Maudsley Charity has appointed a senior staffer at the mental health hospital trust and research team it supports to be its next chief executive.

Sarah Holloway will take up the role at the grant maker in March to lead the charity, which funds work to improve mental health carried out by South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and research work at King’s College London.

She is currently programme director for the King’s Maudsley Partnership, which involves the trust and the university.

“Sarah impressed and inspired us in a competitive selection process,” said the charity’s chair Frances Corner.

“Her passion, understanding and experience in the mental health landscape and her commitment to working in partnership with others will help us leverage impact throughout our next strategic period and drive us closer to achieving our mission where everyone with a mental illness, without exception, gets the right care and support for them.”

Holloway, who joins in March and replaces Rebecca Gray who left at the end of last year after nine years in the role, said: “I am delighted to be taking on this new role.

"As the largest specialist funder in mental health, we have a huge opportunity to generate innovation in practice and also to scale what we know works.

“Both will improve support and address longstanding inequalities for people living with mental illness in South London and beyond.

“We can only have impact through working in partnership, and I am looking forward to extending and developing our relationships, both locally and nationally.”

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