Our Management Team

Dan joined the charity in September 2023, having previously been CEO of Oxfordshire Mind for seven years. He started his career in strategy consultancy, has worked with corporates including Pepsi and John Lewis, and is the founder of an Oxford-based social enterprise.

Dan studied Biology at the University of Oxford and the Advanced Management Programme at Harvard Business School.

A father-of-two, Dan lives in South Oxfordshire and has a personal reason to join our cause, having lost three family friends to brain tumours in two years.

Karen has 20 years of grants and research management experience, combined with an impressive track record of delivery, gained from her time working in the life sciences sector. She has held senior management roles at the Wellcome Trust, with the NHS Cancer Programme and at Cancer Research UK. 

She has delivered strategic and policy reviews and led the design, development and implementation of new grant schemes and initiatives. Whilst at Cancer Research UK, in her role as Head of Cancers of Unmet Need, she transformed the support for brain cancers, increasing the research spend two to three-fold in three years.

Karen joined Brain Tumour Research in February 2022 as Director of Research, Policy and Innovation, and oversees the development and implementation of our research and policy strategies.

Karen lost her sister-in-law to glioblastoma (GBM) in 2011. 

With extensive experience in fundraising, Russell has worked in the charity sector for more than 30 years. He has raised more than £750m to date for organisations including The Royal Institution of Engineering and Technology, the Old Vic Theatre and BEN, the automotive industry charity.

Russell joined Brain Tumour Research in June 2022 and will oversee the charity’s development and income generation as it works to increase the national investment in brain tumour research to £35 million a year.

Russell has a very personal reason to join the fight to find a cure for brain tumours having lost a relative to the disease.

Mark joined Brain Tumour Research in February 2024, having previously held the position of Group Finance Director and then CEO of Viva – Together for Children, an international development charity based in Oxford.

He studied Mathematics at Cardiff University and holds an Advanced Diploma in Management Accounting from the Chartered Institute of Management Accounting (CIMA). Among his priorities is to focus on ensuring our systems are “best in class”and able to develop easily as we grow our work to find a cure for all brain tumours.

A father of two, Mark lives in Abingdon, South Oxfordshire. He has a close friend who has lived with a brain tumour for many years and also lost his stepfather to a brain tumour very suddenly in 2022.

Sue has experience in national and regional PR, social media, communications, journalism and marketing. With more than two decades’ experience as a newspaper journalist, she has held senior roles including assistant editor and news editor on regional daily newspapers.

Since joining the charity in 2014, Sue has overseen the growth of our PR and Communications Department and helped ensure we are the leading voice of the brain tumour community in the media. She took over the role of Director of Marketing and Communications in February 2024 overseeing our Marketing, Digital Marketing, and PR and Communications teams, working to increase the profile and reach of the charity, increase awareness, maximise engagement and inspire supporters.

With a strong background in national broadcast media, including 12 years at the BBC and freelancing for Channel 4 News amongst others, Hugh Adams has a well-established network of contacts. His communications degree and expertise in digital technology brings creativity and pace to the charity’s rapid development.

Hugh joined the charity in 2010 and is a key voice of the brain tumour community, regularly representing the charity in the media. He leads our campaigning and activist strategy and has been instrumental in growing the charity, bringing on board many of our celebrity supporters.

Katrina joined the charity in October 2023, having worked for 12 years at the Epilepsy Society where she had been Community Fundraising Manager. 

As Head of Community and Digital Fundraising, Katrina leads a team of Community Fundraisers who work to ensure supporters, volunteers and Fundraising Groups have access to advice, guidance and accurate signposting, whilst promoting best practice in fundraising. With a focus on excellent stewarding of existing supporters and recruitment of new supporters, including securing new partnerships such as Charity of the Year and Fundraising Groups, Katrina helps her team to continuously develop and improve support in the charity’s three UK regions. She also supports our Digital Fundraising Team to maximise fund raised through our popular Facebook challenges.

Lisa is a Chartered Accountant with more than 30 years’ experience working in finance roles, including, most recently, 10 years as Finance Director at The Curve Group, the UK’s largest privately-owned Recruitment and HR provider.

Lisa joined Brain Tumour Research in December 2023 and is responsible for all the financial operations of the charity, including driving the delivery of insightful management reporting and business analysis, processing donations, supplier management, payroll and managing statutory reporting, as well as overseeing all tax affairs as relevant. A primary aspect of her role as Interim Head of Finance involves supporting the Community Fundraising team with accurate and timely processing of donations, along with analytical reporting, as well as deputising for the Director of Finance and Operations.