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Meet the board: Mike Burrows

Mike Burrows joined the Big Life board in January 2024, bringing a wealth of experience with him. Find out more about what knowledge he brings, what he’s learned from being part of Big Life, and his ambitions for the organisation.

Hi Mike, can you give us a bit of background about your career?

To my mind, the most relevant jobs I’ve had were as Chief Executive of Salford Primary Care Trust and subsequently the Chief Executive of all10 Greater Manchester Primary Care Trusts. Then, when the primary care trusts eventually dissolved, I became the NHS England area director for Greater Manchester.

It was a very transitional time in the NHS, and it was fascinating being part of a large national organisation like that and overseeing performance, but over time I became keen to move into something different.

I jumped into the world of the Academic Health Science Networks, because I’ve always had an interest in research and the evidence base that underpins the services that are delivered by the NHS. That that was really interesting, completely different to any of the other NHS roles I’d undertaken.

It was an opportunity to work with the third sector and see them as genuine partners. Third sector organisations can have great innovations so working with them in that area was really, really stimulating.

Was it that experience in particular that made working with Big Life appeal to you?

It was in part, but all the way back to working in Primary Care Trusts I felt I was looking at commissioning in a slightly different way. I had a great mentor in Edna Robinson (Big Life board’s chair), and she instilled in me that we were there to improve the health of the population, and we had the philosophy that we were a public health-led organisation.

To do that you had to look at all aspects of people’s lives, not just when they saw a GP or a consultant at the hospital. As a result, the Big Life Way of working has really resonated with me for a long time.

What strengths do you think you can bring to the Big Life board?

I was a qualified accountant for 30 years and spent 35 years working in the NHS. So, in terms of understanding the nuts and bolts of how organisations operate and their finances, I guess that’s my comfort zone! Following a financially challenging time for the organisation in light of the cyber-attack it experienced last year, I certainly hope that I can bring that strength.

I also hope that everything I learned at the Primary Care Trust means I can bring something to the board, as the way the group works and the services it delivers feel very familiar to me. Obviously, every organisation is different, and I’m learning a lot about the specific services that the group delivers, but the style and approach feels very familiar, and I can connect to it well.

You mentioned the cyber-attack the group experienced. Do you feel you’ve got experience of leading through challenging situations?

Definitely! I’ve been in plenty of organisations that have had major challenges. I
guess that experience does lend you a bit of perspective when a situation arises. That perspective helps you to remember that, in the long term, organisations can be resilient and learn from challenges.

With something like the cyber-attack, which is something that will sadly affect other organisations in the future, my hope is that there is an opportunity for Big Life to share the learning and take a lead role in supporting organisations to avoid similar issues.

Has anything surprised you about the group since you joined the board?

I’d never appreciated the breadth of the different types of services that Big Life delivers.

I remember talking to Edna a few years ago, and she talked about Big Life Schools. I’d never realised that that was such a well-developed part of the group work. I think it’s great; the breadth of the services give the group such potential to do new things and help more people.

Also, it hasn’t surprised me, but the quality of my fellow board members has amazed me. It was apparent from the very first meeting I attended that it is a very impressive group of people and that demonstrates the strength of the organisation. They’ll certainly keep me on my toes!

What are your ambitions during your time on the Big Life board?

The first thing I would like is to feel that I’ve contributed, added value and made a difference. As well as supporting with financial management, I feel that I can provide expertise around business planning and exploring new areas to work in.

Above all, I hope that, just by being on the board and embedding myself in the values and behaviours of the organisation, I will have learned so many valuable new things and grown as a person as a consequence.