Liam Coleman, Chair

Liam took over as Chair of the Trust on 1 February 2019.

He has significant previous experience in the NHS, having worked as one of our Non-Executive Directors from 2009 to 2016. Liam was also previously the Chief Executive of the Co-Operative Bank plc and a senior executive at Nationwide Building Society, headquartered in Swindon.

Liam has a particular interest in the links between the Trust and the local community it serves.

In November 2019, Liam was appointed for a three-year term as a Non-Executive Director on the board of the Financial Conduct Authority.

Bernie Morley, Non-Executive Director

Bernie joined the Trust Board in April 2023.

A molecular geneticist by training, Bernie has worked at a number of Universities over the years, before moving to Bath in 2010 as Pro-Vice-Chancellor (Learning and Teaching). He became Deputy Vice-Chancellor (DVC) and Provost 5 years later and remained at the University until 2021 including a spell as acting Vice-Chancellor.

While at Bath, Bernie was co-chair of the highly successful £40M Institute of Coding, a collaboration between Universities and Industry partners delivering skills training at all levels and with a target of widening participation.

He is now retired but is working with a number of Universities as a consultant on a wide range of education, building and planning projects, and has a passion for education and enabling students from different backgrounds to achieve their potential.

Chris Burton, Non-Executive Director

Chris qualified as a doctor in 1987 and has spent the majority of his career in the NHS, including work in Bristol and Southmead Hospitals.

After three years as Clinical Director of the Renal and Transplantation Directorate, Chris was appointed to the Board of North Bristol NHS Trust (NBT) as Executive Medical Director in 2009. 

During his time on the board, the Trust successfully underwent significant change, including hospital moves and EPR modernisation. 

Chris' passion is quality of patient care and he hopes his contributions to the NHS leadership will help to improve this moving forward.

Claudia Paoloni, Non-Executive Director

Claudia has held positions of leadership and influence in her senior medical career.

Having led and delivered major transformational service delivery and workforce projects at University Hospital Bristol and Weston Foundation Trust, she held a clinical director tenure for three years, a Divisional Board position, and currently remains Chair of the Hospital Medical Committee.

She has also held an executive member position for Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), and since April 2019 holds the elected role of President - the first female president since its inception in 1948.

Passionate about the NHS, Claudia actively works towards influencing the recruitment and retention of our NHS staff for the future.

Faried Chopdat, Non-Executive Director

Faried is an experienced and dynamic global leader with proven capability business transformation, risk management, and audit.

He has experience of delivering results through people-centric leadership that delivers sustainable value to all stakeholders.

His passion for coaching and mentoring others to reach their full potential led him into the world of executive coaching.

Faried is a director of his own boutique advisory and coaching business helping leaders and professionals with their transformation journeys.

Helen Spice, Non-Executive Director

Helen is an experienced finance professional with a 35-year career in the corporate, health and social care and not for profit sectors.

She has held a number of senior positions; Chief Financial Officer of Turning Point, a social enterprise working with people to support their mental health, drug and alcohol use and people with a learning disability.

Helen is also a Non-Executive Director of the Make-a-Wish Foundation, providing life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses and the Mental Health and Employment Partnership Limited supporting individuals with severe mental illness, substance misuse and learning disability, to obtain employment.

She has a strong motivation to support people across the community to ensure that everyone has equal access to the health and social care services they require.

Julian Duxfield, Non-Executive Director

Julian joined the Trust board in May 2023.

Julian has been Human Resource Director in a number of organisations including Unilever, the civil service, the security industry and latterly for the University of Oxford. He has also been an external member of the CQC remuneration committee.

In addition to his Non-Executive role at the Trust, Julian also provides executive coaching and actively pursues his passion for climbing and mountaineering.

Julian is keen to see the Trust continue to be a great place to work and ensure its staff are well supported and managed.

Sandra Gordon, Non-Executive Director

Sandra brings over 25 years of senior operational leadership experience across customer service, financial services, and the public sector in several trusted brands. 

Since April 2020, Sandra has been a Director of Bristol Women in Business Charter CIC, a pioneering initiative making Bristol the only city in the UK with its own charter focused on achieving gender equality in business.

Sandra currently serves as a Governor at City of Bristol College (since 2021), where she is Link Governor for Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, and sits on Finance & Resources and Search & Governance. She also serves as a Justice of the Peace.

Sandra is driven by a commitment to equity in health outcomes for all patients and valuing colleagues to best use their experience and resources. She brings a results-driven approach combined with compassionate leadership and a strong emphasis on mentorship and organisational development. 

Will Smart, Non-Executive Director

Will joined the board as a Non-Executive Director in April 2023.

His career has been spent in digital and analytics across healthcare and the wider public sector. He is currently a Global Director for Dedalus, one of the world’s largest healthcare technology companies.

Prior to joining Dedalus, he was Chief Information Officer for Health and Social Care in England, where he led the development and delivery of national strategies on information, technology and informatics.

Will has also served as CIO at the Royal Free London Hospitals Group, and has extensive experience in healthcare technology, as well as consulting widely across the UK Public sector in the areas of digital strategy and transformation, service management and outsourcing.

Neil Clark, Associate Non-Executive Director

Neil joined the Board in November 2025. In his early career he spent a decade as a qualified accountant working for Price Waterhouse providing a range of audit and corporate finance services to UK and international clients before moving into the life science industry.  

For the next 25 years, Neil held senior positions as either Chief Finance Officer or Chief Executive Officer in three publicly listed drug development businesses involved in the research, clinical testing and marketing of hospital focused novel medicines.

Since the start of 2024 he has focused on a portfolio of consultancy assignments and non-executive roles and is looking forward to assisting our Trust in its important work.

Samaher Sweity, Associate Non-Executive Director

Samaher joined the Board in November 2025. A registered nurse and experienced healthcare leader, she has worked across the NHS in roles focused on clinical governance, research and patient safety.

She is currently Head of Clinical Governance at NHS Blood and Transplant, where she leads work to strengthen safety, quality and learning across services. Samaher is deeply committed to tackling health inequalities and promoting diversity and inclusion.

She brings clinical insight, strategic thinking and a compassionate approach to supporting patients and staff to deliver the best possible care.