We conducted interviews with four of our Trustees – Alan Brown, Sarah McIntyre, Phil Lyons, and Roger Phillips – to discuss their professional backgrounds and what they are hoping to achieve as BAPEN Trustees.
Alan Brown
Please can you share a bit of background about your professional life to date?
I am an Engineer by education and training, working initially on marine and transportation projects before joining the energy industry. I travelled internationally for work, taking on a number of managerial roles in the US, Canada and Globally. The latter half of my career has been characterised by business planning, organisational leadership, and strategic development – I certainly enjoy thinking analytically about a problem and working towards a logical solution and I am a firm believer that change is a healthy thing for all organisations (and individuals). Having retired, my interest in sports, voluntary work and trying to keep up with nine grandchildren keeps me active!
What made you want to be a Trustee for BAPEN?
As soon as I heard about BAPEN as an organisation, I could see the immense value it has to offer. I admire both how impactful BAPEN is currently, but also how impactful it seeks to be in the future. BAPEN has a wealth of resources it can tap into – both directly and through collaboration and networking and I think this makes the organisation very well-equipped to deliver against its vision.
Organisations work best when they bring together expert and diverse minds, all committed to the same core values and vision. This is the case for BAPEN. A truly collaborative organisation with a compelling purpose, BAPEN does very important work to improve the understanding, delivery and further development of nutritional care. I also think it’s important making the link between nutrition and broader health – good nutrition is a critical component of quality of health, and by extension, quality of life. The opportunity to be a part of this organisation really appealed to me, and I feel fortunate to be working alongside new and expert colleagues.
What do you see as the role of a Trustee? How can they support organisations like BAPEN?
Three things spring to mind when I think about the role of a Trustee.
Firstly, I believe it is the role of Trustees to provide direction; we are well-placed, as one-step removed from the Executive, to offer a macro sense of purpose and direction. It is then up to the Executive to execute and implement as best the organisation possibly can, but that overarching direction of travel is critical.
Secondly, I believe Trustees can provide an organisation with support – they can provide experience and business perspectives as well as their time to the organisation. They also should consider how best to align and focus people – who is best placed to take the lead on something and how a team can best work together?
And lastly, governance. Trustees are accountable and responsible for ensuring an organisation’s performance is stewarded and there are sufficient controls in place to stay on track toward long term sustainable goals.
What are you most excited to work on in your new role, alongside fellow Trustees?
I very much hope that I can facilitate listening, learning and collaboration. This aligns closely with BAPEN’s four core values and I’m looking forward to considering new ways that we can embed these into our day-to-day practices and overarching direction and vision. I think education is crucial – education underpins every aspect of progress whether it be health, technology, environment or societal. And in BAPEN’s case, if we can share knowledge with our key audiences, then we can make great strides towards improving nutritional understanding and support across the country. For me, this is a new field of science and human behaviour and I’m eager to learn and contribute as much as possible!
What are your first impressions of BAPEN as an organisation?
Very professional with very able and committed people. One of the first impressions I had of BAPEN was the cross-discipline passion demonstrated by the ‘Public Health Placement Project’ team in terms of project concept, execution and reporting – sharing best practice and continuous learning at every stage; and by informing people who can later become influencers and leaders in their respective fields of work, whether that’s in Trusts, Universities, Care Facilities, etc.
I think BAPEN has great potential as an organisation – it is already doing incredibly important work, and I am confident that by considering future opportunities along with developing best sustainable practices, BAPEN will be increasingly impactful going forward.
Sarah McIntyre
Please can you share a bit of background about your professional life to date?
I come from a criminal law background. After a short stint in the computer industry, I trained as a magistrate and worked in the criminal courts for 14 years in Buckinghamshire. I then decided to re-train as a barrister, swapping to work on the other side of the bench. At the same time, I became a Trustee for a new Multi Academy Trust of junior schools. On completion of the school’s role, I expanded my trusteeship to include a children’s charity based in Uganda. I am looking forward to getting my feet under the table in my new role sitting on BAPEN’s Board of Trustees.
Why were you motivated to be a Trustee for BAPEN?
Despite not coming from a background in nutrition or clinical support, over my years of working in the criminal courts I have become acutely aware of the importance of good nutrition. I have seen this most clearly through the connection between mental health and good nutrition. I also have a couple of close family members who have worked in the gastro field, giving me some exposure through the lens of healthcare professionals. Beyond this, I am someone who is motivated by new interests. The timing was right for me to apply for this role, and so I took the plunge to enter into a new area… it’s definitely proving interesting already!
What are you most excited to work on in your new role, alongside fellow Trustees?
Having worked in trusteeship roles in the past, I have seen the value that they can bring to charities. Trustees are in the unique position of being one step removed from the day-to-day running of a charity, often by an Executive – as is the case for BAPEN. This enables Trustees to ask questions that constructively challenge an organisation in a supportive, thought-provoking way, and to provide recommendations for alternative courses of action. These questions can have a hugely significant impact on improving how a charity is run and how it presents to its membership. In order to keep progressing, BAPEN must be adaptable. The external environment is ever-changing, and I am looking forward to supporting BAPEN to be well set up for change, underpinned by strong and ethical governance.
On a separate note, I’m yet to meet my fellow Trustees in person – bring on September! – but I can already tell that they are a very talented group. I am looking forward to getting to know them and undoubtedly learning a great deal myself.
What stands out to you about BAPEN?
BAPEN as an organisation is new to me, which meant I was able to view it with a fresh perspective. What immediately stood out to me was the sheer reach and ambition of the organisation. BAPEN has developed a hugely important and well-recognised screening tool in ‘MUST’, and the breadth of its application is substantial. Likewise, BAPEN Conference welcomes hundreds of attendees each year, showing that it is both known and respected within the medical profession. It can be easy, having been involved in or working closely with an organisation for some time, to take these things for granted. BAPEN should be very proud of its reach and reputation!
Phil Lyons
Thanks for chatting to me Phil. You’re not originally from the nutrition world are you? Can you give members a bit of background?
My career has actually been a bit of a mix! I began in the education sector, ending as a college director. My career opportunities expanded and I specialised in cross-sector working at home and abroad including work for the Commonwealth Society in South Africa, the UK Know How Fund in Russia, for UNICEF in the Balkans, and for the EU in Arctic Sweden. I also worked as an independent chair for the NHS, and for the last seven years I have been Chief Executive of the National Holocaust Centre and Museum. The thread that ties all these experiences together is my belief in the value of strategic partnerships. It’s something that I have championed in all my roles, and it’s something that I am looking forward to bringing to my role here at BAPEN.
So why did becoming a Trustee for BAPEN appeal to you?
Well, BAPEN is a very interesting organisation! I am particularly interested in how to achieve member-driven policy change. I think with my career being so focused on partnership working and collaboration, I can bring some of that experience to the table here and look at how BAPEN could work in partnership with clear policy change goals in mind.
It is BAPEN’s essence, this multi-disciplinary body coming together with one vision of the best patient care in all settings, that really appealed to me. I am very optimistic about BAPEN’s future, and I think the organisation has great potential. When I looked at the Annual Conference webinar series last year, it was clear to me what BAPEN can do, in terms of bringing together the best of the best in this field, and reaching out and offering support and education to such a wide range of healthcare professionals. It is a really different organisational structure here at BAPEN, one I am keen to be a part of, and privileged to belong to.
In my role at the National Holocaust Centre and Museum, I was very focused on helping the organisation look to the future, and protect itself, as all charities must do. The chance to bring learnings from that environment to this one, really appealed to me.
With that in mind, what are you most excited to work on?
I am particularly eager to work on BAPEN’s membership, thinking about how we can open it up and have greater engagement. I think it is important to establish whether our leadership is representative of our membership, and if not, how we can ensure we are hearing all voices. The whole organisation is oriented towards patient care and patient outcomes. I firmly believe patient outcomes will improve if we hear all the voices that are involved in patient care.
So, working out how to bring out the best of a diverse group of people in a practical way is something I am really looking forward to. I think the new Board of Trustees can help provide direction and clarity by devising incremental delivery steps that will enable BAPEN to progress under a broader strategic plan.
I’m also looking forward to working with Dianne and Roger! I think together we can make a strong contribution. I think BAPEN has moved to bring us onboard at the right time. All charities need Trustees eventually, and when I look at the Executive team, they are working to the maximum on BAPEN business, but simply don’t have the bandwidth alongside their day jobs to tackle all those traditional Trustee roles. I’m excited to be able to come in at this time to help.
Roger Phillips
Hi Roger! Great to chat with you. Tell me why you wanted to be a Trustee for BAPEN?
I was very pleased to be asked to sit on BAPEN’s Board of Trustees! Having worked for Nutricia in the medical nutrition industry for 20 years, I was eager to continue to work in this area, and I really wanted a role where I felt that I was making a positive contribution and helping to create change. I think anybody who works in medical nutrition for any length of time finds it quite difficult to leave this behind! There is a real purpose behind what BAPEN is doing as an organisation, and a commitment to improve things for people when they are exceptionally vulnerable and in the hands of others. I absolutely believe in that mission to ensure best nutritional care for everybody in every setting. It goes without saying that that’s something we should be aiming for as a society. BAPEN has the potential to achieve that change but we have to look to grow and improve our reach.
I think my commercial and business strategy background brings something different to the Board, and I am excited to work as part of such an experienced team.
What stands out about BAPEN as an organisation to you? What are you encouraged by?
The people, without a doubt. I have been so impressed by the Executive – their focus is admirable, and the collegiate working environment is fantastic. But also, the members. It is great to work on the Board of Trustees for a membership organisation with such motivated and dedicated professionals. And of course it is endlessly interesting as you have a membership built of healthcare professionals from so many different roles.
Everybody is ambitious for BAPEN, that is there without a doubt. But I hope I can facilitate a step forwards for BAPEN in terms of professionalisation, and help guide that energy and ambition to secure the future and look to even greater future achievements.
What are you looking forward to most in your new role?
Where do I start? I am looking forward to developing a strategy and turning it into an actionable plan. The organisational structure of BAPEN and its core groups is fairly complex, and we have to try and make that understandable to people outside the organisation and ensure that all voices are heard. There is an element of cohesion we must work on, how do we ensure cohesion across regional diversity, diversity of settings and disciplines? I am looking forward to that challenge. I think one of the roles of the Trustees is to provide guidance and ensure people are aligned to that focus. I am keen to guide BAPEN to a new level of sophistication and sustainability, whilst constantly improving engagement with members and stakeholders.
BAPEN is looking to the future and reflecting on how it can keep up with the pace of change. We don’t want to stand still, and we are excited to push ourselves to develop, for the benefit of all our members, and ultimately for patients too. I’m really delighted that I get to pick up this challenge with Dianne and Phil, it’s an exciting time!
