The advocacy charity Pohwer has appointed Felix Davies, chief operating officer at the veterans’ mental health charity Combat Stress, as its next chief executive.
He will take up the role on 2 September, replacing Pohwer’s interim chief, Vicky Browning, who took up the role in January after former chief Helen Moulinos stepped down.
Davies, who is a registered clinical psychologist, spent the first 15 years of his career in the NHS, working for several national providers. These include Tracscare, now known as Accomplish, which is a specialist provider for people with mental health needs, learning disabilities, autism and acquired brain injuries.
He also worked at the mental health charity St Andrew’s Healthcare as a service director between 2017 and 2019.
Davies’ most recent role was at Combat Stress, where he worked as the charity’s director of operations for five years and as its chief operating officer since January.
He is also the secretary of the certification agency the Patient Advocate Certification Board and a board-certified patient advocate.
Davies said: “I have known about the great work of Pohwer since it was established and have seen at first hand the positive impact it has on the people it supports, both in the workplace and within my own family.
“I look forward to joining the Pohwer team, and co-producing a new strategy that builds on Pohwer’s excellent achievements to date, and that brings its crucial services to positively impact on even more people.”
Antony Kildare, chair of Pohwer, said: “We are delighted to welcome Dr Felix Davies as Pohwer’s new chief executive. He has a proven track record as both a clinician and senior health and social care leader.
“At its heart, Pohwer is about people, and we were impressed by Felix’s passion for achieving the best possible quality for service users, clients, staff and partners.”
He added his thanks to Browning for her “contribution and outstanding leadership over the past few months”.