A photo of Chloe (Play Specialist), David Whittingham (New CEO) & Hannah (Nursery Nurse) in the arts and crafts area at the hospice.
On Monday 11th August David Whittingham joined Helen & Douglas House as Chief Executive Officer (CEO). David will take over the role from Mark Stowe who has been Interim CEO and Director of Finance and Operations for seven months since January 2025.
David has worked for the last 15 years in not-for-profit leadership roles in both a professional and voluntary capacity. He has worked across the higher education, the armed forces, amateur and community sport and the homelessness prevention sectors.
Most recently, David was Bursar of the Oxford Union where he has driven organisational performance and governance reform. Previously he was CEO of the Royal Airforce Sports Federation for five years where he led the transformation of the charitable governance of sport in the RAF to merge 54 independent charities into a single charitable entity. Prior to that David was CEO of Oxford Brookes Students’ Union for ten years where he secured its financial sustainability and built effective partnerships.
Jennie Younger, Chair of Trustees said:
“We are so delighted that David has joined Helen & Douglas House as CEO. David has extensive experience of leading and developing organisations to deliver positive and sustained impact for beneficiaries. He has a leadership style that is characterised by empowerment, collaboration and co-creation as foundations for success. He cares deeply about our mission and values at Helen & Douglas House.”
David Whittingham said:
“I am passionate about supporting and empowering young people to fulfil their potential. I believe that this is even more important for young people with life changing and life-limiting conditions and their families. The opportunity to work with the brilliant team here at Helen & Douglas House to ensure our beneficiaries are supported and cared for in a nurturing child and family-centric model is a powerful motivation for me.
I’m also excited to support our teams as they continue to shape and inform the development of paediatric palliative care. This is an incredibly important time for the sector in the UK, and I look forward to representing the interests of our families and decision makers locally and nationally.
I am very much looking forward to meeting the children and families that we have the privilege to serve and to understand their experiences to ensure that we are providing the best possible care and support for them.”