Board of Trustees

Tim Mitchell studied medicine at Brasenose College, Oxford before training in Otolaryngology in Oxford, London, Cambridge and Sydney. He was awarded the inaugural Graham Fraser Memorial Fellowship to work with Professor William Gibson in the field of cochlear implantation. He was appointed as Consultant Otolaryngologist in Southampton in 2000 and has a subspecialty interest in cochlear and other auditory implants with the University of Southampton Auditory Implant Service. He has been a RCS Regional Specialty Professional Advisor, member of Council of ENT UK, Vice Chair of the Clinical Reference Group for Specialised Ear Services and a member of the Specialist Advisory Committee for Otolaryngology. He has been a MRCS examiner since 2004 and was Chair of the Court of Examiners from 2014 to 2017. He was elected to Council in 2017. He is Chair of the Learning Committee and the Future Surgeons Forum. He was appointed Vice President in 2020 and President in 2023.

Peter Friend is Professor of Transplantation at the University of Oxford, Fellow of Green Templeton College, consultant in Transplant and Hepatobiliary surgery at Oxford University Hospitals, and Fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences. He trained at the University of Cambridge and St Thomas’ Hospital, London and carried out junior hospital posts in London and East Anglia. After specialist training, he worked as Visiting Assistant Professor of Surgery, Indiana University, USA, returning to the UK as Lecturer in Surgery, University of Cambridge, where he was also Fellow and Director of Studies in Medicine at Magdalene College. He moved to Oxford in 1999, where in addition to clinical activities, he heads a translational research group focusing on organ preservation/reconditioning and novel immunosuppressive strategies. He is author of more than 300 papers on clinical and scientific aspects of transplantation and general surgery. As Director of the Oxford Transplant Centre, he has introduced new clinical programmes including pancreatic and intestinal transplantation. Previously he has served as President of the British Transplantation Society, Thames Valley Training Programme Director (General Surgery) and Council member (Europe) of the Transplantation Society. In 2008 he co-founded OrganOx Ltd, a spin-out company from the University of Oxford, established to translate University research in the area of normothermic organ perfusion into clinical practice. He was appointed Vice President in 2023.

Consultant Plastic Surgeon Professor Vivien Lees was elected to College Council in 2014 and was re-elected by membership in 2020. She has been elected by Council as a Trustee in 2020 and as Vice President from 2023. She is Professor of Plastic Surgery at Wythenshawe Hospital, Manchester, where she has clinical interests in hand surgery including wrist and the rheumatoid hand. Her principal scientific interests are in functional anatomy of the distal radioulnar joint/forearm biomechanics (Hunterian Oration 2010) and peripheral nerve injury. She is past joint Editor of the European Journal of Hand Surgery. Professor Lees was an undergraduate in Oxford and undertook clinical studies in Cambridge qualifying in 1985. She underwent plastic surgery training in Cambridge, Billericay and Leeds/Bradford Louisville, Kentucky. Professor Lees has served previously as SAC Chair Plastic Surgery, FRCS(Plast) examiner and member of BAPRAS, BSSH and BAAPS Councils. She has been President British Society for Surgery of the Hand (BSSH) for 2015. She has particular interests in the development of educational programmes and led the development of the Postgraduate Diploma in Hand Surgery and MSc Hand Surgery and developed the Plastic Surgery Curriculum in its current modular format. On Council she has had particular involvement with Emerging Leaders, SAFE OR, Cosmetic Certification/credentialling programmes and HandsFirst QI initiative. Professor Lees is highly committed to patient safety, engaging the ‘overlooked’ members of our College and is working to ensure a sustainable future both for the College and for surgery. Recreations include pottery, fell walking, lake swimming, and history.

Professor Frank Smith is Emeritus Professor of Vascular Surgery and Surgical Education at the University of Bristol. He trained in vascular surgery in the West Midlands, Edinburgh and the South-West, undertaking travelling fellowships to Boston, Denver, Los Angeles and Seattle. He was a recipient of an RCS England research pump-priming grant and College Tutor for Basic Surgical Skills before becoming the South-West Regional Specialty Advisor for General and Vascular Surgery (2008-10). He has been a member of Council for the Vascular Society, ASGBI and the SRS, and of both General and Vascular SACs. He was Lead for National Vascular Trainee Selection (2015-18), and President of the Section of Surgery at the Royal Society of Medicine (2012-13). He chaired the South-West (Severn and Peninsular) Regional Surgical Training Committee. (2014-18). From 2008 – 23, he was Programme Director for the Confidential Reporting System for Surgery (CORESS). His interests in surgical safety have since included roles with NCEPOD; NHS England Never Events Task Force; developing the National Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures (NatSSIPs); as member of the NICE Interventional Procedures Advisory Committee, and as editorial advisor to RCS England Safety Bulletins. He was Chair of ICBSE (2017- 20) and is an Assessor for the Intercollegiate MRCS on behalf of the four Royal Colleges of Surgeons, is JCIE Examiner for the FRCS (Vasc), and Examiner / Assessor for the UEMS FEBVS examination. His interests away from surgery include his family and triathlon. He has over 1,200 hours as a fixed wing, seaplane and helicopter private pilot, and around 1,800 skydives.

Pankaj Davé is a Chartered Certified Accountant and has worked internationally as a senior executive leading large multi-disciplinary teams whilst working for globally recognised companies including BP and Amoco in CFO, strategy, commercial, transformation, planning & performance management and oilfield operations roles. He also ran his own strategy consultancy business.

Most recently Pankaj worked in Mumbai for five years for Reliance Industries Ltd, a conglomerate and India's largest company. As a direct report to the Managing Director, Pankaj led the design and implementation of the Reliance Group Management System and successfully led a major business transformation programme to integrate processes, systems, data, organisation and governance.

Pankaj is a member of the Board of Trustees at the Royal College of Surgeons of England and is the Chair of the Audit & Risk Committee. He is also a non- executive director for the University Hospitals Dorset NHS Foundation Trust and has previously worked as a trustee for Kidney Research UK.

Simon Davis joined the law firm Clifford Chance in 1982 and became Partner in 1994, retiring from the firm in 2020. He was Head of Commercial Litigation in Clifford Chance's London office and a member of the firm's Partnership Council. He is a former President of the London Solicitors Litigation Association and President of the Law Society of England and Wales, and currently a member of the Council of the Law Society. Simon is a member of the Court of Appeal Mediation Panel and an accredited CEDR mediator, and is a trustee of the Access to Justice Foundation and a Champion of LawCare. Simon was appointed as a Lay Trustee on 1 October 2021

Rob is the leader of Arup’s strategic digital technology ambitions globally. He joined the firm in 2017 bringing over 20 years of experience of technology and digital leadership, digital content development, cloud capabilities and strategic cyber security practice. A seasoned practitioner of leading people through digital transformation, as CIO he heads up a global team based in 90 offices around the globe with 20,000 users. Much of Rob’s work focuses on enabling the firm’s digital transformation, including leading the development of our cloud strategy. He has also led the establishment of the firm’s cyber advisory services. Prior to joining Arup Rob worked across the creative and public sectors. As Chief Technology Officer of the Royal Opera House he created World Ballet Day, an annual live stream event connecting some of the world’s biggest dance companies with millions of viewers around the globe. As the Director of Parliamentary Digital Services he enabled greater access to information about the UK’s democracy by driving open data initiatives. His work connected the public to political debate by developing the largest social media following of any parliament globally. He introduced pivotal cyber security measures that successfully defended the House of Commons and House of Lords during the 2017 cyber attack. Rob is a lay trustee for the Royal College of Surgeons, a Fellow of the Institute of Information Technology and a Cultural Fellow of King’s College London. He is formerly a board member of the National Association for Gallery Education (Engage) and a director of the non-profit arts-technology company Tessitura.

Joanna has over 25 years of experience in finance and investments. She began her career in Equity Capital Markets at HSBC Investment Bank and then NM Rothschild, before moving into private equity in 2002 when she joined Advent International, a leading international buyout group. More recently, Joanna has been working with investors - primarily families and foundations - advising them on their overall investment portfolios, and applying her particular expertise to develop and grow their private equity portfolio. She is an active proponent of responsible investing, applying ESG considerations to each investment opportunity. Joanna is currently a Managing Director at Ormonde Partners, a specialist private markets investment firm. Outside of the private sector, Joanna was a founding team member and Head of Fundraising at the Early Intervention Foundation, a charity that champions the use of effective early interventions to improve the lives of children and young people at risk of experiencing poor outcomes. Joanna is a Lay Trustee and Chairs the Finance and Investment Committee at the Royal College of Surgeons of England.