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A woman is moving within the healthcare charity sector to take up her first chief executive role.
Alex Holden will join Overcoming MS later this month after leaving her role as deputy chief executive of Target Ovarian Cancer.
She will take over from Stephen Richards, who has served as interim chief executive since April 2022 and has now moved to another planned interim role.
Holden has worked across the voluntary and corporate sectors and has a background in communications, strategy and business transformation in the UK, Scandinavia and Australia.
She has held roles within Bupa, Virgin Media, Mencap and Westpac Bank, and has been a trustee for the Twins Trust, a director of Conewood Children’s Centre and a member of NCT’s Voluntary Income Advisory Group. She is currently a trustee for Hitchin Girls’ School.
Dowshan Humzah, chair of Overcoming MS, said: “I am excited to welcome Alex to Overcoming MS.
“The charity’s core purpose is to enable everyone with MS to achieve optimal wellness by being able to take control of their health and wellbeing through making informed lifestyle choices.
“Alex brings considerable transferable experience from a range of corporate and voluntary roles that will be invaluable in helping us more effectively drive that purpose.”
Holden said: “I was drawn to Overcoming MS and its success in providing greater hope and optimism to those affected by MS – and I look forward to helping build on that success.
“Globally, overburdened healthcare systems are in crisis, especially since the pandemic, and people with MS need lifestyle intervention programmes like Overcoming MS now more than ever before.
“Alongside existing clinical good practice and recommended medication, lifestyle interventions are increasingly available in clinical practice for other serious auto-immune and lifestyle-driven conditions such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It’s time the same happened for multiple sclerosis.”