Corporate Governance Team

Director of Corporate Governance - Matt Phillips
Matt.Phillips2@wales.nhs.uk


Matt joined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board as Director of Corporate Governance in August 2023.

He started his career as an Officer in the Royal Navy where he specialised as a submariner and underwent various operational tours. While serving, he qualified as a Barrister and practised in criminal law in London before stepping into international law with roles as the Head of Legal in the European Union’s counter-piracy operations off the Horn of Africa followed by becoming the Command Lawyer for the Royal Marines’ very high readiness 3 Commando Brigade.

After 16 fulfilling years in the armed forces he returned to Wales as a Director for People, Law and Governance in a Local Authority as well as taking a Non-Executive Director role on a company board; he is a member of Longtown Mountain Rescue Team in the Brecon Beacons.

Head of Corporate Governance - Francesca Thomas
Francesca.Thomas3@wales.nhs.uk


Frankie joined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in October 2023 from Public Health Wales where she headed up the concerns and legal services team. Prior to that she worked in private practice in the legal industry.

Frankie heads up the Corporate Governance team and collectively she supports the organisation on a wide range of corporate governance issues including;

• Compliance with standing orders
• Compliance with Schemes of delegations
• Statutory requirements
• Legal support
• Freedom to speak up
• Annual Report
• Risk
• Corporate & Board Business
• Policy Management

Additionally, Frankie supports with the drafting of reports for presentation to the UHB Board and its Committees to ensure that it is appraised of developments and the current position with regard to remit of role and functions for which the UHB lead.

She is passionate about quality improvement and continued improvement in compliance with statutory and mandatory requirements to ensure better patient outcomes and experiences, whilst also ensuring that the highest standards of internal control are met.

Corporate Archivist and Records Management Manager - Andrew Partridge
Andrew.Partridge@wales.nhs.uk

Andrew joined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in May 2021 during the Covid Pandemic to support the Health Board in its preparations towards the National Covid Public Inquiry, predominantly to act as a central point of contact for the Inquiry and to gather and centralise evidence from across the Health Board.

Prior to this he gained his experiences from working in the Private Sector as a Board Member and Operations Manager providing leadership to a diverse management team across multiple sites by leading Records Management, Office Rental, Warehousing and Logistics activities.

He is adept at automating and streamlining business processes and implementing digital tools to improve financial performance whilst achieving higher levels of productivity.

Andrew now supports the Corporate Governance Team in many aspects, some of which include the following:

• Covid Inquiry
• Policy Management
• Declarations / Conflicts of Interest
• Risk Management
• Digital transformation
• Document Management
• Board and Committee support

Senior Corporate Governance Officer - Nathan Saunders
Nathan.Saunders2@wales.nhs.uk

Nathan began his NHS career at Llandough Hospital as a Porter in 2008 and has worked his way up through the ranks undertaking a number of roles across various Health Boards in South Wales.

He joined the Corporate Governance Team in October 2020 and currently looks after the following meetings:

• Board & Board Development
• Audit & Assurance Committee
• Senior Leadership Board
• Sustainability Programme Board

In 2023, Nathan took on the role of Interim Chair of the Cardiff and Vale University Health Board's LGBTQ+ Staff Network and is committed to helping create a more inclusive and diverse organisation.

Corporate Governance Officer - Nikki Regan
Nikki.Regan@wales.nhs.uk


Nikki joined the NHS in 2007 where she initially joined the Security & Portering Department , in 2010 Nikki transferred to NWSSP (NHS Wales Shared Services Partnership) as part of the Central Team eBusiness Services (CTeS) where she continued to gain knowledge of Public Sector processes for a further 11 years.

She joined Cardiff and Vale, Corporate Governance Team in 2021 to support with various administrative duties and now predominantly looks after the following committees:

• Digital Health & Intelligence Committee
• Finance & Performance Committee
• Health & Safety Sub-Committee
• People & Culture Committee 

Corporate Governance Officer - Rachel Chilcott
Rachel.Chilcott@wales.nhs.uk


Rachel joined CAVUHB in December 2021 as a COVID Archivist Systems & Information Officer to assist the Health Board in its preparations towards the Covid Public Inquiry. This involved communicating and liaising with all departments and key personal across the Health Board to gather relevant data and catalogue all potential evidence to ensure the future accessibility.

In September 2023 Rachel became a Corporate Governance Officer and along with the ongoing Covid Inquiry work, she now supports the whole department with various administrative functions and predominantly looks after the following committees: 

• Quality, Safety and Experience Committee
• Mental Health Legislation and Mental Capacity Act Committee
• Board of Trustee
• Charitable Funds Committee

Senior EA and EA to the Executive Director of Public Health - Jeanette Thomas-French
Jeanette.Thomas-French@wales.nhs.uk

Jeanette joined the NHS as Secretary to the Chair and Chief Executive of Cardiff and Vale Trust in 2002.

Following several other roles, in 2015 Jeanette became the Executive Support Manager and the EA to both the Chair and Chief Executive at the Welsh Ambulance Services Trust, before returning to Cardiff and Vale UHB with her current role in 2018.

During this 20+ year career, Jeanette has gained a wealth of experience whilst providing high level support to over 14 different Chairs and Chief Executives as well as other Executive Directors and Senior Managers across the NHS.

As part of Jeanette’s current position, she provides:

• Line management support and leadership to the Executive Assistant Team
• Executive secretarial and administration support to the Executive Director of Public Health. 

EA to the Chief Executive Officer and the Executive Director of People & Culture - Jane Bennett
Jane.Bennett2@wales.nhs.uk

Jane started her career by gaining experience and expertise within two Third Sector and two Private Sector Organisations before Joining the NHS in 2007, this initial role was the PA to both the Medical and Nurse Directors for Cardiff Local Health Board. 

From January 2010 she became an Executive Assistant to the Director of Corporate Governance, the Vice Chair and to the Health Board Independent Members. Within the year Jane moved into her current role as the EA to the Chief Executive.

During 2019, she also became the EA to the Executive Director of People and Culture (Formally known as Workforce & OD)

Jane continues to support both Executives and some of her responsibilities include:

• Being the first point of contact for the Chief Executive
• Coordinating and facilitating meetings
• Email and correspondence management
• Secretariat for meetings

Jane is currently learning to speak Welsh.

EA to both the Executive & Deputy Medical Directors and to the Executive Director of AHPs, Health Scientists and Community Development - Catherine Thomas Catherine.Thomas36@wales.nhs.uk

Catherine joined the NHS straight from College in 1987.  Her first role was as a Personal Assistant within the Chair and Chief Executive office at South Glamorgan Health Authority based at the Temple of Peace & Health, Cardiff

Following various reorganisations and restructures of the NHS, Catherine progressed her career gaining a wealth of experience and knowledge on a journey through Bro Taf Health Authority, C&V NHS Trust and now in her current role within Cardiff and Vale UHB

She is an accomplished Executive Assistant having provided administrative support to many Chairs, Chief Executives and Executive Directors

Her EA role includes various administrative duties such as:

• Diary management
• Email / correspondence management
• Secretariat for meetings
• Co-ordination and management of Agendas and Action Logs
• Liaison with the Assistant Medical Directors plus other Senior Managers

• Maintaining robust systems to enable efficient working 

Carys is an experienced Executive Assistant, she joined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in November 2020, from the Private Sector where she held a management position in the Travel and Tourism Industry. 

In 2021 she was seconded to the Strategic Planning team where she supported the Shaping our Future Hospitals and Shaping our Future Clinical Services Programmes in a Project Support Officer role, where she gained valuable Project Management skills, before returning to her substantive post in September 2023. 

Carys acts as the first point of contact to the Executive Director of Finance and Executive Director of Planning, she provides high level secretarial and administrative support, to ensure the smooth running of day to day operations and improve efficiency within the Executive functions, some of her responsibilities include: 

• Coordination and facilitation of meetings
• Management of Corporate Business 
• Communications management
• Streamlining administrative functions to improve efficiency. 

EA to the Director of Corporate Governance and the Health Board's Chairman and Vice Chairman - Caroline Andersson Caroline.Andersson@wales.nhs.uk 

Caroline Joined Cardiff and Vale University Health Board in October 2016 as Receptionist/Admin Assistant in the Health Board Headquarters, UHW.  She then worked as an Admin Assistant to the EA team before securing a role as an EA  in 2021.  Her role involves: 

• Full diary management
• Planning and scheduling meetings
• liaising with both internal and external stakeholders
• Preparation for Ministerial visits 

She also provides ad hoc support to the Director of Corporate Governance and the Independent Members.

Caroline is also the Secretariat for the Health Board's Organ Donation Committee. 

Prior to this she worked as a PA for two Intellectual Property Attorneys in Leeds and Cardiff.

In her spare time,  she is a keen Landscape photographer.

Interim EA to the Executive Nurse Director - Aquila Griffin
Aquila.Griffin@wales.nhs.uk

Aquila is covering the the post of Teoni Miller, who provided EA support to the Executive Nurse Director and the Executive Director of Therapies.