Meet the Team

Sue James - Programme Lead

Sue James has been a member of the National Leadership Council of the NHS since its inception in April 2009.  She subsequently became Programme Lead for the Emerging Leaders workstream which is responsible for developing systems to ensure that leaders throughout the NHS are spotted, stretched and supported to lead the drive to improve quality and productivity at all levels of the NHS.  The Emerging Leaders workstream is particularly focused on ensuring that the senior leadership workforce of the NHS is fully representative of the workforce as a whole, including under represented groups and clinicians.

In her ‘day job’ Sue is Chief Executive of Derby Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.  The Trust has an annual turnover of over £400 million, employs 7000 staff and serves a catchment population of over 500,000, mainly in Southern Derbyshire.

The challenges that Sue is facing in both her ‘day job’ and her leadership work is to ensure that the NHS is preparing for the steep reduction in growth monies arising from the national financial pressures at a time when demand for care, patient expectations and the cost of technological development are all continuing to increase.  She is tackling these challenges by encouraging clinical engagement to improve quality and productivity, and developing leaders to mobilise and manage significant changes in the way that staff work.

Email: Susan.James@derbyhospitals.nhs.uk

Alex Bush is NHS Programme Director for Emerging Leaders  and Programme Head for the NHS Graduate Management Training Scheme for England (HR, Finance, Informatics, Communications and General Management specialisms).

Alex commenced her career in the private sector in manufacturing and then publishing, before moving into the NHS, and has undertaken a variety of HR, OD and Leadership Development roles. She has a BA, MBA and an MSc in Change, OD and Consultancy, and is training to be a Coach. She also assesses at post graduate level for the Institute of Healthcare Management.

Her passion is personal and organisational development with a particular interest in Graduate Development and Talent Management and how leadership development can demonstrate its contribution  and added value to the improvement of healthcare whilst simultaneously helping individuals realise their potential.

She is also a keen sports fan and follows the England Cricket team ( and Yorkshire).

Email   Alex.bush@institute.nhs.uk

Tel:      07880 723 759

John Boileau - Programme Manager

John is the Programme Manager for the National Leadership Council Emerging Leaders Workstream and Business Lead for the NHS Institute, currently working on revamping the NHS Graduate Scheme, and other leadership programmes, for the 2011 intake. 

 He joined the NHS in 2003 and worked as a Recruitment Officer in Human Resources in an Acute Trust.  After project based roles in HR he then went to work for the Electronic Staff Record, a project to implement a national HR and Payroll system in all NHS Organisations in England and Wales.  After two years of travelling to various Payroll and HR departments all over the country John moved back to the acute setting as a Project Manager, implementing information and clinical solutions. 

 He moved to the NHS Institute in February 2009 as Leadership Development Manager for the North West region before being seconded into the Business Lead role in December 2009.   

Email: John.boileau@institute.nhs.uk

Tel: 07909 915 098

Claire Breegan - Programme Support Officer

Claire Breegan is the Programme Support Officer for the National Leadership Council Emerging Leaders Workstream. Claire has previously worked as project support at the NHS North West Leadership Academy and prior to this working at the British Association of Medical Managers as Project Manager for the Fit to Lead Programme.

Email: Claire.breegan@institute.nhs.uk

Tel: 0161 625 7806 / 07702 718 387

The mailing address for us all is: