The chair of the British Heart Foundation (BHF) has stepped down after seven years in the role.
Dr Doug Gurr joined the charity in 2015. He succeeded Philip Yea who stepped down after serving the maximum terms as a trustee.
Gurr's successor, Wendy Becker, was appointed as chair last week. She is currently chair and a non-executive director at Logitech, as well as a member of the Council of Oxford University and a non-executive director at Sony Corporation.
Prior to that, she was chief executive officer at Jack Wills Limited and chief marketing officer at the Vodafone Group. She also held positions at TalkTalk, McKinsey and Procter and Gamble.
Commenting on his time at BHF, Gurr said: “It’s been my pleasure to serve as the BHF’s chair for the last seven years – a time in which I’ve been lucky enough to see first-hand the lifesaving difference we make to so many families affected by heart and circulatory diseases.”
Dr Charmaine Griffiths, chief executive of BHF, said: “Doug’s leadership has been instrumental in overcoming some of the biggest challenges in our 61-year history, while his advocacy for making significant investments in cutting-edge areas of science has ensured we remain at the forefront of research to save and improve lives.”
Becker thanked Gurr for his achievements over the past seven years.
She added: “With increasing numbers of families devastated by heart and circulatory diseases, the work of the BHF has never been more needed. I’m incredibly excited to be working with our fantastic teams to ensure we’re able to meet this challenge through turning cutting-edge areas of science into lifesaving breakthroughs.”
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