Roisin Donnelly and Mark Ashton-Rigby join BHF Board of Trustees

ROISIN Donnelly and Mark Ashton-Rigby have been announced as new members of the British Heart Foundation’s Board of Trustees, bringing world-leading expertise in marketing and technology to the charity.  

Roisin is a global business and marketing leader, having spent more than 30 years leading many of the world’s best-known consumer brands at Procter and Gamble.

Roisin served as Chief Marketing Officer for Procter & Gamble Northern Europe between 2014 and 2016 and was Chief Marketing Officer for Procter & Gamble UK and Ireland between 2002 and 2014. Roisin brings extensive board experience to the BHF, holding non-executive director at leading organisations including NatWest, Sage and Premier Foods. She has also been President of the Marketing Society and Women in Advertising and Communications Leadership (WACL).

Roisin said:

“The British Heart Foundation is one of the UK’s most iconic organisations and brands, whose work makes a lifesaving difference to countless families every day. It’s an honour to be joining the Board, and I look forward to supporting the charity’s leadership as it continues to increase awareness of the devastating impact of heart disease and raise vital funds to power cutting-edge science to save and improve lives.”

Mark Ashton-Rigby has more than 30 years of experience leading technology and operations in the financial services sector.

From 2019 to 2023, Mark was Chief Operating Officer at Barclays PLC and CEO of Barclays Execution Services, where he oversaw the bank’s vast technology operations and real estate. Prior to joining Barclays, Mark held Chief Information Officer roles at JP Morgan Chase, UBS and Deutsche Bank. He is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director at the leading AI company, Sentiance.

Mark said:

“I’m delighted to be joining the British Heart Foundation’s Board, especially at a time it is embarking on technology transformations that hold the promise to accelerate the charity’s growth and the impact it makes for millions of people with heart disease. The BHF is a special charity, and one I have a deep affection for, so it will be a privilege to bring my leadership, technology and business experience to the Board.”

Mark and Roisin will join the BHF’s Board of Trustees, led by Chair Karen Frank, in August.

The British Heart Foundation’s Chair of Trustees, Karen Frank, said:

“It’s a privilege to be welcoming Mark and Roisin to our Board of Trustees and to the British Heart Foundation. At the BHF, we’re powered by our incredibly talented people. I have no doubt that Roisin and Mark’s deep expertise will support our teams, helping them to accelerate important initiatives at a time that millions of people need the BHF’s breakthroughs and lifesaving research more than ever.”

The BHF is the nation’s heart charity and the UK’s largest independent funder of cardiovascular research. Thanks to the generosity of its supporters, partners and customers it has funded breakthroughs that have transformed heart care and helped save countless lives over the last 60 years. However, with heart and circulatory diseases remaining the world’s biggest killers, and with more than 7.6 million people living with these conditions in the UK, the charity says urgent research is needed to save and improve more lives.