John has been Trust Chair for two and a half years and, as leader of the Trust Board, he - along with the Chief Executive - has responsibility for the Trust.
The Chair is particularly responsible for overseeing the performance and roles of the non-executive directors as well as holding the Chief Executive to account for the delivery of the Trust's clinical, financial and operational performance.
John said: "The non-executive directors' job is to make sure that the organisation is heading in the right direction and is doing all it can for local people. Ultimately, we are here to look out for the interests of our patients.
"And I'm pleased to be able to say that the Trust is doing really well - we've made some very significant improvements in recent years and we're committed to making sure that trend continues. But that's not to say it's going to be easy - we're set for a very busy year ahead."
John is well-equipped for the task in hand - he has extensive experience in the telecoms and consumer product sectors, including time spent overseas.
He was educated at Cambridge University and Manchester Business School, has served at Board level in various companies and is also a qualified accountant. He is a committee member and director of Carers Support Merton, a local charity helping those who care for friends, relatives or neighbours.
On top of that, John is keen to get out of the boardroom and onto the wards. He said: "Understanding the challenges that staff at our hospitals face on a day-to-day basis is incredibly important. I've spent a couple of hours being a porter, I've shadowed a night shift on a ward and I've spent time observing the endoscopy clinic. I recently spent a morning in the stroke unit seeing the efforts made to get patients on the road to recovery.
"It can be a bit of a reality check for me because I don't have a clinical background and have previously only ever experienced the NHS as a patient." And when John isn't working or helping out on the wards, he relaxes with a good book or exercises.
He said: "I keep active, and love to play squash. I'm also a keen cyclist, although that applies to warm, sunny days only!"
