Our Board
Our Board provides help, advice, and guidance to the Executive Team. They set the direction of the organisation, and ensure this is followed. The full board meets every three months, but there are other meetings that Board Members also attend. Being a board member is not a paid position. Many board members live in Hertfordshire and help give back to their local community.
Our Board Members
John Turk (Chair)
John joined the board of HILS in 2015 as Chair.
A transformational leader and international speaker, John has a passion for management innovation and making organisations more human. John is the Group Chief Executive Officer of Allerton – an integrated housing, and care and support provider. He is also an ex-consultant for London Business School on Strategy Execution and Innovation.
In his spare time, the father of three keeps himself fit running marathons for charity, and during warm summer days rides a Harley-Davidson. John is married to an inspirational teacher, Karen, and they live in St Albans.
Mhairi Wright
Mhairi joined the HILS Board in July 2017. She is a former chartered accountant and tax advisor, with 30 years’ experience at EY (latterly as an Associate Partner). During her time at EY, as an Executive Director, Mhairi specialised in advising private businesses and their shareholders across a wide range of commercial scenarios, and obtained Board experience through various tax leadership roles, involving setting strategy, developing business plans and monitoring performance. Commercial experience at EY included reporting on a broad range of corporate and shareholder transactions, including disposal of substantial business assets and corporate restructuring, and many forms of transaction at shareholder level, including complete exit, company buybacks and equity incentives.
Mhairi is married with 2 children, and in her spare time enjoys singing with a local choir, keeping fit and travelling.
Roger Gochin
Roger Gochin joined us in 2013.
Roger was the Former Principal and Chief Executive of North Hertfordshire College for 15 years.
In recent years, Roger has been the Chairman of a £17m turnover leisure company operating 19 sites in Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, and Rutland, and has undertaken consultancy in over 50 colleges and universities.
Roger has been actively involved in many community partnerships, including Chairman of a Housing Association, Director of the Hertfordshire Business start-up company, Governor of a Higher Education College, and the Education Adviser to the Football Conference Youth League.
Steve McQueen
Steve joined the board of HILS in 2015.
Steve McQueen is a dedicated trustee and the current Treasurer of Health & Independent Living Support (HILS), having joined the Board in 2015. With extensive governance experience, Steve also serves as Chair of Trustees at Stevenage Football Club Foundation, where he has been an active trustee since 2012 and was appointed Chair in April 2022. Additionally, he is the Vice Chair of Stevenage Community Trust, further demonstrating his commitment to local charitable initiatives.
Prior to his recent retirement, Steve enjoyed a distinguished 41-year career with Lloyds Bank, most recently as a Commercial Relationship Director based in Stevenage. In this role, he managed a diverse portfolio of over 50 local SME clients with turnovers ranging from £10 million to £25 million, including three large national charities. His expertise in financial management and strategic oversight has been instrumental in supporting both commercial enterprises and charitable organisations.
Steve’s broad experience in finance, governance, and community engagement makes him a valuable asset to HILS, contributing significantly to the charity’s mission of enhancing the independence and well-being of people across Hertfordshire.
Tom Davis
Tom joined the board of HILS in 2015.
Having qualified as a General Practitioner in 2011, Tom gradually reduced his time in the consulting room and broadened his experiences, developing a varied portfolio encompassing health and social care. Since then he has gone onto work across multiple sectors within the NHS in England and Wales, in senior Medical Director and Executive Director roles, including a period as the acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) in a large NHS Trust. In spring 2024, Tom joined Livi UK (part of Europe’s largest digital-first healthcare provider) as Medical Director and Country Manager, where he continues to innovate healthcare.
He is an advocate for workplace wellbeing, leading coaching and mentoring sessions to empower healthcare professionals and colleagues to get the best out of their careers by balancing self care, productivity and personal fulfilment.
Matt Willis
Matt joined the board of HILS in 2015.
Matt is CIO at Corporate Visions, a leading provider of evidence-based revenue growth solutions for sales, marketing and customer success teams. He is also the ex-Data, Analytics and AI technology lead at LSEG. Matt focuses on using data, analytics, and AI to drive product innovation, business operations and customer experience. In his spare time, Matt enjoys tennis, cooking and board games with his wife and two daughters.
Clare Burgess
Clare joined the board of HILS in 2015.
Clare is a Partner at international law firm Clifford Chance LLP. She advises on infrastructure and renewables financings across Europe and beyond. Clare has a particular focus on the sustainability of companies and environmental and social responsibility.
At the weekends, Clare can be found spending time with her family (husband and two children) at and around her home in Hertfordshire. Clare also enjoys travelling and exploring new places and new cuisines.
Paul Raine
Paul joined the board of HILS in 2021.
Paul is a Former Digital Transformation consultant, with extensive experience through a successful career setting the strategy/vision and then delivering complex transformational customer excellence and operational effectiveness/efficiencies in B2C/B2B high tempo environments. He now spends his time volunteering for several charities who focus on the elderly and veterans.
Owen Rogers
Owen joined the HILS Board in August 2023. With a background in Accounting, Owen is now the Head of IT Business Management for Corporate Technology and Cloud at London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). Business management responsibilities include Finance, Risk Management, PMO, Comms, Resourcing and M&A. Previous roles during his 14 years at LSEG include acting as both COO and CFO for Group Technology. Prior to this, Owen worked in the both the Telecoms and Property Sectors.
Owen is married to Natalie, and has 3 beautiful daughters under 10 – Blossom, Cleo, and Posy – which makes life busy, but extremely fun!