The Brain Tumour Charity has announced today that Graham Norton has been appointed as Interim CEO, after Alex Lochrane stepped down from his role as CEO at the end of last week (Friday 1 July).
Alex took up the role in January 2022, joining The Charity following six and a half years as CEO at Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.
In the interim, current trustees Graham Norton and Graham Lindsay (Vice Chair) have temporarily stepped down from the Board to lead the organisation, with Graham Norton acting as Interim CEO, and Graham Lindsay as Interim Deputy CEO, while The Charity recruits a permanent successor. These interim appointments are subject to approval from the Charities Commission.
A chartered accountant with over 25 years’ experience at very senior levels in FTSE 100 companies, Graham Norton first became involved as a trustee of legacy organisation, the Samantha Dickson Brain Tumour Trust, in 2003, following the death of his son in 2000. Graham and his wife (Berendina Norton) have been trustees ever since.
A trustee since 2010 and Vice Chair since 2013, Graham Lindsay has over 40 years’ wide-ranging experience in banking, with Lloyds Banking Group, where he led significant branch networks. Now an independent Non-Executive Director, he first became involved with brain tumours when his wife Judy was diagnosed in 2006.
Jack Morris CBE, Chair of Trustees at The Brain Tumour Charity, said:
It is with our sincere thanks that we announce the news of Alex’s departure, following what I know has been an extremely tough decision and period of reflection. We are very grateful to Alex for the contribution he has made in such a short space of time – supporting an exciting period of regrowth for the organisation. Alex leaves The Charity in a very strong position as we prepare to launch our new strategic plan early next year – we are grateful to him for his service and we wish him all the very best for the future.
Alex Lochrane said:
It has been an immense privilege to lead such an extraordinary team and organisation over the last five months, and I am grateful to The Charity’s passionate and talented staff for all their support and commitment from my very first day. The scale and pace of The Charity’s ambition to accelerate much-needed change on brain tumours make this an exceptionally rewarding and demanding role; a role in which I have learned a huge amount. This has therefore been a very difficult decision for me to make and I wish the team all the very best as they continue their fantastic work towards their ambitious goals to double survival rates and halve the harm that brain tumours cause in the UK.
Graham Norton, Interim CEO at The Brain Tumour Charity, said:
It is a great honour to join the SLT as Interim CEO at this time, while recruitment is underway for a permanent successor, in order to help to continue driving The Charity forward at such an important moment as we move towards our new strategy. I hope I can bring not only my own personal experience and passion in memory of my son but a vast knowledge of The Charity, its aims and vision, its history and its purpose, to support the team to continue delivering such impact for so many people affected by this devastating disease.