Anthony Nolan is delighted to announce the appointment of three new trustees to its board.
Philomena McManus, Sreeram Ramagopalan, and Robert Leeming were welcomed in their first meeting on 31st July 2025.
The new trustees are joining at an exciting time, as the charity opens the Anthony Nolan Cell Collection Centre and continues its pioneering work to save lives through stem cells.
Philomena (Phil) McManus has 30 years of communications experience including crisis management.
Phil studied Strategy at the London Business School, Leadership at the IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland and, during the pandemic, History of Politics online at the University of Oxford. Phil has provided strategic advice to board level leadership teams and led global projects involving multinational audiences. She is currently an external advisor to businesses in corporate affairs and private equity.
She said: “I’m thrilled to be joining the board of trustees at Anthony Nolan, and I can’t wait to share the knowledge and experience I’ve gained throughout my varied career in communications.”
Sreeram (Ram) Ramagopalan is an internationally recognised expert in health economics and the analysis of medical data. He completed a PhD in Epidemiology at the University of Oxford before pursuing an MSc in Health Economics and an MBA from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
With over 330 journal publications, Ram is currently a senior lecturer at the Centre for Pharmaceutical Medicine Research at King's College London. He also works as a consultant to life science companies.
He said, “Having seen how invaluable Anthony Nolan was for a friend needing a transplant really made me want to get involved with the charity.
“I’m excited about helping an organisation that shares my passion- making a palpable difference in the lives of patients. I look forward to getting to meet and work with the people who make Anthony Nolan so good at what it does.
“I’m very excited about Anthony Nolan’s strategic aims- survival, equity and progress. Ultimately, we want every patient to survive, and I am positive that Anthony Nolan will be instrumental in making that happen.”
Robert Leeming joins the Anthony Nolan board of trustees as an experienced investor with a diverse background spanning private equity, charity and the public sector.
He studied Natural Sciences at Cambridge before moving into the private sector, where he spent 23 years in private equity. During this time, he has sat on 20 boards across a range of sectors and invested over two billion pounds into businesses, supporting companies through periods of growth, transformation, and strategic change.
Robert previously founded and chaired the Autism Research Trust. He has also served as a non-executive director for the Department for Business and Trade.
Robert has a personal understanding of blood cancer through his brother’s experience and is committed to applying his skills to help Anthony Nolan save lives.
Robert said: “My brother was diagnosed with blood cancer, so I have seen his experience firsthand of having a stem cell transplant from an Anthony Nolan donor who saved his life.
“That’s why I want to use my personal experience as well as my scientific and strategic knowledge to help Anthony Nolan to grow as an organisation, so that more lives can be saved.”
Welcoming the three new trustees, Anthony Nolan chief executive Henny Braund MBE said, “Everyone at Anthony Nolan is pleased to welcome Phil, Ram, and Rob to the board of trustees.
“Their vast experience across different sectors will be vital at this pivotal time in Anthony Nolan’s history as we continue to work hard to improve rates of survival, push for equity in all we do, and pioneer vital research in the name of progress; so that everyone who needs a stem stell transplant can survive and thrive.”