Following an early career in the Finance sector, Mike has spent the last 30 years working across Social Care, Healthcare and charitable organisations.

Mike has been a senior manager for over 25 years and, prior to moving to Teesside Hospice, he was CEO of two hospices based in Northumberland. Mike’s passion has been to enable disadvantaged individuals to live as full and independent lives as possible via the improvement and development of needs led, sustainable services locally, regionally and across the UK. This has been supported by Mike’s MBA, which enabled him to think strategically and ensure that he strives to continuously improve all that he and his colleagues do.

Ashleigh’s journey in the charity sector began on the shop floor, volunteering while studying at university. This early experience ignited a lifelong passion for charity retail and established a strong, ground-up perspective that continues to inform her leadership today.

Having progressed through every level of retail management, Ashleigh brings extensive operational and strategic expertise to the hospice. Her career spans the management of highly diverse retail portfolios, including traditional high-street shops, superstores, specialist bookshops, and dedicated hospice gift shops. Now serving as Group Director of Retail, Ashleigh leads the strategic direction and commercial growth of our 21-shop estate following the hospice merger. She is deeply passionate about maximizing revenue to directly fund vital patient care, while championing the development, wellbeing, and retention of the dedicated staff and volunteer teams who make it all possible.

With a wealth of experience in national and local charities, including Marie Curie, she leads the Fundraising & communications team, which includes: Community, Events, Individual Giving, Lottery and Corporate, Grants & Trusts, Marketing & Communications.

Charlotte leads the People and Governance function and brings with her over 30 years of HR and Recruitment experience, based both in the UK and Europe covering some diverse fields including adult care, software and public sector. She has also been the Chair of Trustee’s for a multi-academy trust for a number of years and is currently working towards completing her Level 7 fellowship with CIPD.

Heather brings over two decades of dedicated nursing leadership to her role at Teesside Hospice, combining clinical excellence with a deep commitment to compassionate care. Her career spans acute hospital settings, specialist palliative care, and community health services, with a consistent focus on improving patient outcomes and fostering a culture of safety, dignity, and respect.

Heather will lead the strategic development of nursing services, clinical governance, and quality assurance across the hospice. She is passionate about empowering teams to deliver person-centred care, and has an unwavering advocacy for excellence, ensuring that every patient and family receives the highest standard of care and support.

Katherine has worked in finance for over 25 years both in accounting practice and in education. She has worked as Director of Resources in a special school for a number of years and more recently CFO of a multi academy trust. Throughout this time, she has managed complex budgets and funding issues, worked closely with local authorities, and project managed new builds and refurbishment projects.

Katherine is a Chartered Accountant and is passionate about making a difference to the people of Middlesbrough. She is also a trustee of the Davison Trust and a local school governor. Katherine joined the hospice in January 2025.