College Chief Executive to step down

The College has today announced that Chris Askew OBE will be stepping down as Chief Executive Officer at the end of July, to pursue new opportunities in interim leadership roles within the not-for-profit sector.

Professor Mike Holmes, Chair of Trustee Board, said: “Whilst I would have valued working with Chris for longer, it has been a privilege to work alongside him over the past 18 months. He has done an excellent job in leading a restructure of the College directorates and putting in place an organisational-wide Corporate Plan. He has had a significant impact across the whole organisation and will leave us well placed to move forward. I know I speak for us all when I we wish him well for the future. We will now work to ensure continuity and a seamless transition for all our teams.”

Chair of Council, Professor Kamila Hawthorne, said: “I'm so sorry to see Chris leave us after a relatively short time at the College, but would like to thank him for his great clarity of thought, abilities to bring people together as a coherent team, and work on the Corporate Plan. We will be proceeding with this Plan, and continuing the excellent work Chris has started with us. I have really enjoyed working with him and hope he will stay in touch with us, as a friend and critical friend.”

Chris Askew said: ‘’It has been a great privilege to make a contribution to the vital work of the RCGP and I have hugely valued the support of the College’s staff, Members, Council and Trustees as I have sought to work with others to effect positive change at the College. The case for more GP jobs and resources has never been more pressing and the opportunities ahead to deliver more for our members UK-wide are being enacted; this has been both a challenging and exciting time in which to work and serve in the College and I do wish my successor and all the teams within the College every success ahead.’’

Chris Askew joined the RCGP in October 2023 from his role as Chief Executive of the charity Diabetes UK. He was previously Chief Executive of Breakthrough Breast Cancer, prior to its merger to create Breast Cancer Now.

After working as a shipbroker in the international freight markets, he moved into the charitable sector in 1997. He has held senior fundraising positions at the charities Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Crisis, and Action for Children. His OBE was awarded in the Queen’s 2020 Birthday Honours list for services to people with diabetes.

Further information

RCGP press office: 0203 188 7659
press@rcgp.org.uk

Notes to editors

The Royal College of General Practitioners is a network of more than 54,000 family doctors working to improve care for patients. We work to encourage and maintain the highest standards of general medical practice and act as the voice of GPs on education, training, research and clinical standards.