Dame Linda Pollard

Since Linda joined Leeds Teaching Hospitals as Chair in February 2013, she has led the Trust to a number of significant successes.

At the Trust she Chairs the Research & Innovation Assurance Committee of the Board, along with being a member of the Finance & Performance Assurance Committee. She is also a Trustee of Leeds Hospital Charity, the charity partner of Leeds Teaching Hospitals.

Across the City, she Co-Chairs the Health and Wellbeing Board. Chairs the Leeds Innovation District Partnership, a partnership between LTHT, the University of Leeds and Leeds City Council, including the LEP and private sector. Linda has led the ambition to create a world-class hub for research, innovation and entrepreneurialism for the City. An exciting part of this will be the development of two new hospitals for Leeds, and the new Innovation Hub.  Alongside Sir Chris Wormald, Linda is working closely on the new Leeds Health and Social Care Hub which has been recently launched to help to improve Health and Social Care along side the Civil Service.

West Yorkshire Acute Association of Trusts (WYAAT) is the collaboration of acute providers across the region, and by rotation Linda Chair’s the Committee in Common for WYAAT.

Linda facilitates the Chair’s network of the Yorkshire and the Humber Regional Chairs Forum or NHS Trusts for the NHSE Regional Office. 

Alongside General Sir Gordon Messenger, Linda led the independent Leadership and Management review in the NHS, with the seven recommendations been accepted by the Government. Linda is now Co-Chair of the Management and Leadership Group for NHSE working to implement the recommendations.

Linda advocates partnership working bringing together leaders from across the region and beyond to facilitate closer working between health and social care, building economic investment in Leeds and the wider City region.

Linda has lead for representation of women on boards for many years.

Linda is Vice Chair and Senior Independent Director (SID) of the NHS Provider Board, representing acute trusts. 

Linda is also a Deputy Lord Lieutenant for West Yorkshire and was awarded a CBE in 2013 for her work in the business community in Yorkshire, an OBE in 2003 for her work in Bradford, along with an Honorary doctorate by the University of Leeds.

In 2019, Linda was a winner of the Yorkshire and North East England regional Institute of Directors (IOD) awards and went on to receive the national award, with recognition by the IOD’s, by winning the Dr Neville Bain Memorial Award for Excellence in Director and Board Practice, which was the first time this awarded to the public sector.

October 2020, Linda was awarded the honour of Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire for her services to healthcare, which spans almost 30 years, and in recognition of her unbroken contribution to the community. This honour also recognises her tireless commitment to address the under representation of women in senior roles across corporate Britain and in public services.