Our Executive Group

Dr Charmaine Griffiths

Chief Executive

Dr Charmaine Griffiths has been Chief Executive of The British Heart Foundation since 2020.

She is passionate about the power of research to save and improve lives and has held executive and non-executive leadership roles in a range of leading organisations, including the Institute of Cancer Research, The Royal Marsden NHS Trust, The Human Tissue Authority and World Heart Federation.

She has a degree in Biochemistry from the University of Bath and a PhD in Neuroscience from University College London. She also holds both an MBA and Honorary Doctorate from Cranfield University.

With over a decade of Board and Chair experience, Dr Griffiths has extensive experience of leading complex organisations including as Chair of the Cranfield Trust and Global Cardiovascular Funders Forum. She is also President of the European Heart Network and Chair of the Cranfield Trust.

Bryan Williams

Chief Scientific & Medical Officer  

Bryan joined the BHF in 2023. He oversees one of the largest funding portfolios for academic cardiovascular research globally. He has 40 year's experience in the NHS where he works as a Consultant Physician with a specialist clinical interest in hypertension in which he is recognised as a world leading authority. 

Bryan is currently Chair of Medicine at University College London and was formerly Director of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) University College London Hospitals (UCLH) Biomedical Research Centre. As Director of Research at UCLH he oversaw one of the most complex clinical trial programmes in the NHS (2012-2023).  

He is a Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences and in the 2023 Clarivate listings was recognised as one of the world's most influential scientists in his field. He has published extensively in major medical and scientific journals and has contributed to many pivotal clinical trials in hypertension and cardiovascular medicine. 
 
Bryan is a Trustee for Blood Pressure UK and In2Science, a charity supporting mentoring for talented young people from the most disadvantaged backgrounds to increase their chances to study science at the UK’s leading universities. 
 
He was awarded an OBE in the 2024 New Year’s honours list, for his services to medicine. 

Martin Miles

Chief Financial Officer 

Martin joined the BHF in 2014 from Waterstones, where he was the Finance Director. As Chief Financial Officer, Martin has responsibility for Finance, Risk, Legal, Operational Planning and Procurement. Before joining Waterstones, he spent 12 years in senior finance roles at HMV Group plc prior to its sale of Waterstones in 2011. 

As well as extensive retail finance experience, he brings significant knowledge of corporate activity and management, having qualified as a Chartered Accountant with PricewaterhouseCoopers and spending ten years with the firm in Southampton, Kuala Lumpur and Windsor.

Claire Sadler

Chief Marketing and Fundraising Officer

Claire joined the BHF in January 2021 from Direct Line and leads our multi-award-winning Marketing, Fundraising and Engagement Directorate. Claire is responsible for our fundraising, brand and marketing strategy, product development and marketing communications, generating £100M+ income from public fundraising, gifts in wills, events, philanthropy and corporate partnerships.

Claire was formerly Group Brand Director at BT. She has a wealth of experience in generating income through innovation, along with digital and marketing transformation.

She is also an active member of WACL (Women in Advertising and Communications London) and a passionate diversity champion.

Kerry Smith FCIPD

Chief People Officer

Kerry joined the BHF in 2013 from the Royal Horticultural Society. She leads a multi award-winning People and Organisational Development team, responsible for Human Resources, Learning & Organisational Development, Health, Safety & Wellbeing, Internal Communications, Facilities and delivering a great experience to our 20,000 volunteers across the organisation.

Leading cultural and people change, Kerry has over 25 years’ experience supporting organisations to develop and deliver transformational change. Her career has included working with Royal Horticultural Society, United Response, National Trust and University College Hospital.

As a Fellow of the CIPD, Kerry is also a Trustee of Charity HR Network. She was added to the HR’s Most Influential in 2018 and shortlisted for HRD of the Year in the HR Excellence Awards 2019.

Mike Taylor 

Commercial Director  

Mike joined the BHF in 2012 and is responsible for the 690 BHF shops in our award-winning retail operation, the largest of its kind in the UK, and our extensive eBay, online and commercial health services offer. These commercial activities are supported by 15,000 volunteers and 3,500 employees, and generate sales of over £200M a year whilst continuing to raise awareness of our life saving activities. 

Mike has over 35 years Retail and Commercial experience and was previously Managing Director of a number of national retailers, including Budgens, Londis and Whittard of Chelsea. He is Chair of Trustees of the Fashion and Textile Children’s Trust and is a Non-Executive Director of the Life Science Real Estate Investment Trust.