Senior Leadership

Irene Sobowale

Irene was appointed the Brainkind’s Director of Finance in 2013 and became the Chief Executive two years later. Before joining the Brainkind (formerly The Disabilities Trust, and the Brain Injury Rehabilitation Trust (BIRT)), Irene held several senior finance roles within the CLS Group and elsewhere, including Barclays Bank. Irene is also a qualified accountant and ACCA Fellow.

Keeley Mitchell

Keeley has experience in healthcare and leadership of services for adults with acquired brain injuries. Her previous role was with National Care Group, where she was Head of National Neurological Services.

Dr Rudi Coetzer

Dr Coetzer is the Clinical Director of Brainkind. He is an Honorary Professor at Bangor University and at Swansea University. His main clinical and academic interests are neuropsychological assessment and rehabilitation of people with acquired brain injury and other neurological conditions, clinical leadership, and service development. Dr Coetzer is on the Specialist Register of the British Psychological Society Division of Neuropsychology. He previously worked in the NHS for more than 2 decades as a Consultant Neuropsychologist.

Lynsey Robertson

Lynsey is a seasoned Director with over 25 years of experience in health and social care. Her expertise spans budgeting, performance improvement, and strategic planning, reflecting her unwavering dedication to enhancing the lives of individuals with complex needs. As our Director of Business Development, Lynsey leads by example, promoting an integrated approach to drive positive and sustainable sector-wide change. Her extensive background in leading diverse teams ensures the successful implementation of strategies that balance commercial acumen with our social mission.

Richard Jane

Richard has worked in not-for-profit and public-sector marketing and communications for many years. Starting in the education sector, followed by a move to central government, Richard has been working in health charities since 2010. Re-branding and repositioning organisations are his specialism, but he has led teams on large behaviour change campaigns and developed digital channels, creative production functions and PR teams.

Graham Fisher

Graham has an extensive IT transformation, change and service delivery background stretching over 20 years. He has driven and delivered large, complex IT changes for public and private sector organisations, notably Bupa, Capita, TransUnion, and the NHS. His forte lies in leading teams, transforming them from a traditional IT setup into a more digital-enabled capability supporting current market dynamics.

Naomi Carey

Naomi is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) with an MA in Strategic Human Resource Management. Naomi has a wealth of experience in HR and Organisation Development, having worked in the private sector (as Worldwide HR Director for the Tetley Group) and the not-for-profit sector (as Strategic Head of HR for Action for Children) and has operated her own HR consultancy. Naomi joined Brainkind in October 2013.

Emma Thayre

Emma is an experienced in-house senior lawyer, with 20 years experience advising commercial, not-for-profit and public sector organisations on a wide range of legal, compliance, data protection and corporate matters. Emma’s notable roles include working as a General Counsel, DPO and Company Secretary at KINTO-UK, Deputy General Counsel at Park Holidays, Head of Compliance & DPO at Keyloop, Senior Legal Counsel at John Wiley & Sons and Acting Head of Legal at Exponential-e. Emma also spent time working for the RNLI and enjoyed her time working for a wonderful cause, saving lives at sea. Emma combines her technical legal skills with a pragmatic and down-to-earth style.

Clynt Hall

Clynt is an experienced leader, Chief Financial Officer and Finance Director, having spent over the last 10 years in several health and social care organisations. He has helped lead organisations through significant positive changes, including improving financial performance, changing processes, implementing systems, or setting the direction and strategy. He is also a qualified accountant and has led IT, property, and project management functions.