Spokespeople

Matthew became Chief Executive of Marie Curie in 2019 having previously served as Chief Executive of The Children’s Society  , Chief Executive of the Cystic Fibrosis Trust   and a director at Christian Aid  .

Before that, Matthew was a parish priest where he had the privilege of caring for a number of people in the last chapter of their lives.

He is passionate about social justice and ensuring that everyone who is dying – and their families and loved ones – have the very best holistic support for life and clinical care they can. 

Matthew is now leading Marie Curie in our aspiration for everyone who is dying – and their loved ones – to have that best possible quality of life and, when the time comes, a dignified and ‘good' death.

Matthew is also chair of New Horizon   supporting young people experiencing homelessness.

Matthew has a degree in Theology from the University of Oxford  , a degree in Engineering and Management from the University of Nottingham  , and a Masters in Management from the University of Surrey  . He lives in Marlow, Buckinghamshire.

Sarah was appointed Chief Medical Officer in April 2023 and continues to undertake some clinical work at our Bradford hospice.

Sarah originally joined Marie Curie in 2001 working at the Edinburgh hospice as a junior doctor, having initially pursued a career in General Practice. The experience working in Edinburgh inspired her to retrain in palliative medicine, and she became Consultant in Palliative Medicine and Medical Director of Marie Curie Hospice, Bradford in 2007. In July 2020, Sarah became UK Medical Director for Marie Curie, and combined this role with her ongoing clinical work in the hospice in Bradford.

Sarah is passionate about ensuring better end of life care for all, especially for marginalised groups, and in delivering truly person-centred care as part of a place based approach.

Andrew started his nursing career in Leicester in 1991 and worked in various nursing roles until joining a hospital specialist palliative care team in 1995. Moving to Wales in 1999, Andrew worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist in specialist palliative care at the Royal Gwent Hospital in Newport. 

Since joining Marie Curie in 2000, Andrew has held various senior clinical management roles including managing the Marie Curie Hospices in Cardiff and the Vale and West Midlands as well as the Marie Curie Nursing Service in the South West and, more recently, in Wales.

Having joined Marie Curie in November 2020, Sam was appointed Executive Director of Policy and Research in April 2023. Since starting with the charity, Marie Curie has successfully campaigned for the introduction of an explicit legal requirement for palliative care services to be commissioned in every part of England, and initiated the "UK Commission on Bereavement" – an independent commission exploring changes needed to policy and practice to better support bereaved people. Following publication of ground-breaking new research identifying the number of people dying in poverty each year, Marie Curie also recently launched the "Dying in Poverty" campaign, calling for key changes to ensure no one faces poverty at the end of life.

Sam was previously Policy Director at The Children's Society and is also a former chair of the End Child Poverty coalition. Prior to that, Sam completed his PhD in the Social Policy department at the University of York, at which point he was also an adviser at a Citizens Advice Bureau. He is also author of the book "Broken Benefits: What's gone wrong with welfare reform".

Ruth applied to join Marie Curie after seeing the incredible support provided by a local hospice to a close friend and his family at the end of his life. Prior to this, she was Director of Link Age Southwark, a charity providing support in the community to lonely and isolated older people and people with dementia.

She leads Marie Curie's policy and public affairs work for England and can speak on a diverse range of issues from health and social care to accessing benefits and bereavement support.

Ruth has led policy, public affairs and research teams at the National Council for Voluntary organisations, the Overseas Development Institute and UNICEF UK.

Marie Curie Nurses, Healthcare Assistants and palliative specialists are able to talk about the clinical care and emotional support they provide.

Related:

What it's like to be a Marie Curie Nurse