileges at the local private hospitals and continues to practice privately in Bedfordshire. His clinical interests are sports medicine, musculoskeletal medicine, foot and ankle surgery and paediatrics. Ganesh was also a key contributor to the landmark Sak’s Report commissioned and published by the Royal College of Podiatrists in 2021.

Having previously held the Chief of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) for the Suffolk and North East Essex Integrated Care System, he is now the Deputy Director of AHPs at Kettering General Hospital (Part of the UHN Group of Hospitals).  Prior to these roles he was the Regional Head of Allied Health Professionals for NHS Health Education England (Midlands & East). In this time Ganesh was the national lead for Equality, Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging for the HEE AHP programme and also provided strategic leadership for the SNEE ICS in this field, working in partnership across the system with provider EDI & B leads.

Outside of work, he was a school board governor at his children’s primary school and is also a Board Trustee. He is also a non-voting member of the Faculty of Podiatric Surgery (RCPod).

He is keen to ensure that all patients and staff have equitable access to services, treatment as well as training and development.

Piers Ricketts
Non-Executive Director

Piers qualified as a Chartered Accountant with KPMG in 1997 and spent 24 years with the firm, including nearly eight years as a Partner providing Board-level advice and guidance to NHS organisations and the wider public sector.

He has subsequently been CEO of Health Innovation East for six years. From 2016 to 2019, he served as Treasurer and Trustee of The Silver Line, a national charity set up by Dame Esther Rantzen to support elderly and vulnerable people, where he chaired the Finance and Risk Committee. Piers joined the Trust in December 2024.

Joe Harrison CBE
Chief Executive 

Joe Harrison joined Milton Keynes University Hospital in 2013, turning around the hospital’s quality, performance and finances and overseeing the extensive expansion and development of the hospital estate. Under his leadership MKUH has gained teaching hospital status and pioneered digital advances that have transformed patient care and experience. Alongside this, Joe has delivered wide-ranging initiatives to improve the working lives of the thousands of people who work at MKUH.

Joe was appointed as the National Director for Digital Channels in January 2023, overseeing the development of the NHS App. During his time in this role, the NHS App has seen a resurgence – one in five of the population aged 13 and over now log in monthly – with the ambition that a third of all interactions with the NHS will be delivered digitally within five years.

Joe was awarded a CBE for services to healthcare in the 2025 New Year Honours.

Dr Ian Reckless
Chief Medical Officer/Deputy Chief Executive

Dr Reckless qualified from St George’s Hospital Medical School, London and undertook postgraduate training in the Oxford region. His clinical expertise is in general medicine and stroke.

He previously worked as Special Adviser to the Healthcare Commission (a forerunner to the CQC) and subsequently as Special Assistant to the then Chief Medical Officer, Professor Sir Liam Donaldson, at the Department of Health. He was appointed Consultant Physician and Senior NIHR Research Fellow at Oxford University Hospitals in 2007. In Oxford, he held the roles of Associate Medical Director (Quality) and Clinical Director, Neurosciences. Dr Reckless has a good understanding of commissioning having worked with the Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group (as secondary care doctor on the Governing Body) for several years.

Dr Reckless took up post as Chief Medical Officer (CMO) at Milton Keynes University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in April 2016, also taking on the role of Deputy Chief Executive in 2020.

Dr Reckless has a particular interest in postgraduate education, having previously served as Training Programme Director, and has authored books on general medicine, and the interface between medicine and the law.

In 2024/25, Dr Reckless held the role of CMO for the Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board (ICB) alongside his duties in the Trust. Dr Reckless is also a Non-Executive Director at the Royal Orthopaedic Hospital in Birmingham, where he chairs the Quality Committee.

John Blakesley
Chief Strategic Development Officer

John has over 30 years’ experience in the NHS. His career started in pathology, before moving into general management.

He has undertaken a range of executive director roles as director of performance and delivery as well as deputy chief executive and director of market management (commissioning for a large PCT).

In addition, John has experience of the commercial sector with a specialised surgical company. He has a particular interest in using information systems to improve patient care and decision-making.

Fiona Hoskins
Chief Nursing Officer

Fiona Hoskins graduated as a registered nurse in 1992 at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital London.  She has a clinical background covering general medicine,  cardiothoracic nursing, and was a trail blazer for advanced practice in the 1990’s.  Since 2010 she has held several senior nursing leadership roles in acute care and clinical commissioning.  Most recently serving as the Deputy Chief Nurse at University Hospitals Dorset where she led the operational response to the pandemic and supported the Trust through a merger.  Her professional interests include clinical governance, advancing practice and workforce redesign and staff development.

Fiona is a Florence Nightingale Scholar and is passionate about the delivery of high quality, evidenced based, personalised patient care through co-design with patients, users, and partners.

Fay Gordon
Chief Operating Officer – Unplanned Care

Fay joined MKUH as Chief Operating Officer for Unplanned Care in September 2024, having previously worked at Northamptonshire Hospitals.

Catherine Wills
Chief People Officer 

Catherine brings over 15 years of experience in workforce policy and strategy in the public sector. This includes working on the people agenda at senior levels across local authorities, NHS commissioners, NHS national bodies and within provider Trusts. Her most recent position was at University Hospitals of Northamptonshire where she initially held the role of Deputy Director of People before becoming Director of People in 2022.

Catherine is a chartered fellow of CIPD (FCIPD) and holds a level 7 post graduate qualification in Human Resource Management as well as a Level 7 post graduate diploma in Strategic Workforce Planning from the University of West London. Her portfolio will be across the People directorate ensuring #TeamMKUH attracts, develops and retains the right people to meet the health needs of all who use our services.

Helen Beck
Chief Operating Officer – Planned Care

After a career spanning nearly 40 years in the NHS, Helen  retired from her role as Chief Operating Officer in an Acute and Community Trust. She is a nurse by background and has a wealth of experience in clinical, transformational, operational and executive roles in the NHS and now undertakes interim and consultancy roles.

Helen has had significant experience in managing complex digitation transformation programmes within the NHS in both the acute and community settings and is a keen supporter of digital integration to improve patient safety.

Helen has significant experience is working across the health and care system and developing collaborative approaches to improve services to the local population. She enjoys working with system partners to transform care pathways, developing alternatives to emergency and acute hospital care.

Helen has also managed operating theatres and has experience of optimising productivity and streamlining patient pathways.

Jonathan Dunk
Chief Finance Officer

Jonathan joined Milton Keynes University Hospital in February 2024 from Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust. In his Essex role as Chief Commercial Officer, Jonathan led the merger transaction that created one of the biggest NHS provider organisations in the country, along with being responsible for a wide range of major strategic and commercial programmes of work. More broadly, Jonathan has significant NHS experience across both acute and system organisations, and previously served as Director of Finance at MKUH between 2012-2016.

Jonathan is a CIPFA qualified accountant and a graduate from the NHS Leadership Academy Nye Bevan programme. In his remit as Chief Finance Officer, Jonathan’s portfolio includes finance, procurement and transformation. He is also the executive lead for the Trust’s sustainability agenda.

Jonathan has a strong focus on ensuring that the organisation has the right corporate infrastructure to optimise decision making and maximise the resources that can be invested in delivering improvement in patient care outcomes.

Kate Jarman
Chief Corporate Services Officer

Kate has substantial experience as a communications professional and company secretary.

She has worked on and with boards in the acute health sector and police and criminal justice agencies. Before joining MKUH as director of corporate affairs, Kate spent a number of years at Bedford Hospital. At Bedford she held a number of posts including associate director of corporate affairs and communications as well as company secretary.

Kate is passionate about staff and patient engagement, leadership and culture. She is also interested in developing integrated governance systems to support the delivery of safe, effective, high quality care.