Non Executive Directors

Ian Haythornthwaite - Chair

Ian joined the Board as Chair in September 2021. He has previously held Board level positions at the BBC including chief finance and operating officer for the all the nations and regions. Before joining the BBC Ian was the deputy chief Executive at the North West Regional Development Agency. Ian has held the position of Pro Vice- Chancellor and also Finance Director at the University of Central Lancashire. Ian has over 10 years’ experience on Trust Boards and is a non-executive director of Wrightington, Wigan and Leigh Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Ian is a Fellow member of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants

Sarah Corcoran

Sarah trained as a nurse in Manchester in the 1980s and after qualifying led a Stroke Care Development Unit. She then worked in a number of Trusts as a senior nurse involved in quality improvement and nursing management. In the course of this work, she developed an interest in patient and staff safety, how teams work together to maintain and improve safety, risk management and clinical governance. Sarah went on to work for 25 years in this field, and was a Director of Clinical Governance for a large Trust in the North West. She has worked across health systems locally and nationally to develop governance structures, assurance processes and been involved in the delivery of safety projects across all specialties. She retired from her full-time NHS post in January 2022 and this is her first Non-Executive Director role.

Mick Guymer is a chartered accountant who has worked in the NHS for 40 years with 20 years’ experience as a director of finance. He created NHS North West Procurement Development and has been a member of the NHS National Procurement Customer Board, for which he was also the Chairman of their Northern Board and a member of the NHS Supply Chain Medical Supplier Board. He has previously held a non-executive director role at a nearby acute NHS Trust.

Until his retirement from clinical practice in September 2021, Professor Hassell was a consultant rheumatologist at the Haywood Hospital in Stoke-on-Trent. He was also head of the School of Medicine at Keele University. Professor Hassell has also been a non-executive director at the University Hospital of North Midlands.

Paul graduated in Mechanical Engineering from Manchester Metropolitan University, going on to work in the automotive industry for over 30 years. A Chartered Engineer by profession, he was primarily based in Cheshire, initially with Foden Trucks at Sandbach and from 2000 with Bentley Motors at Crewe.  He has also completed assignments in USA, Germany and the Netherlands. He brings over 15 years of Board-level experience both as a Vehicle Line Director and latterly as Director of Product Management, with executive responsibility for all future Bentley product strategy. His current role is Chief Executive at the Northern Automotive Alliance, a not-for-profit trade association responsible for the activities of the automotive sector in the North of England. Paul is a Fellow of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers and is also the current Chair of its Technical Strategy Board. Paul is the lead Non-Executive Director for Freedom To Speak Up and the Sustainability Strategy Group. Home is Heswall on the Wirral. 

Pam Williams

Pam has a degree in economics and is a qualified accountant and member of the Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy. She has over 20 years’ experience operating at Board level in a wide range of local authorities. Pam is an experienced non- executive director in the NHS and other sectors , most recently with Mersey Care NHS Foundation Trust and Muir Group Housing Association.

Wendy Williams

Wendy has served on NHS Boards for over 20 years with her most recent role being the Deputy Chair of Cheshire Clinical Commissioning Group. She has held positions including the Chair of Clatterbridge Cancer Centre NHS Foundation Trust and three other NHS non-executive director positions. 

Professionally working as a Change Director in both the private and public sectors, Wendy has led large scale change projects in several UK central government departments as well as private sector organisations in France, Germany and the USA. She now continues to coach executives on handling change and volunteers as a coach for various charity CEOs. Wendy has twice served as a school governor and has also been a member of a regional NSPCC Business Board.

David Williamson

David joined the Board in November 2019. He brings a valuable blend of business consulting skills, acquired during 10 years with a multi-national company and over 20 years in senior business change and IT leadership roles across a range of consumer facing industries. David has over 15 years of Board-level experience in a variety of roles all of which had particular emphasis on joined-up strategic planning and effective governance of both operational and transformational delivery.