New staff at Melanoma Focus

A message from our new CEO, Susanna Daniels: “I am absolutely delighted and excited to be the new CEO of Melanoma Focus as Simon Rodwell retired last week. I have immensely enjoyed working with the charity for over a year and am really keen to lead the charity forward and honour its core values.

Simon Rodwell helped to merge two medical research charities to form Melanoma Focus in 2012 in memory of his wife, Sheila. He and his team have taken Melanoma Focus to where it is today, supporting and pursuing the interests of clinicians and patients alike. The biannual medical meeting, NICE-accredited guidelines for rare forms of melanoma, funding of research studies, the Melanoma Helpline and the Patient Decision Aid are among the charity’s achievements during this time.”

Mark Harries, Chair of Melanoma Focus said “I am absolutely delighted with the appointment of Susanna Daniels as the new chief executive officer of Melanoma Focus. Susanna brings with her a wealth of experience in both the NHS and private sector and I feel extremely privileged that we have appointed her. The charity will be in fabulous hands as we move forward.”

Simon commented: “My career has been varied – service in submarines followed by work in aerospace, telecommunications, management consultancy and international trade. But nothing beats my time at Melanoma Focus, in terms of fulfilment and a sense of purpose. This has been made possible only with the help and companionship of so many wonderful, dedicated people. I shall miss them immensely. In handing over to Susanna, ably supported by Michelle, Claire, Fiona and Jen, I am confident Melanoma Focus is in excellent hands.”

Social Media and Digital Officer Jen Rush commenced with the charity on 9 September 2020 and said: ‘I come to Melanoma Focus from the education industry, where I spent several years working in marketing and digital communications for schools and charities. I’m thrilled to be able to use my professional expertise for a charity whose work I greatly admire and look forward to raising the digital profile of Melanoma Focus.’

Fundraising Manager Fiona Prakasam joined the charity on 28 September 2020 and added: “I am thrilled to be joining the team at Melanoma Focus during this exciting time. My background is in the charity sector and for the past few years I have worked for a healthcare charity. I am really looking forward to getting started and using my experience to make a difference with fundraising at Melanoma Focus.”

As with all charities, fundraising has proved difficult during Covid. If you are interested in fundraising for us, we invite you to take part in our latest virtual fundraiser; Melanoma 1000.

For more information, please contact: fundraising@melanomafocus.com