Chair and non executive directors

Chair: David Flory CBE

David Flory joined Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (LUHFT) on 27 February 2023 as the Trust Chair and was appointed as a Joint Chair between LUHFT and Liverpool Women’s NHS Foundation Trust from 1 March 2024.

He has extensive board-level experience as Independent Chair, Chief Executive and Executive Director of NHS organisations in England and healthcare organisations internationally, including six years working as Deputy Chief Executive Director General in the Department of Health for England. David was awarded a CBE in the 2009 New Year Honours List.

Tracy Ellery

Tracy was previously Director of Finance of the North West Ambulance Service in August 2015 and retired on 31 January 2019. In addition to Finance her remit covered responsibility for Patient Transport Services, Fleet, Estates, IT, Procurement and Contracting, and she was the lead Director for the Trust’s Foundation Trust application.

Tracy began her NHS career in 1982 in East Cheshire and is a professionally qualified accountant (FCCA) with a business degree. Her previous roles included being Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Finance at Manchester Mental Health and Social Care Trust, a post she held for 10 years. She brings over 16 years’ experience at Board level and has been Director of Finance in five other NHS organisations. Her experience spans mental health, learning disabilities, community, primary care, commissioning and acute organisations

Louise is the Pro Vice Chancellor of the Faculty of Health and Life Sciences at the University of Liverpool; Professor of Maternal and Fetal Health. She is a Founding Director of the Science Foundation Ireland (SFI) funded Irish Centre for Fetal and Neonatal Translational Research and was until December 2017 Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at Cork University Maternity Hospital where she worked as a Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist from 2006-2018.

She has a longstanding clinical and research interest in hypertensive disorders of pregnancy. Her research group is supported by more than €30 million of peer reviewed funding and has resulted in >200 peer reviewed original papers, reviews and book chapters. She has received numerous awards for her work, most recently the prestigious title of Researcher of the Year by SFI (2015) and 2015 Irish Tatler magazine Woman of the Year Award for STEM.

Gloria joined Liverpool Women’s in December 2021. She has a wide ranging background, having worked as a Head Teacher in the secondary education and adult learners sector before changing direction in 2005 becoming Founding Director of Teach Consultancy. Her work has involved undertaking consultancy roles for The Office of Deputy Prime Minister and The General Teaching Council for England. She has worked on behalf of a significant number of LA’s, City Council’s, and organisations across the country and sectors, consulting and delivering on education, change management, business, research, race equality and community engagement commissions.

She has held Board and Chair positions at Liverpool John Moores University, The General Teaching Council for England and a number of charitable organisations. She is currently Chair of The Liverpool City Regions Race Equality Business Support Working Group and a Board Member of Liverpool City Region, Local Enterprise Partnership. Gloria was a recipient of a MBE for services to education in 2003, and has numerous other awards. She is Liverpool’s first Black Head Teacher, a qualified Teacher, Trainer and Corporate and Executive Coach.

Sarah joined the Liverpool Women’s Hospital board in December 2021. She worked for BT for 24 years across a variety of roles, and is currently the Enterprise Director for the North of England. She is also the Chair of the Board of Trustees for Greater Manchester Communication Academy.

Sarah has worked with a number of charitable organisations to raise awareness of Baby and Infant loss, and is an avid ambassador for Mental Health & Wellbeing.

Zia joined the Board of LWH in December 2021 having spent 27 years as a barrister specialising in criminal law.   

Aside from his legal work he has been involved in interfaith work for over twenty years and in 2013 wrote Just Your Average Muslim. In 2015 he was awarded an MBE for services to interfaith relations and in 2017 was conferred with an Honorary Fellowship by Liverpool John Moores University for his services to community relations.

In 2018 after a lengthy career at the Bar he opened up a new chapter at LJMU where he became instrumental in the university’s civic engagement work and quickly became involved in LJMU’s outreach activity, speaking at many schools and colleges and using his story to inspire others, particularly those from minority backgrounds.

In 2019 Zia was appointed a Deputy Lieutenant of the County of Merseyside and in 2020 he joined the Education Improvement Board as well as the Race Equality Task Force.

Jackie has been a nurse for 40 years until she retired in March 2021 from her role as the Regional Chief Nurse for NHSE/I for the NW. Jackie qualified as a Registered Mental Nurse in 1985 and as a Registered Nurse in 1987. She has a BSc (Hons) in Nursing Studies and an MA in Management and Leadership. Her clinical practice was in the field of Oncology, and she was the first Nurse Director of the Greater Manchester & Cheshire Cancer Network. 

Jackie spent five years at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust as Deputy Director of Nursing and Governance and was part of their patient safety journey and it was there that her passion for quality, patient safety, experience and outcomes began. She was awarded a Florence Nightingale Travel Scholarship in 2007 to work further on the patient safety agenda with a bespoke two-week programme at the Institute for Healthcare Improvement in Boston and in 2012 she was awarded a Florence Nightingale Leadership Scholarship.

Jackie has held Chief Nurse positions since 2007, including as Chief Nurse and Executive Director of Quality at The Christie NHS Foundation Trust where she led the Trust to be rated twice as an Outstanding organisation by the CQC in 2016 and 2018. More recently, Jackie has been the Regional Chief Nurse for NHSE/I where she provided Executive and professional leadership for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals and was the accountable executive for the operational delivery of the regional governance and quality agenda. She was the Senior Responsible Officer for Nightingale NW, part of the NHS response to the Covid-19 pandemic.