Due to take up the post next January, she has held senior leadership positions across the health and care sector, with her previous roles spanning national charities, the civil service, and parliament. She said: “I’m delighted to be taking over as Chief Executive of The King’s Fund at a critical time for the charity, with health and care services, and the people who rely on them, facing challenges on multiple fronts. Alongside the many challenges, however, there are significant opportunities to shape the national debate on the future of health and social care, and to bring about improvements to services. The King’s Fund has a vital role to play in providing independent, authoritative, policy analysis, supporting leaders in the system, and bringing people together to find sustainable solutions to the biggest challenges facing health and care.”
Professor Lord Kakkar, Chair of The King’s Fund’s Board of Trustees, added “’I am delighted Sarah will be the next Chief Executive of The King’s Fund. She has considerable experience in the health and care sector, and has delivered substantial achievement and impact for patients, the public, and the organisations she has served, through her thoughtful and imaginative leadership. I am confident that under her, The King’s Fund will make further strides towards its vision that the best possible health and care is available to all.
“Our thanks go to Richard Murray for his outstanding leadership of the organisation since 2019. He leaves the organisation in a strong position to continue its mission.”
Sarah Woolnough has been CEO of Asthma + Lung UK since 2020, leading all aspects of the national charity’s work to transform lung health, ‘supporting people, advancing research, and advocating for improvements in the care and support for people with a lung condition’. Having spent much of her career in senior leadership roles in health, including many years as Executive Director of Policy, Information, and Communications, at Cancer Research UK, she was seconded to the Department of Health in 2010 to help develop a new national cancer strategy.