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Meet The Team
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Ray Hodgkinson MBE - Director General
Ray has worked in the healthcare industry since 1960 and ran his own business for twenty two years.
He has been the BHTA Director General since 1999 and has overseen a dramatic decade of positive progress for the Association and its membership. He champions the commercial interests of the membership at UK governmental, European and global levels.
He has a passion for the industry and the BHTA, and is committed to take it forward, establishing standards and ethics, which will earn the respect of all healthcare professionals and the general public. The awarding of the Office of Fair Trading's full approval of the BHTA Code of Practice – the first in the healthcare and assistive technologies industry - is a vital part in this process.
His hobbies include boating, travel, classic cars and antique collecting! |
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Sarah Lepak - Director of Operations & Compliance
Sarah is the BHTA Director of Operations & Compliance and she began her career with the Association in 1991.
Starting as Committee Secretary, Sarah has acquired a thorough knowledge of the industry and the issues affecting member companies, their customers and professional colleagues. Sarah has key responsibility for the administration team and for activity in relation to the Association's role as the self-regulator for the industry, through the BHTA Code of Practice.
She handles complaints received by the Association about its members, is the lead contact for members of the public and for the huge variety of miscellaneous enquiries and problems posed by all our contacts. Married, with one cat, she lives in Kent and enjoys hiking, gardening and skiing, and says that one of these days she might get round to taking archery up again (a casualty of the daily commute to London). |
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Lord Chris Rennard - Director of Communications
Chris, the former Chief Executive of the Liberal Democrats, has joined the BHTA to assist with communications issues.
Chris grew up in
Liverpool and became the Liberal Democrats’ chief campaigner and head of the party organisation. He was made an MBE in 1989 and a life peer in 1999. He speaks in the House of Lords mostly on issues of constitutional and political reform. |
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Stephen Rigg - Sales & Communications Manager
Based at New Loom House, Stephen is the BHTA Sales & Communications Manager. He joined the Association a couple of years ago, reports to the Director General and has the Education & Training and Business Development Managers reporting to him.
His key responsibilities are the evolution of the corporate identity, print and publicity including the "Get Wise” suite of information leaflets, the training brochure, The Bulletin and the weekly "Today at BHTA” members' news digest as well as ad-hoc print projects. Among his other activities are the Annual Awards Dinner and organising the annual Independent Living Design Awards and Golf Day.
Before BHTA, Stephen worked in marketing and communication roles in fmcg and leisure companies, advertising agencies, the public and not-for-profit sectors plus a spell in a classical music shop. Married with two grown-up daughters, Stephen lives in North London and lists as his hobbies: music, cinema, Tottenham Hotspur (C'mon You Spurs) and holidays.
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Nadim Anwar - Operations Manager
Nadim has joined the BHTA after previously working in various management roles with
companies such as Shell UK, Toys R Us and IBA (private security
company).
He has a passion for Flying and is currently a
Commissioned Officer in the RAF VR(T). He is the Commanding Officer of
an ATC Squadron where he spends most of his spare time.
Nadim
will be based at the BHTA office and will manage and co-ordinate the
activities of the Committee Secretary and the Secretariat team and will
be overlooking the processing of application and renewal forms,
reporting back to the OFT on membership changes, dealing with complaints
and working with the Code auditor. Nad reports to the Director of Operations & Compliance.
Some of Nad's hobbies include
Cooking, Travelling & Flying.
One of his all time favourite TV
programmes is Only Fools and Horses and he says he could watch this
again and again and again.
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Sue Curtis - Business Development Manager
Sue Curtis has been with the BHTA for 3 years and is the Business Development Manager. Sue works from home in Gloucestershire and travels around the country visiting existing and potential new members.
Sue organises exhibitions that the BHTA attend and she also attends a number of section meetings to report on membership opportunities. Sue enjoys walking her dogs and getting out and about in her caravan.
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Julia Blundell - Education & Training Manager
Julia has been with BHTA for the past 4 years as the Education & Training Manager, during which time she has developed and introduced many study days and courses, including: ‘Know Your Industry'; ‘Ethical Selling' and the ‘Community Equipment Assessor Day'. Prior to BHTA Julia worked for Assist UK running training events related to Assistive Technology.
Her key responsibility is to establish accredited qualifications, working with the various member sections, in order to gain recognition of current competence within the industry workforce, but also to raise knowledge and competence further and to set measureable industry-wide standards.
Julia works out of Manchester. The University drew Julia to Manchester initially, where she gained a Masters in Education in Primary Health Care, and the neighbouring Peak District and South Yorkshire Dales keeps her there now, where she enjoys hill walking most weekends. She is most definitely not a football fan but living where she does, and the man in her life, leaves her with very little choice! |
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Karla West - Committee Secretary
Karla recently joined BHTA as Committee Secretary after working in the retail industry for 5 years (as Sales Assistant and Cashier) and the Civil Service for over 10 years (at the Food Standards Agency and Department for Transport).
Her key responsibilities are liaising with Section Chairmen and Secretariat staff regarding meeting schedules; organising and booking meeting venues; taking minutes of meetings; drafting agendas, minutes and reminders to members about meetings; correspondence and communications and occasional assistance at exhibitions and events.
Her hobbies include socialising, music, dancing, languages, holidays abroad (mainly
USA and
Hong Kong!), watching sports on TV, films (including martial arts and epics!), history, comedy reading and genealogy.
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Susan Burberry - Accounts Administrator
Susan is the Accounts Administrator and has worked for BHTA for over ten years. She is based both in the BHTA office and remotely from home and reports to the Director General.
Her key responsibilities involve running the BHTA accounts including general day-to-day financial issues and production of month-end reports for Board Members. Susan is also responsible for all members' subscription renewals and the processing of new member applications. Other activities include handling monies for membership events, the Chairman's Dinners and the Awards Dinners. On top of this she deals with section market surveys and keeps track of the numerous campaign funds running.
Before joining BHTA, Susan ran the accounts department of another Trade Association (the Railway Industry Association) for 10 years. She is married with a teenage son and lives in Kent. Her hobbies include reading, killer sudoku, holidaying abroad and caravanning. |
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Ali Hussain - General Administrator & Secretary
Ali started with BHTA in September 2005, as the General Administrator & Secretary. His main responsibilities are prioritising the work flow of the administration team to meet deadlines, arranging meetings and ensuring that the Director General has all the papers he needs for the many meetings he attends.
He has three young daughters and is studying classical Arabic, which he says is a hard but beautiful language; but as they say "until you dream in Arabic you are not learning enough”.
During his spare time he enjoys a bit of DIY and he can see a lot of it ahead of him, as he has recently moved house!
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Karim Uddin - Administrator
Karim joined the association after working many years within the public sector as part of the borough council.
He wanted a change in direction and looked to the healthcare industry to gain knowledge into how the sector works. ‘Lucky for us', he is now proud to be part of the team at BHTA and has now been so for over 4 years. His responsibility is to provide assistance in the smooth functioning of the BHTA office and he also looks after the Assistive Technology Practitioner Society. He reckons that the team find him extremely useful as he can multitask (A rare skill for a man. Apparently) and he prides himself in his skill set and knowledge of high tech gadgets, Mobile phones and IT.
Karim only lives a few minutes away from the office and has a wide range of hobbies including charity fundraising, music, poetry, art, cinema, languages, socialising, cookery and travelling. |
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Helen Richards - Sales & Events Administrator
Helen joined BHTA in July 2011 as Sales and Training Administrator. She reports to the Sales & Communications Manager and provides day to day support to the Education & Training and Business Development Managers.
With 22 years of experience in a wide range of administrative roles, Helen brings a combination of successful event organisation, computer and IT skills. She also claims to be calm, friendly, tactful and outgoing - personal skills which will stand her in good stead in this challenging role.
In her spare time, Helen collects and alters vintage clothing and also enjoys visiting vintage fairs and exhibitions.
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