Isabel Oliver
Chief Medical Officer for Wales, Welsh Government

Jacqueline Totterdell
Chief Executive and Director General of Health, Social Care & Early Years, NHS Wales

Emma Catling
Malnutrition Strategic Lead, Hywel Dda University Health Board

Emma Catling is the Malnutrition Strategic Lead at Hywel Dda University Health Board, a role she has held for the past four and a half years. Her work focuses on applying a whole-system approach, embedded with value-based health care, to tackling malnutrition across the Health Board. A registered dietitian with 28 years of experience working in Wales, Emma has worked across a range of clinical settings and served as the regional lead kidney dietitian for South West Wales Kidney Services for over two decades.

Emma also contributes to national strategy through her role on Bwrdd Cymru, supporting the British Dietetic Association in delivering its strategic objectives within Wales.

She recently completed an MSc in Advanced Health and Care Management at Swansea University, specialising in Value-Based Health Care. This work-based learning programme provided an opportunity to develop and implement prudent and value-based solutions that improve nutrition and hydration outcomes for both individual service users and the wider system.

Dr Mike Brady
Assistant Clinical Director for Remote Clinical Care, Welsh Ambulance Services University Trust

Mark Briggs
Assistant Director for Innovation, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Mark Briggs is the Assistant Director for Innovation for Cardiff and Vale University Health Board and the Precision Medicine Ambassador for the Life Sciences Hub Wales.  Prior to these roles he was Co-Director Midland-Wales Advanced Therapies Treatment Centre, Programme Lead for Advanced Therapies Wales and both Head of Cell and Gene Therapy for the Welsh Blood Service and Head of Strategy for Research, Development and Innovation for the Velindre Cancer Centre within the Velindre University NHS Trust.

Before to moving to the public sector Mark spent more than 20 years within R&D in the commercial Life Sciences industry in a series of senior roles leading the development and application of enabling and disruptive technologies primarily for drug discovery, development, safety testing.  In his latter corporate years, he focussed upon the industrialisation of advanced therapies with a view to enabling safe and robust, turn-key production of both genetically and non-genetically modified cellular therapies.

Dr Amy Campbell
Research and Innovation Associate, Tritech Institute & Innovation, Hywel Dda University Health Board

With a strong academic foundation in psychology and mental health research, Amy holds a BSc in Psychology, a MSc in Mental Health Research, and a PhD in Psychology focused on the genetic epidemiology of anxiety and depression. With a decade of experience studying and working at world-leading academic institutions, she has developed expertise in both qualitative and quantitative data analysis, epidemiological research design, big data, and genomics.

Driven by a passion for scientific rigour, patient and public involvement, and equitable access to healthcare, Amy transitioned from academia to the NHS to apply her skills in real-world settings. Her work is grounded in the belief that applied research can drive innovation, systems change, and deliver immediate, tangible impact for patients and communities.

Dr Matthew Lawrence
Deputy Head of Tritech Institute & Innovation, Hywel Dda University Health Board

Dr Matthew Lawrence is Deputy Head of TriTech and Innovation for Hywel Dda University Health Board, UK. He has over 15 years of experience working in medical research. Matthew’s main area of focus during his research career has been in translating knowledge and technical know-how from engineering and the physical sciences into advances in healthcare technology.

As part of his research, Matthew has worked within a clinical environment – bridging the gap between health, science, and engineering. His primary research focussed on developing new technologies for measuring haemostasis and blood flow in relation to health and disease, particularly in respect to how clotting characteristics are altered by treatment and disease progression in vascular inflammatory disease. As a result, he has authored a wide range of peer reviewed articles on several different disease states.

During his career, Matthew has developed expertise in study design, project management and statistical analysis. Furthermore, he has gained a strong understanding of the regulatory and governance processes in health research in the UK and is currently the Chairman of Health and Care Research Wales’ research ethics committee Wales REC 6.

Ed Harry
Professional Development Lead - Advanced Practice, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust

Lynne Grundy
Associate Director for Research & Development, Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board

Lynne is the Associate Director for Research and Development at Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, and is responsible for the strategic and operational management of research activity and development for BCUHB. Lynne is a Registered General Nurse and Registered Midwife, and has a Doctorate in Nursing Science.

Lynne has a strong clinical background with special interests in applying research into practice, innovation and service improvement. Lynne is passionate about ensuring patients and the public have more opportunities to be involved in research and innovation.

She has many years senior management experience in a wide variety of community and secondary care settings, within clinical and corporate departments in strategic and operational/clinical posts, as well as a Nurse Lecturer at Bangor University. Lynne also works in a regulatory capacity for the Care Quality Commission and the Nursing and Midwifery Council.

Nigel Rees
Assistant Director of Research & Innovation, Welsh Ambulance Services NHS Trust

Dr Mick Button
Associate Medical Director, Velindre University NHS Trust

Mick is a consultant clinical oncologist at Velindre Cancer Centre. specialising in the care/treatment of patients with lung cancer. He’s also the Associate Medical Director (workforce) at Velindre University NHS Trust. Alongside his clinical role, he is involved in education, innovation, research, leadership and collaborative working. He’s aligning all these interests through his Bevan Commission Fellowship and his PhD – researching novel approaches to healthcare innovation by applying staff wellbeing models to innovation, with the aim of creating practical improvements to both healthcare innovation and staff wellbeing.

Jennet Holmes
Head of Innovation, Velindre University NHS Trust

Jennet was appointed to the role of Head of Innovation at Velindre University NHS Trust in June 2023.  Her role provides a corporate function for innovation across the two divisions of the Trust, at the Velindre Cancer Centre and the Welsh Blood Service.  Jennet’s role currently focusses on building the infrastructure for innovation, providing leadership and oversight for Innovation, as well as building the capability and capacity for innovation across the Trust.  Jennet is also playing a lead role in establishing the New Collaborative Centre for Learning and Innovation.

Jennet’s previous post was at the Civil Service, as Head of Innovation for the Health and Social Services Group of Welsh Government.  Jennet joined the Civil Service in 2013, leading on Resource Efficiency and Circular Economy strategy and then subsequently held key roles as Head of Compliance and Efficiency, Head of Transport, and COVID response roles, prior to returning to her substantive role as Head of Innovation.

Jennet previously worked in the private sector for over a decade, primarily in Wales and Europe supporting industry and the public sector within consultancy-based roles on a broad range of environmental, quality and health and safety initiatives.

Jennet is currently implementing the ISO 56001 innovation management system at the Trust, as part of her work to develop the supporting infrastructure for innovation and transformation.

Aled Guy
Head of Sustainability & Net Zero Carbon Management, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership

Richard Harris
Head of Trade, Welsh Government

Julie Russell
Business Development, Manager Inward Investment at Welsh Government

Julie works across industry sectors assisting companies looking to set up or expand into Wales to access UK and international markets.

Julie has been promoting Wales in international markets and providing advice on support for business development for over 20 years.  Working with both the public and private sectors, her international experience spans Europe, the Americas and Asia.

In 2019, Julie was named in the India Inc top 100 list of key influencers in UK – India relations.

Tom Davies
Investment Executive, Development Bank of Wales

Calum Shaw
Sustainability Lead, Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board

Calum has held a variety of roles across the Welsh Public sector throughout his career. This has included developing public policy and legislation around environmental issues.

Within government Calum held a number of positions which included worked on the 1^st Decarbonisation action plan for Wales and the public sector decarbonisation funding scheme.

He has worked across the Health sector for the past 5 years developing programmes to support environmental sustainability. He currently works within Cwm Taff Morgannwg University Health Board developing their Climate Action strategy and within innovation to create solutions to improve decarbonisation and organisational efficiencies.

Dr Mohammad Alhadj Ali
Consultant Physician, Cardiff and Vale University Health Board

Lee Morgan
Deputy Head of Operational Procurement, NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership

Simon Renault
Head of Innovation, Technology & Partnerships, Welsh Government

Bryn Kentish
Programme Manager, Dragon’s Heart Institute, Cardiff and Vale UHB

Bryn Kentish is Programme Manager at the Dragon’s Heart Institute, part of Cardiff and Vale University Health Board, where he specialises in the spread and scale of improvement and innovation in health and care. He leads the Spread & Scale Academy and also delivers the Climb Leadership Programme. He is a Fellow at the Billions Institute and a qualified coach with active client work. His wider background spans communications, engagement and improvement across NHS Wales, with a particular interest in how stories, networks and trust shape large-scale change.

Iwan Palmer
Innovation Specialist, Welsh Government

Kerry Robertshaw
Consultant Paramedic - Urgent Care, Welsh Ambulance Service University Trust

Emma Rees
Co-lead Healthy Ageing & Chronic Conditions Research Institute, Swansea University

Tom James
Head of Innovation Strategy and Policy, Life Sciences and Innovation Division, Welsh Government

Tom has been Head of Innovation and Technology for the Health and Social Services group in Welsh Government since 2014.

Tom is responsible for Welsh health and care innovation policy and development of the Healthier chapter of the Integrated Innovation strategy for Wales. Tom is also the Government’s co-design and funding lead for a range of multi million pound innovation initiatives such as Health Technology Wales and the Accelerate and AgorIP programmes.

Tom recently spent two years on secondment with Aneurin Bevan University Health Board as Assistant Director of Innovation, where he developed a new approach to Innovation for the organisation alongside the Research, Improvement and Value teams.

Tom is currently studying for a Masters degree in Innovation & Transformation with Swansea University.

Gwyn Tudor
CEO, MediWales

As CEO of Mediwales for nearly 19 years, Gwyn has overseen a transformation of the forum to its current size, influence and corporate structure. Gwyn works with the directors and members of MediWales to develop the forum’s future strategic direction. His in-depth knowledge of the life science sector allows him to represent MediWales’ members’ interests on a number of Welsh and UK government panels and boards. Gwyn’s career has developed over twenty years from being a front line product designer working in a number of sectors, including the development of medical devices, to his current managerial role. 

Lyba Nadeem
Research Assistant, University of Warwick

Siôn Charles
Head of Strategy and Service Planning, South West Wales Regional Joint Committee

Siôn Charles is currently Head Strategy and Service Planning at South West Wales Regional Joint Committee – a regional collaboration between Swansea University, Hywel Dda UHB, and Swansea Bay UHB.  At South West Wales Regional Joint Committee, Siôn supports NHS Service Transformation programmes, leads Research, Enterprise and Innovation projects, and develops Workforce, Education and Skills programmes with the University.  Siôn was previously Deputy Director at Wales’ leading health and care think tank where he supported innovation and change projects, and created opportunities for business to collaborate with the NHS to develop new products and services.  Siôn is a member of the Innovation Advisory Council for Wales, currently leading work on innovation leadership.  Siôn Chairs the All Wales Innovation Leads Group.

Jo Angouri
Professor, Applied Linguistics,, University of Warwick

Huw Griffiths
Head of Dragon's Heart Institute, Dragon's Heart Institute

Huw is the Head of the Dragon’s Heart Institute and an experienced improvement leader with a clinical foundation in the NHS. He provides strategic direction, develops cross‑system partnerships, and oversees programmes that accelerate innovation, sustainability and health equity across Wales and beyond. Having delivered multiple Spread and Scale Academies and undertaken a fellowship with the Billions Institute, Huw brings deep expertise in large‑scale change, systems thinking and implementation at scale. His leadership is grounded in empowering people and organisations to deliver meaningful, measurable, sustainable improvement.

Dr Shawnea S. P. Ting
Healthcare Researcher, Sociolinguist, Interaction Scientist, University of Warwick

Shawnea Sum Pok TING is a postdoctoral research fellow at the Department of Applied Linguistics, University of Warwick, UK. She engages with interdisciplinary, qualitative research in healthcare. She currently works on risk negotiation and decision making in the dispatch of prehospital critical care, using Interactional Sociolinguistics (which combines conversation analysis with ethnography) and other qualitative approaches to study communication practices as well as policy documents. For her PhD, Shawnea investigated lived experiences in patient communication between ethnic minorities and healthcare providers in Hong Kong from a (Medical) English as a Lingua Franca perspective.

Dr. Essam Ibraham
Medical Director EMEA, Abbott Point-of-Care

Josh Miller
Head of Research and Innovation, Welsh Ambulance Services University NHS Trust