Our Trustees

Rob Hughes is the Chair of Brain Tumour Research. He has a wealth of valuable experience and skills having worked at Mars Inc for 33 years where he was Managing Director of Mars Food in the UK for 11 years and was a member of the Mars UK Board and the Mars European Food Board. He was Chair of North West Anglia NHS Foundation Trust from 2013 to 2021 and a member of Cambridgeshire Integrated Care Board. He is passionate about making a difference and is particularly interested in supporting the rehabilitation of children and young people with brain tumours, as well as raising brain tumour awareness and finding a cure.

He was the parent and charity representative on the NHS review of children’s neurosurgery. Rob and his wife, Carole, established Anna’s Hope, a Member Charity of Brain Tumour Research, when they lost their youngest daughter, Anna, to a brain tumour at the age of three years and eight months.

Sandy Saunders, President of the Board of Trustees, established The Diana Ford Trust in 2002 with other family members following the loss of his daughter Diana at the age of 38, to a grade IV glioblastoma multiforme. Diana's three sons were just seven, five and two. Sandy campaigned tirelessly for the formation of an alliance of brain tumour charities recognising the power of working together. In 2008, The Diana Ford Trust agreed to re-register as Brain Tumour Research and appoint new trustees from the membership. Two of the Diana Ford Trust’s three family trustees resigned to help facilitate the change. The move also allowed Brain Tumour Research to make use of the Diana Ford Trust’s cash deposits to fund the first stage of the new awareness campaign.

Wendy, an entrepreneurial businesswoman with 40 years’ experience running her own destination management company, has been a member of the brain tumour community ever since her husband John was diagnosed with a grade 4 astrocytoma from which he died 10 months later, in June 2001, aged 52.

Inspired by John’s neurosurgeon, Kevin O’Neill, Wendy founded the Brain Tumour Research Campaign (BTRC) in 2003, now a Member Charity, to fund research at Charing Cross Hospital in London, which later became our second Centre of Excellence in London, known as Imperial College London.

A founder member of the Brain Tumour Research group of Member Charities, Wendy worked tirelessly as Chairman of the Board for three terms, until passing over the reins to Rob Hughes in July 2024. She now
continues to share her skills and wisdom as a Trustee.

Jeremy is a Legal Consultant and former Legal Director of the Packaging division at DS Smith Plc, a FTSE 100 business. Jeremy is a highly experienced Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) and commercial lawyer. At DS Smith, Jeremy helped to embed a culture of legal and regulatory compliance and implemented a robust system for managing legal and other risks within the Packaging division. 

Prior to DS Smith, Jeremy managed the UK Legal Team at Siemens and before that he was EMEA Region Counsel for Baker Hughes, a Fortune 500 company. Jeremy is passionate about finding a cure and delighted to be a Trustee of such an amazing charity.

Nigel Boutwood has been at the forefront of brain tumour campaigning since 1993 when his son Charlie was diagnosed with a malignant medulloblastoma at the age of 20 months. Charlie’s treatment was remarkably successful and he is now grown-up, fit and healthy, and pursuing a career in advertising. Nigel remains passionate about giving something back to the brain tumour community and finding a cure for this dreadful disease. He is also Chairman of the charity Charlie’s Challenge.

Jack lost his mother, Debbie, to a glioblastoma (GBM) in February 2023 after a six-month battle. As a Trustee, he is able to channel his energy into something positive to help find a cure.

Jack brings strong skills in data analysis, web design, artificial intelligence (AI) and advanced technologies which will particularly help inform the Charity’s marketing strategy and processes. A former soldier, his current role is Data Insights Manager for the British Forces Broadcasting Service (BFBS) which provides entertainment, news, music and information for the Armed Forces and their dependents worldwide. Jack oversees a team analysing data for social media, marketing, campaign marketing, cinema, TV, radio
stations and news, and he also has responsibility for all BFBS’s reporting.

Denise joined Brain Tumour Research as a Trustee in August 2023, she is an Executive Coach and HR Consultant and has worked in senior HR leadership positions for over 15 years. Most recently Denise was the Chief People Officer at dunnhumby, an international company and a global leader in customer data science. She brings a wealth of knowledge and skills to the charity, including people and culture, reward and remuneration, as well as experience in audit and risk management, governance and strategy.

Denise’s family has experienced the devastating impact of brain tumours twice. She lost a nephew, Theo, aged just four, after a two-year battle, to an anaplastic ependymoma and her step-sister, Lynne was also treated in 2012 for a chondrosarcoma. Denise also has a close friend, originally diagnosed with ovarian cancer, which has metastasised into multiple brain tumours. In addition, she has several other friends and previous work colleagues who also have personal connections to the cause.

A Senior Partner at the Wellcome Trust, Nicola is an experienced research leader and manager, having held professional appointments at major public research institutions across four countries. She began her career in developmental genetics and held a number of post-doctoral positions in the USA, Canada and Switzerland.

Nicola is particularly interested in improving the system for researchers so that they are not just individuals working in the lab, but have the right kind of support to develop their careers and also ensuring there is diversity and inclusion within the research world.

Nicola is keen to promote translational outcomes from discovery research, ensuring that research gets out of the lab and into health situations, bringing direct benefits to human health. She advocates looking at the whole ecosystem to cut out time-wasting, unnecessary cost and reduce the chance of projects falling through the gaps.

Although not having a personal connection to the brain tumour cause, Nicola’s family has a rare inherited health disorder which meant that her mother suffered with a chronic kidney disease while Nicola was growing up. It means that she is very aware of the holistic impact that diseases have on individuals and families and how isolating this can be. Nicola questions how much weight research gives to patients and families and wants to help give a voice to those affected so that they are the focus of all research end goals.

Mel understands all too well the devastating impact a brain tumour diagnosis has on a family after her son, Ben, was diagnosed with a rare and incurable, slow-growing anaplastic astrocytoma in 2019, aged 21. Following surgery, radiotherapy and chemotherapy, Ben is doing extremely well and has scans every four months to monitor his condition.

As a family, they have been tirelessly raising awareness and funds for research into the disease over the past five years, which included a 177-mile coast-to-coast cycle challenge across England in 2021.

Mel recently retired with the aim of dedicating her time to our cause. With a career spanning more than 30 years working in the finance and charity sectors, as well as previous Trustee experience, Mel is eager to add value with her financial expertise, looking at how investment can help to build sustainable long-term growth for Brain Tumour Research.

Sonia is an award-winning political and communications expert with 12 years’ experience across government, Downing Street and public affairs consultancy, including working as a Special Adviser and Head of Political Communications to two Chancellors of the Exchequer.

Currently a Partner at strategy and communications firm H/Advisors Cicero and winner of the PRCA Public Affairs Woman of the Year 2025, Sonia advises FTSE 100 companies, charities and global brands on strategic communications, brand position and coalition-building. She brings unrivalled skills in campaigning and policy, as well as marketing and communications, including media relations, to the Charity.

Her husband’s diagnosis with an ependymoma brain tumour and ongoing treatment over the last 14 years mean that Sonia is deeply committed to our cause.

Having lost his mother Lesley Kirby-Klappholz to a glioblastoma in 2019, Oscar understands first-hand the devastating impact of a brain tumour diagnosis. It led to Oscar and his brother running the London Marathon for Brain Tumour Research, raising more than £14,000.

Oscar brings a much-welcome commercial focus to the Board, including outstanding experience in strategic planning, generating income and governance, having played an instrumental role in organisational growth over the past six years, which tripled his company’s turnover.

Group Sales Director and a Board Director at Engage Group Ltd, after originally joining as a Sales Executive, Oscar enjoyed the joint-fastest promotion in the company’s 20-year history and, along with his extensive management responsibilities, has remained the top-performing sales contributor within the organisation over the last six years.