Chair to leave specialist trust after 16 months
The chair of a leading specialist cancer trust is stepping down after 16 months in the role.
Edward Astle was appointed to succeed the long-serving Christine Outram at The Christie Foundation Trust in October 2023, who had been in the role for nearly a decade.
However, papers published to the trust’s board on 30 January confirmed he was departing due to personal family reasons, and a new recruitment process has been launched.
In his report, chief executive Roger Spencer said: “During his tenure, Edward has been instrumental in helping The Christie achieve all the requirements needed for a segment one system oversight framework rating, reflecting the trust’s commitment to delivering excellence in cancer care in some of the most challenging of circumstances.
“The recruitment process will be led by our senior independent director [Tarun Kapur], and a panel of our governors.
“The successful candidate will lead the board and council of governors continuing our focus on advancing cancer care, research, and innovation to deliver the very best outcomes for our patients.”
Applications for the chair vacancy opened this week and are due to close on 2 March. The trust has not formally announced his departure beyond the board report, but did confirm to HSJ that he will remain until a successor is appointed.
Mr Astle, who previously chaired the University of Manchester board for six years, is currently a non-executive director at the broadband provider Openreach and chairs the social mobility charity upReach, which supports university students from disadvantaged backgrounds.
His background includes serving as a divisional CEO and main board director at Cable and Wireless, BICC and National Grid for over 20 years before taking up a senior position at Imperial College London.
The Christie is one of Europe’s leading cancer centres. It serves a population of more than 3.2 million people across Greater Manchester and Cheshire in the North West of England. The trust has a £472m annual turnover and employs more than 3,700 staff.