The Judges

LaingBuisson prides itself on having a fully independent judging panel with industry knowledge and category-specific skill sets to assess every entry. 

Experts from across the industry

Andrew Taylor

Chair

Independent Patient Choice

Andrew Taylor is Chair of the Independent Patient Choice and Procurement Panel for the NHS, and over the past 15 years has worked extensively with public and private providers of healthcare services. In his current role, Andrew leads the Panel responsible for advising on the application of patient choice rules and on procurement disputes between commissioners and providers of healthcare services. Previously, Andrew was a partner at Aldwych Partners, advising on competition issues in healthcare and related sectors and assisting clients in gaining clearance from the competition authorities for M&A transactions. Prior to this, Andrew was the inaugural Director of the Cooperation and Competition Panel for NHS-funded services. In addition to his work in healthcare, Andrew is also a member of the Competition Appeals Tribunal, the UK’s specialist court for competition and regulatory matters.

Angus Prentice

Head of Investor Relations

Spire Healthcare

Angus Prentice is Director of Investor Relations at Spire Healthcare Group plc, a FTSE 250 listed independent healthcare company. His career spans accountancy, corporate broking, agency communication and in-house investor relations. Angus trained as a chartered accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co before moving into corporate broking at Kleinwort Benson Securities.

Dr Clenton Farquharson CBE

Chair

Think Local Act Personal

Dr. Clenton Farquharson CBE is a transformative leader in healthcare and social care. As a disabled advocate, he champions equity and inclusion, shaping policy through roles on NHS boards and partnerships like Think Local Act Personal. His dynamic influence also extends to fighting ableism and supporting communities through social justice.

Daniel Casson

Consultant

Casson Consulting

Daniel is a digital transformation and partnership building consultant. He works with social care organisations, local authorities and health to enhance digital strategy. Daniel’s area of interest is value creation at the heart of innovations in care.
He is part of the Digital Social Care Team working on the NHS Digital-financed programme to support care providers on their digital journey, and digital transformation advisor at Care England.

David Hare

Chief Executive

IHPN

David joined the organisation in 2014 as Chief Executive and has gone on to build the single representative body -the Independent Healthcare Providers Network (IHPN) across the UK private healthcare industry, consolidating industry representation and growing membership from just over 20 members to 100 today.

Before joining IHPN, David helped to establish a top 7 0 UK political communications company and he has also been the Director of Strategy for a major trade association in the healthcare infrastructure sector.

David regularly contributes to the policy debate about the role of private healthcare in the UK through the media and Parliamentary Select Committee appearances and engages extensively with government, Non­ Departmental Public Bodies and regulators across all four nations of the UK on behalf of IHPN members.

David was awarded an MBE in the 2023 New Year’s Honours for services to healthcare, particularly during Covid. David was also recognised for the ‘outstanding contribution’ award at the 2022 Laing Buisson Awards for his ‘overwhelmingly positive influence in the health and care sector’.

Donald Macaskill

CEO

Scottish Care

Dr Macaskill is the CEO of Scottish Care, the representative body for care providers in the independent sector, namely private, charitable, and employee-owned care organisations which includes care home and home care organisations. He serves on several Scottish, UK and international charities and boards related to health and social care.

Professor Greta Westwood CBE

CEO

Florence Nightingale Foundation

Greta has been the CEO of the Florence Nightingale Foundation (FNF) since September 2019 but joined the FNF as the Chief Operating Officer in 2017. She is a Registered Nurse and a Florence Nightingale Foundation Alumna (2012 Leadership Scholar).
Greta qualified as a nurse in 1983 and a midwife in 1987. She completed a PhD in Nursing in 2010. Greta’ career has spanned general nursing, midwifery, clinical genetics, and clinical academic roles.
In 2021, Greta was awarded a CBE in the New Year Honours List 2021 for services to Nursing and Midwifery.

Ian Gargan

Chief Executive

PHIN

Under his leadership, PHIN has undergone significant transformation and progress. In 2022, with a new chair, a new CEO, and a new roadmap to deliver the Competition & Market Authority’s (CMA) Order, PHIN approached 2023 with renewed confidence to deliver and has already hit key milestones.

Dr Jane Townson OBE

CEO

Homecare Association

Jane is CEO of the Homecare Association (formerly known as UKHCA). She has extensive experience in the social care, health, housing and technology sectors. Chairman of Kraydel; formerly CEO Somerset Care Group; and Chairman YourLife (JV with McCarthy & Stone). Jane’s first career was in international leadership roles in research and development in ICI, AstraZeneca and Syngenta, where she was Global Head of Bioscience Research. She then established her own business providing consultancy and training on the link between lifestyle factors and public health, working with private individuals and public sector organisations.

Julia Senah

Chair

Think Local Act Personal

Dr. Clenton Farquharson CBE is a transformative leader in healthcare and social care. As a disabled advocate, he champions equity and inclusion, shaping policy through roles on NHS boards and partnerships like Think Local Act Personal. His dynamic influence also extends to fighting ableism and supporting communities through social justice.

Karolina Gerlich

CEO

Care Workers Charity

Karolina has been a care worker for twelve years alongside being an experienced Director in several capacities within the non-profit sector. She is passionate about social care and social justice and never misses a chance to advocate for care workers.

Another passion of hers is women’s rights and she is currently also an Advisor for the Women’s Equality Party. Karolina has been invited to participate in many media experiences as a voice for care workers to raise awareness of their under-valued hard work.

She loves working at The CWC because the determination, commitment and sacrifice of the care workforce deserves recognition.

Kathryn Smith

Chief Executive

Social Care Institute for Excellence

Bringing over three decades of experience in social care, Kathryn has held several prominent roles that highlight her commitment and expertise in the sector, including Chief Operating Officer of Alzheimer’s Society before joining the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE) as Chief Executive in 2020. Kathryn’s leadership is marked by a deep commitment to improving care standards and promoting innovation within the sector. She is passionate about embedding co-production and working in a strengths-based way to develop practical solutions that work for real people.

Katya Zubareva

Partner, Healthcare Services

L.E.K Consulting

Katya Zubareva is a Partner in L.E.K. Consulting’s London office. She has been with the firm since 2007 and is a member of the Healthcare Services practice. Katya’s experience extends across the healthcare sector, including projects in acute care, primary care, diagnostic imaging, dentistry, fertility clinics, mental health and care home markets across the globe. She is an expert in both strategy development and transaction support and is passionate about using data & analytics tools to support decision-making.

KP Doyle

Chair & CEO

Layer Cake

KP has deep experience in running multi-site healthcare businesses, across a broad sprectrum of sectors. He is an experienced Chair, CEO and investor focusing on growth businesses (often working with founders) with innovative, outcomes driven and evidence based strategies. KP sits on the Strategic Council of IHPN and holds several board roles in healthservices.

Liz Heath

Consultant

LaingBuisson

Liz Heath is a skilled marketing and communications professional with extensive experience in the independent and public healthcare sectors. She is a recognised researcher, author and commentator on key private healthcare markets including self-pay, cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry and NHS private patient units. Liz also has board experience as a non-executive director of an acute hospital Trust including roles as Deputy Chair and Senior Independent Director. Liz spent 13 years with BMI Healthcare rising to the position of corporate marketing director. She has spent 25 years in consultancy working with clients in the health and care sectors including some with national and international profiles. She has extensive strategic experience including new hospital development and new service development and implementation.

Martin Chamberlin

Managing Director

Oppenheimer

Martin Chamberlin is a Managing Director and Head of European Healthcare at Oppenheimer. Previously, Martin was a Managing Director in the European Healthcare Investment Banking team at RBC Capital Markets.

Mehdi Erfan

General Counsel, Group Company Secretary

Ramsay Health

Mehdi Erfan has been in post since January 2013. Mehdi has considerable experience of both the private healthcare sector and the NHS. He recently led for the entire independent hospital sector on the novel contracts with NHS England, in relation to the sector providing almost all its capacity to the NHS in response to Covid-19. These contracts were in place for over a year, allowing considerable support to patients.
Mehdi is a member of the Expert Advisory Group, which developed the Medical Practitioners Assurance Framework, partly in response to the Paterson Inquiry.
Mehdi is a Solicitor of many years standing – has a LLB (Hons) and a Masters of Arts, Comparative Business Law.

Nadra Ahmed CBE

Chairman

National Care Association

Nadra has been involved in the field of Social Care for over 40 years. Her background is in training and education, which has been the passion that drives her towards quality services, underpinned and provided by a skilled and valued workforce.

She has been the Chairman of NCA since 2001 and is a trustee of Royal British Legion Industries and Governor at Canterbury Christchurch University. She is also the Co-Convenor of the Cavendish Coalition, formed to work with the NHS and Unison to support workforce issues in Health and Social Care pre-Brexit. She is currently the Chair of the Care Provider Alliance which brings together 11national representative bodies in the sector.

Additionally, Nadra holds various positions within voluntary organisations delivering services to vulnerable people in the community. These include Vice President of HiKent a charity supporting people with hearing loss, Patron of Rockdale Housing supporting older citizens through a pathway of care and support, Vice Patron of Kent Autistic Society and a trustee of Spadeworks which is a charity to support younger adults with learning disabilities to learn skills and run a garden centre.

She has been a member of a number of Government advisory committees in the DHSC including at Ministerial level and Government Taskforces. Through the Covid pandemic Nadra was the respected voice of care providers consistently both privately with DHSC and publicly.

Nadra is a regular contributor to journals and conferences and is frequently called upon by major media networks to represent the views of Social Care providers both nationally and internationally.

In 2006 she was awarded the OBE for her services to Social Care and the following year was appointed Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Kent and a Kent Ambassador.

Nadra has been the recipient of many awards within the care sector from ‘Care Personality’ to ‘Outstanding Contribution to the Business Community’.

In 2023 Nadra was awarded the CBE for her continued services to Social Care.

In March 2023 Nadra took over the role of High Sheriff of Kent. The role of High Sheriff has adapted over a long history and today is a non-political Royal appointment for a year. The High Sheriff represents His Majesty the King within their county to support the Judiciary in Maintenance of law and order, delegated in the main to the Chief Constable. Other responsibilities conferred by the Crown include the wellbeing of High Court Judges, attending Royal visits in the County and various other ceremonial tasks. The office is independent, non-political and unpaid which enables the High Sheriff to bring together a wide variety of individuals across the county.

Nancy Hollendoner

Senior Adviser

Smith Square Partners

Nancy Hollendoner is senior adviser to Smith Square Partners. She has a broad knowledge base within the health and social care markets, national healthcare systems and numerous for-profit, not-for-profit and public organisations that operate within them. She has nearly 30 years’ experience in the market, initially as an equities’ analyst at UBS and for the last 20 years in an M&A and strategic advisory capacity with Hawpoint Partners and Smith Square Partners. Nancy is an experienced non-executive director, champion of healthcare start-ups and supports small healthcare businesses in their growth.

Paul Willoughby

Project Director

Buckland Development

Paul is a Chartered Accountant who qualified with Ernst & Young. He has director level experience in both the financial and property sectors in privately and publicly owned businesses. This included a senior role with McCarthy & Stone plc, involved with land valuation, acquisition and business direction. He also has previous experience as a quantity surveyor on a range of building projects including private and social new build housing, redevelopment, and refurbishment. Paul is currently a Project Director on the 6,000 dwelling Welborne Garden Village scheme focusing on project financials, strategic issues, and delivery.

Rosemary Hittinger

FIPO and London Consultants Association

Sally Taber

Director

ISCAS

Sally Taber is a Director of the Independent Sector Complaints Adjudication Service (ISCAS) which has been operational for over 20 years.

Sally has worked in the independent sector for a number of years and was the Director of Nursing at the London Bridge Hospital. She advised the Royal College of Nursing on the independent sector and wrote the strategy for the College in relation to the independent sector.

She was the Director of Independent Healthcare Advisory Services (IHAS) which transferred into the Association of Independent Healthcare Organisations (AIHO).

Sally qualified as a Registered General Nurse at the Royal Free Hospital in London and also qualified as a midwife from Queen Charlotte’s Hospital. She specialised in renal nursing, holding senior posts at St Mary’s Hospital Paddington, Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge and St Mary’s Hospital in Portsmouth. She pioneered the role of the Transplant Co-ordinator and was the Secretary of the European Dialysis and Transplant Nurses Association.

At the request of the government, she set up the cosmetic industry self-regulation regime for use of Botulinum toxins and dermal fillers entitled Treatments you can Trust together with Dr Andrew Vallance-Owen MBE. This has now transferred to the Joint Council of Cosmetic Practitioners (JCCP). She co-chaired the national nursing partnership group with the Chief Nurse of England for six years.

She has been the Chair of the British Kidney Patient Association (now Kidney Care UK) and also the President of the Open Society at the Royal Society of Medicine.

Sally Taylor

Director & Trustee

British Epilepsy Association

Sally has recently launched as a freelance Investor Relations & Strategy Consultant. Sally was previously Head of Corporate Development & Strategy at Ramsay Healthcare UK for three years. Prior to this, Sally spent 16 years as a healthcare research analyst in the City. Sally worked at JP Morgan Cazenove for 7 years, before joining Barclays in 2011 to lead European Medical Technology and Services research.

After joining Numis in 2014, Sally worked on the IPO’s of Spire Healthcare, Cambian, Diurnal and Georgia Healthcare and also helped create the annual Future of Healthcare Investor Forum, working with the London Stock Exchange and others to host an insightful event to attract investors into the LifeSciences sector. The Numis healthcare research team was voted number one (Extel Small & Mid-Caps) by investors from 2015-2019 and in 2019, Sally was ranked Refinitiv Top UK Healthcare Stock Picker.

Sally qualified as a chartered accountant (FCA) with PwC and holds a first class honors degree in Medical Sciences.

Stephen Collier

NHS Professionals

Stephen has spent his career in public-sector and private-sector health and care. He is executive Chair of HCRG Care Group, the national primary and community health provider; Chair of Healthcare Purchasing Alliance, which purchases private healthcare on behalf of Vitality and Aviva; and Senior Independent Director and Chair of Workforce at St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

He is also a senior advisor to investors and operators and was a sector specialist within the Paterson Inquiry team.

Stephen practiced as a barrister before moving into healthcare.

Steve Secker

Consultant

LaingBuisson

Steve has a long involvement with the retirement housing sector including nearly 25 years with McCarthy Stone, latterly as a Managing Director in the north. Steve owns and operates the specialist retirement housing consultancy Secker Taylor Associates. They advise on retirement development whether at the tactical level to improve designs and viability or sales rates through to how to structure and deliver development process and strategic business reviews. He also has a portfolio of Non-Executive Directorships including 54North Homes (Chair) and Karbon Homes amongst others.

Vic Rayner

CEO

National Care Forum

Professor Vic Rayner OBE is Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Care Forum, joining the organisation in 2016.

As CEO she is the chair of the government Strategic Advisory Forum on the social care workforce, co-chair of the National Social Care Advisory Group on social care and technology and sits on a range of government and national specialist groups with a focus on the social care workforce, digital transformation, new models of care and regulation.

Vic is a regular national and international speaker, and has extensive knowledge and expertise across a wide range of care, support, housing and social policy agendas. Prior to joining the NCF, she was the CEO of Sitra, a leading national membership body championing excellence in housing, health, care and support.

Vic is a trustee of Hestia, a leading London charity providing care and support as well as The Care Workers Charity. Vic was previously the independent Chair of the Brighton and Hove Fairness Commission, tackling inequalities and promoting social justice within the locality.

Vic has an MBA (Distinction), MA and BA (Hons) in Politics, Philosophy and Economics and was awarded an OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours 2021.

Vincent Buscemi

Partner and Head of Independent Health & Social Care

Bevan Brittan

Vincent is a highly experienced health, social care and senior living lawyer, specialising in commercial, corporate and regulatory law. He is recommended by Legal 500 and ranked in Chambers and Partners. Vincent has extensive experience of advising operators, investors, funders, developers and providers in healthcare, social care, and the senior living sectors on a diverse range of commercial, corporate and regulatory transactional matters.

Zoe Fry

Executive Director

The Outstanding Society

Zoe, a Director at the Outstanding Society Community Interest Company, passionately shares and celebrates best practices in Social Care. With a nursing background, she started her career in Care Homes at just 13, fostering a love for the elderly. In 2008, she acquired a nursing home, achieving Outstanding CQC ratings in 2014 and 2017. Zoe’s dedication earned her an OBE in the 2023 Kings Birthday Honours List, recognising her contributions to Social Care and Nursing. She considers it a privilege to serve in Social Care.