Dame Linda Pollard DBE DL Hon. LLD Chair
Chair
From February 2013
Linda joined Leeds Teaching Hospitals as Chair in February 2013 and she has led the Trust to a number of significant successes.
She Chairs the Research & Innovation Assurance Committee of the Board and she is a member of the Finance & Performance Assurance Committee. She is also a Trustee of Leeds Hospitals Charity, the charity for Leeds Teaching Hospitals.
Linda co-chairs the Health & Wellbeing Board for the city and she also Chairs the Leeds Innovation District Partnership, a partnership between Leeds Teaching Hospitals, the University of Leeds and Leeds City Council, including the LEP and private sector. Linda has led the ambition to create a world-class hub for research, innovation and entrepreneurialism for the city. An exciting part of this will be the development of two new hospitals for Leeds, and a new Innovation Hub.
Alongside Sir Chris Wormald, Linda is working closely on the new Leeds Health and Social Care Hub which has been launched to help improve Health and Social Care alongside the Civil Service.
By rotation, Linda Chairs the Committee in Common for West Yorkshire Acute Association of Trusts (WYAAT) - the collaboration of acute providers across the region. She also facilitates the Chair’s network of the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Chairs Forum of NHS Trusts for the NHSE Regional Office.
Alongside General Sir Gordon Messenger, Linda led the independent Leadership and Management review in the NHS, and the seven recommendations have been accepted by the Government. Linda is now Co-Chair of the Management and Leadership Group for NHSE working to implement the recommendations.
Linda advocates partnership working, bringing together leaders from across the region and beyond to facilitate closer working between health and social care, building economic investment in Leeds and the wider City region.
Linda is passionate about the representation of women on boards, and she is Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director (SID) of the NHS Provider Board, representing acute trusts.
Linda is also a Deputy Lord Lieutenant for West Yorkshire and was awarded a CBE in 2013 for her work in the business community in Yorkshire, an OBE in 2003 for her work in Bradford, along with an Honorary doctorate by the University of Leeds. She also won the Institute of Directors Dr Neville Bain Memorial Award for Excellence in Director and Board Practice, which was the first time this was awarded to the public sector.
In 2020 Linda was awarded the honour of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to healthcare, which spans almost 30 years, and in recognition of her unbroken contribution to the community. This honour also recognises her tireless commitment to address the under representation of women in senior roles across corporate Britain and in public services.
