Unparalleled knowledge and experience

David Prior was Chair of NHS England from November 2018 until March 2022. Educated at Cambridge University and a qualified barrister, he has held senior positions within the industrial and banking sectors. He has served as Parliamentary Under Secretary of State in the Department of Health and the Department of Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy. In October 2017 he became Chair of University College London Hospitals before being appointed as Chair of NHS England.

Rory Collins is an epidemiologist and clinical trialist. He joined Oxford University in 1981, where he has designed and conducted large streamlined randomized trials. He became principal investigator of the UK Biobank study in 2005, was knighted for Services to Science in 2011, established Oxford University’s Nuffield Department of Population Health in 2013, and was elected to the Royal Society in 2015.

Jonathan Symonds is Chair of GSK. A chartered accountant, he has extensive international financial, life sciences and governance experience. Previous roles include Chair of HSBC Bank, Chief Financial Officer of Novartis and Astra Zeneca, Non-Executive Chair of Proteus Digital Health and Non-Executive Director of Rubius Therapeutics. Jon is a Non-Executive Director of Genomics England Limited, Non-Executive Chair of Energy Aspects and a member of the European Round Table for Industry.

John Bell is Regius Professor of Medicine, Oxford University and has been the government’s UK Life Sciences Champion since 2011. He chaired the Office for Strategic Coordination of Health Research until 2017 and currently chairs the Gates Global Health Advisory Board, Genomics England Ltd Scientific Advisory Board and Our Future Health board. He wrote the UK Life Sciences Industrial Strategy in 2017 and co-developed UK Life Sciences Vision in 2021.

Beth Thompson is a policy and advocacy professional. She has led Wellcome’s Policy team since 2017, championing better public policy for science and health. Much of Beth’s work has focused on the regulation and governance of health research and she was awarded an MBE in 2017 for work on the General Data Protection Regulation. Beth holds a PhD from the MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology.

Esther Krofah is the executive vice president of health for the Milken Institute. She has extensive experience managing efforts to unite diverse stakeholders to solve critical issues and achieve shared goals that improve patients’ lives. Esther previously served as the director of public policy at GlaxoSmithKline and held roles in the United States government and consulting to advance health reform. Esther received a BA from Duke University and a Master of Public Policy from Harvard University.