Dr Karen Cook has been appointed the new Chair of Livewell Southwest. Livewell’s Board have formally approved the appointment, which will begin on 1 April 2022, when she will take over from current Chair Duncan Currall, who has been in post since Livewell became a Community Interest Company in 2011 and has completed his term in the role.
Dr Cook joined Livewell Southwest in 2019 as a Non-Executive Director and brings over 30 years’ experience in the education sector including 10 years as Deputy Vice-Chancellor at Plymouth Marjon University. She has recently retired as Chief Finance and Operating Officer (and CEO for six months in 2018) for Plymouth CAST Multi-Academy Trust.
New Chair, Dr Karen Cook, said:
“I’m delighted to have been appointed the next Chair of Livewell Southwest. Livewell is an extraordinary organisation, with a strong reputation and an excellent record of providing outstanding care. We are rated Good by the Care Quality Commission and I look forward to working with all our hard-working teams and partners to continue this fantastic record.
“Recently I have been involved in the development of our Integrated Care Partnership with colleagues at University Hospital Plymouth, working very closely with Plymouth City Council and Devon NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, to make sure people are getting the best possible care where and when they need it.
“I look forward to continuing to work with partners across the south-west health and social care system in continuing to find new and improved ways to keep the wellbeing of the people we care for and our colleagues at the centre of everything we do.”
“I would like to offer my thanks to current Chair, Duncan Currall and the Livewell Board for all of their support over the last few years and look forward to working with them in this new role.”
Acting Livewell Chief Executive, Michelle Thomas, said:
“On behalf of the Livewell Board I’m delighted that Karen has been appointed, she is already an integral part of the team, and we are thrilled to be continuing to work alongside her. She is a real asset to Livewell and ultimately to our communities. She is ambitious and inclusive and strongly embodies all our organisational values.
“I would also like to take the opportunity to thank our current Chair, Duncan Currall, for his extraordinary dedication over this many years leading Livewell Southwest. Duncan has overseen some huge strides forward in the way we do things at Livewell, most recently in ensuring that Livewell found new ways to care for people during the COVID pandemic.
“This is an exciting time for Livewell as we continue to explore and develop our offer to patients and our partners and under Karen’s leadership, I’m confident of our continued success. “
Current Chair, Duncan Currall, said:
“Dr Cook is an excellent appointment and I feel confident in leaving my post, that Karen will continue to offer the organisation the support I have strived so hard to give over my many years at Livewell. I have been Chair at Livewell since the very beginning but am delighted that Karen is my successor. I wish everyone at Livewell all the best for the future and will follow every success and step forward with pride in what is achieved.”
Dr Karen Cook biography
Karen is a Doctor of Education and a qualified Management Accountant who has had a wide-ranging career spanning both the private and public sector.
She joined Livewell as a Non-Executive Director in May 2019 when she was the Chief Finance and Operating Officer of a South West multi-academy trust.
Over the past 30 years she has worked in senior roles across the education sector, including schools, further education and universities with a remit covering the wider elements of organisational operation, development, and finance.
She has delivered several significant capital projects and has led nationally on college financial recovery programmes, supporting a number failing institutions to return to financial health.
She is passionate about making a positive difference to the lives of people through education and is keen to take this into the wider health sector through her work with Livewell. Karen is currently Chair of the Sustainability Committee and a member of the Audit Committee as well as the Chair of the Integrated Care Partnership Board.
