Bliss is delighted to announce the appointment of four new Trustees to the Bliss Board, who between them bring extensive personal and professional experience to support Bliss’ work to improve outcomes for babies born premature or sick.
Alice Gair is a registered Neonatal and Paediatric Occupational Therapist (OT) and an Allied Health Professions (AHP) Clinical Fellow based in the North-East of England, and brings a particular focus on promoting equity of AHP provision to babies and increasing safety in neonatal care. Alice’s first child was born with congenital differences, including being physically differently abled, and is grateful to be able to bring this perspective to Bliss, particularly for families who may not clearly fit into neonatal care criteria.
Krupa Suthar brings over 20 years of experience as a senior research leader and expert in Human Centred Design across private and public sectors, and served as the Deputy Director of Customer Experience Strategy & Head of User Research at NHS Test & Trace (UKHSA) during the COVID-19 pandemic. Krupa specialises in children / youth sectors, health, and hearing the voices of underserved audiences, directly fuelling her commitment to improving outreach and support for South Asian women.
Krupa’s connection to Bliss is deeply personal; following a decade-long IVF journey, Krupa’s twins arrived at 33 weeks, requiring a five-week stay in neonatal care in 2024, when she was first introduced to Bliss.
Ian Morley has over 30 years’ experience working in commercial businesses in the consumer goods sector, and is currently a Vice President at Procter and Gamble where he leads their commercial division. He has significant experience in working with not-for-profit businesses as a Trustee and advisor, and is also a Chair of Governors for a school. Ian’s interest in Bliss stems from his own experience of having premature daughters, and suffering from baby loss since 2011. Emily (26 weeks) is survived by 2 further daughters who are thriving aged 13 and 11, Grace (29 weeks) and Elsie (32 weeks).
Louise Bryant is a chartered accountant and currently Head of Investor Relations & Corporate Communications at Trustpilot PLC, and brings a wealth of experience in finance, strategy, and communications. This is underpinned by a deep personal commitment to improving neonatal care following neonatal experiences with all three of her children, of which two were born prematurely and one at full-term.
Bliss’ Chair of Trustees John Calder said:
“We’re delighted to welcome Alice, Krupa, Ian and Louise to Bliss’ Board of Trustees. Between them they bring new skills, experience and insights to further deepen the diversity of our Trustee group, and we’re very much looking forward to what each of them will bring to the Board as we deliver our new strategy focused on equity of care, equity of voice and equity of support.
“We are also bidding farewell to our outgoing Trustee Mala Shah-Coulon at the end of her second term of office, and want to pay tribute to the enormous contribution that she has made to Bliss’ work over the last 8 years.”
Caroline Lee-Davey, Chief Executive of Bliss, said:
“At Bliss we are lucky to have a really passionate, skilled and committed Board, and the addition of Alice, Krupa, Ian and Louise serves to strengthen the expertise that our Trustees bring.
“We look forward to working with them all as we continue to deliver on Bliss’ ambitious 2025-2029 strategy, and we know they join us in our profound commitment to do everything we can to ensure that every baby born premature or sick in the UK has the best chance of survival and quality of life.”