Mind chief executive Paul Farmer will leave the charity after 16 years in October to take up the same position at Age UK, he has announced.
Farmer will take over at the charity for older people from interim chief executive Tracey Bright, who has led the organisation since the last permanent boss Steph Harland stepped down for personal reasons in September 2021.
One of the longest serving chief executives in the charity sector, Farmer said it would be “a huge wrench” to leave the mental health charity but said “there are times when a change of leader is important”.
“As we come out of the difficult challenges of the last two years equipped with a new ambitious strategy, now is that time,” he wrote in a post on social media.
Mind thanked Farmer for his service and announced it will immediately begin the search for his successor.
‘Age UK is lucky to have him’
The mental health charity said Farmer had helped to bring about “dramatic changes in the mental health landscape, including a major shift in public awareness and attitudes” during his time in charge.
Its chair Stevie Spring said: “Paul has been an outstanding leader, a passionate champion for people with mental health problems, an agent of positive change and a pleasure to work alongside. We will miss him.
“I want to a say a big thank you on behalf of the charity and all our beneficiaries for all he has done around mental health. Age UK is lucky to have him.”
Age UK’s chair Toby Strauss said: “Paul brings with him a wealth of experience and expertise about mental health from his impressive tenure at Mind and his previous management roles at Rethink and Samaritans, and about the charity sector more generally.
“Paul’s commitment to the needs of older people makes him well placed to lead Age UK through the next stages of our journey, at a time when they have never been more pressing.”
Higher salary than predecessor
Campaigners criticised Age UK when it first advertised for the chief executive position earlier this year because it did not initially include salary details, despite being a signatory of the Show the Salary pledge.
The charity soon rectified this to show that its chief executive, now announced to be Farmer, will earn between £180,000 and £200,000 per year.
This is an increase on Harland’s salary in 2021, which was recorded as being between £170,000 and £180,000 per annum.
According to the Charity Chief Executives Survey 2021, which is published by Civil Society Media's Charity Finance magazine, the average salary for a chief executive at one of the 100 largest charities in the UK was £170,000.
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