Executive Directors

David was appointed as Chief Medical Officer in May 2023 having previously carried out the interim role from July 2022.  

David joined ELFT in 2006 as a specialist registrar. In 2010 he was appointed as consultant in general adult psychiatry, working in a sector general adult Consultant post in Newham where he also served as an Associate Clinical Director for a period of two years.   

In 2014 David was appointed as Clinical Director in City and Hackney where he also worked as a consultant in primary care liaison psychiatry. In 2018 he was appointed as the Medical Director for ELFT’s London mental health services and continued in a limited clinical role in primary care liaison.   

In 2022 he was appointed as Responsible Person for the Use of Force Act. His role is to ensure that the organisation complies with the requirements of the Use of Force Act. Clinical Directors are nominated leads for the Use of Force Act and carry out the Responsible Person’s functions that are delegated to them.  

Tanya joined the Trust in 2016 as the Associate Director of Human Resources and was appointed as the Trust’s interim Director of Human Resources in May 2018, until her substantive appointment in July 2018.  

Tanya has Human Resource management experience spanning ca 28 years within a number of public sector organisations; a significant period of which has been spent in middle and senior management positions, managing multi-disciplinary teams.

Tanya has worked in a Primary Care Trust and three Acute Care NHS Trusts, as well as working in two London local authorities and further education colleges. Her experience also includes lecturing on undergraduate programmes and working as a management consultant with PriceWaterhouseCooper (PwC). Tanya has a Postgraduate diploma in HR Management, an MA in Strategic HR Management, and a certificate in Organisational Development. She is also a Chartered Fellow Member of the Charted Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD).

Tanya co-chaired the London HR Directors/Chief People Officer’s network on behalf on NHS Employers 2022-2025.  Tanya was recognised by the Health Service Journal (HSJ) Top 50 most influential Black, Asian Minority Ethnic leaders in the NHS in 2022, 2023 and 2024.  In December 2022, Tanya was also recognised as the national HR Director of the year, and the P&C team were recognised as the HR team of the Year, in the Healthcare People Managers Awards (HPMA). 

Kevin joined the Trust in July 2023 as the Chief Finance Officer (CFO) having previously been the Chief Finance Officer and Deputy CEO at the Whittington Health NHS Trust. He is also a Director at Health Care & Space Newham, a joint venture between the Trust and London Borough of Newham.  

Having professional trained in the south west and worked in industry and commerce for 10 years, Kevin began his NHS career in 2008 at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust.  

Since 2011 Kevin has operated at deputy or director level across a variety of NHS organisations whose services covered ambulance, community, mental health and acute provision, allowing him to gain a breath of NHS provider services knowledge.   

Kevin is a supporter of QI initiatives to drive financial improvement and promotes system collaboration to maximise patient outcomes and experience. He also has a passion for staff development and encourages his teams to maximise the potential of learning opportunities.  

Kevin is a Fellow Chartered and Certified Accountant.  

Philippa joined the Trust in July 2020 as Chief Digital Officer. She was previously the Chief Digital Information Officer for Bedfordshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and has been an Executive Director of Operations & Transformation in two acute Trusts prior to this. Philippa is also a Director at Health Care & Space Newham, a joint venture between the Trust and London Borough of Newham.  

Philippa has worked in a variety of senior strategic and operational roles and in a range of settings including A&E and estates. She has a background in radiology, and has conducted research into neurology, pathology and paediatrics at King’s College Medical School.  

Philippa’s passion is digital transformation, to learn what good looks like from all sectors, and she led a team that partnered with a F1 racing company to learn about the value of analytics in the diagnosis of problems, and to share with them the knowledge to manage a fully mobile delivery platform. She has also partnered with a HIMSS level 7 hospital in Cascais in Portugal which is a world leader in digitally informed healthcare.   

Philippa’s qualifications include BSc (Hons), MBA and is an NHS Digital Academy Leadership Graduate.  

Richard joined the Trust as Director of Integrated Care in June 2015 and joined the Trust Board in 2017. He was appointed as Deputy CEO at the Trust in July 2022 and is a Director at Compass Wellbeing CIC, a Trust subsidiary..  

Richard was previously Director of Mental Health & Joint Commissioning at NHS Tower Hamlets CCG where he worked as part of the East London Mental Health Consortium commissioning mental health services across east London. Prior to that, Richard worked in a variety of commissioning and provider leadership roles, including general manager and CMHT manager roles in the Trust.   

Richard is a qualified social worker and has worked in acute hospital social work, mental health social work and as an Approved Social Worker.   

Richard’s qualifications include BA(Hons) in English Literature, Diploma in Social Work, MA in Social Work, Masters in Public Administration.  

Claire was appointed as Chief Nurse in July 2024 having formerly been appointed as the Interim Chief Nurse at the Trust on 21 August 2023. Prior to this, she was Director of Nursing for Bedfordshire and Luton.  

Claire trained as a mental health nurse at St Bartholomew’s Hospital (now Barts Health Trust) and apart from a year of travelling, has developed and honed her skills at the Trust as a staff nurse in City and Hackney. She was a CAMHS service manager and lead nurse in Newham before becoming Director of Nursing where she was responsible for adults and CAMHS services.  

Claire is the Trust lead for safeguarding adults and children, and is active in the ELFT Ability Staff Network, working to reduce barriers for staff and service users with a disability.  

Edwin was appointed Chief Operating Officer in June 2021, having previously served as Director of Operations from January 2020 and Interim Chief Operating Officer from October 2020. He was appointed Deputy Chief Executive in November 2023.

Edwin is a Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN) by professional background, with clinical and operational leadership experience across a range of complex care settings, including forensic and adult mental health services. His career reflects a progression from point of care clinical practice into senior system leadership, maintaining a strong focus on quality, safety and service improvement.

He held the role of Borough Lead Nurse and Associate Clinical Director for Newham adult mental health services between 2009 and 2015, where he combined clinical leadership with operational accountability. He subsequently took up the position of Borough Director for Tower Hamlets in 2016, leading integrated services within a highly complex and diverse urban system.

Edwin holds a Master’s degree in Public Administration and is a graduate of the NHS Nye Bevan Healthcare Leadership Programme. He is also a Trustee of St Mungo's.