Sue Ryder has appointed Heidi Travis as its new chief executive, to take over from Paul Woodward who leaves after eight years in post.

Travis (pictured) is presently the charity's director of retail. She will work with Woodward until the end of September in order to transfer the running of the day to day operations before taking over in November. Woodward announced his retirement last month as the charity released its accounts showing its income had grown by more than £5m to top £83m, and within a year it had gone from a deficit to a surplus. 

The strongest area of performance for Sue Ryder in 2012/13 had been its charity shops, the operation headed by Travis. The charity expanded its shop network by 36 to reach 415 retail outlets.

Roger Paffard, chairman of trustees at Sue Ryder said he was delighted with Travis' appointment. “This follows a very intensive and structured recruitment process where Heidi proved herself to be the strongest candidate in a very competitive field,” he said.

Before joining Sue Ryder in 2010, Travis worked as a business consultant developing small businesses during which time she worked with Sue Ryder on its 'new goods' operation. Prior to this she worked for Marks and Spencer as an executive in group planning and strategy.