Meet our NHS GM Board

Sir Richard Leese grew up in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire. After graduating in Mathematics at the University of Warwick, he worked as a maths teacher before moving to Manchester to take up a post as a youth worker. He was employed in various roles including youth work, community work, and education research between 1979 – 1988.

Elected to Manchester City Council as a Labour councillor in 1984, Sir Richard then became its leader in 1996. He was awarded a CBE in 2001 and then a knighthood for services to local government in the 2006 Queen’s Birthday Honours list.

Sir Richard was one of the signatories to the city-region’s health devolution deal with Government in 2015. He chaired Greater Manchester Health and Social Care Partnership from March 2020 until becoming chair of NHS Greater Manchester Integrated Care. Since its inception, Sir Richard chaired Manchester’s Health and Wellbeing board, which plans health and social care services for the city. He was also chair of Manchester, Salford, and Trafford Health Action Zone, which brought together partners to tackle health inequalities.

Sir Richard is a strong advocate for addressing the wider determinants of health and is resolute that partnership working is key to this and in paving the way for wider public service reform.

Sir Richard is also co-Chair of Greater Manchester Integrated Care Partnership.

Mark’s formative years were spent in the West Country, and he now resides in Holmfirth, West Yorkshire.  Upon completing his university education, he embarked on a career in the civil service. His extensive career includes roles such as Director in the Benefits Agency, Board Director of Jobcentre Plus, Chief Executive of the Sector Skills Development Agency, and Labour Market Director in the Department for Work and Pensions during the 2009 recession. Mark was the Director of the Office for Civil Society at the Cabinet Office, where he was responsible for social action, social investment, support for charities, business partnerships and youth policy.

For six years, Mark held the position of Director General in the Cabinet Office and served as Secretary to the Grenfell Tower Public Inquiry, just before taking on his current role in 2022 as the Chief Executive Officer for NHS Greater Manchester.

In addition to his primary roles, Mark has served as a director of Working Links (Employment) Ltd, an advisor for the Prince’s Trust Team (formerly volunteers) programme, and a public member of Network Rail.  He has also served on the Council of the Estates and Finance Committee at the University of Huddersfield and was a trustee of the Clore Social Leadership Foundation.  For five years, he was Chair of the Civil Service Sports Council.

Mark’s contributions have been recognised with a CBE, which he received in January 2010.