Chief Operating Officer role

October 14, 2022

Message on behalf of Richard Beeken, Chief Executive:

“I am delighted to confirm that Johanne Newens has been appointed to the role of Chief Operating Officer.

Johanne emerged as the stand out candidate through a competitive national search process, internal stakeholder panels and an interview process which involved two external assessors.  We had nine very strong applications who were longlisted for the role.  Johanne’s commitment to supporting the Trust in achieving our objectives was evident throughout the process. Johanne served as the Deputy COO at SWB for the last two years, having come to us from The Dudley Group NHS FT, where she was Divisional Director of Operations for Medicine and Emergency Care.

Our Chief Operating Officer will be a voting member of our Trust Board, leading service delivery for all our hospital services and having Board oversight of IT & Digital services, through Martin Sadler’s role.  Johanne will be working closely with the Chief Integration Officer, Daren Fradgley, who is the executive lead for community and primary care services and Place Based Partnerships.  Johanne will also be working closely with Liam Kennedy, who has moved on secondment to the role of MMUH Delivery Director.  Liam will be responsible for oversight of the delivery of the MMUH care model and workforce plan and will work as Rachel Barlow’s deputy.  We are delighted to retain Liam’s knowledge of our Trust and the Midland Met for the duration of the programme, right through to the opening of the hospital in Spring 2024.”