Chris Burghes will assume his new role from 1 June 2020.

Pet charity welcomes new leadership

The Blue Cross has announced the appointment of Chris Burghes as its next chief executive, who will begin his new role on 1 June 2020.

Mr Burghes has been the chief executive of the Royal Free Charity – the charitable arm of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust – since 2010. He has also previously worked for the Fire Fighters Charity.

“It is a wonderful time to join the charity and lead the organisation on the next stage of its strategy, building on its renowned reputation for providing unique and holistic services to pets and their owners,” said Mr Burghes.

“I have been incredibly impressed with what I have seen so far, which is a credit to the trustees, staff and volunteers at Blue Cross. The passion and dedication of everyone is second to none. I truly believe that pets change lives and I’ll be proud to lead the charity and help more pets and their owners in the future.”

Mr Burghes will succeed Sally de la Bedoyere, who has more than doubled awareness of the charity in her time as CEO. Ms de la Bedoyere will be retiring at the end of June 2020 after five years leading the Blue Cross.

She commented: “I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute of my time leading Blue Cross in an ever-changing environment of pet welfare and developing a strategy to deliver the greatest impact to improve the lives of pets and people. By adapting the ways our services work and taking advantage of digital developments we have been able to reach more animals in need, help more pet owners in crisis and spread the message of best pet welfare.”

Image (c) Blue Cross.