‘It will take time, it won’t happen overnight, but we can change the story.’

We’re delighted to announce that David Rose has been appointed as Chair of our Board of Trustees, stepping into the role currently held by Eleanor Phillips, whose term on our Board comes to an end in June.

During her time as Chair, Eleanor has overseen the development of our new ambitious five-year strategy and has led the charity to make strides in delivering real impact for people with pancreatic cancer.

Over this period, together with our supporters, we have funded groundbreaking research such as Professor George Hanna’s breath test, campaigned for much-needed change, supported hundreds of thousands of people through our information and specialist support services – and, of course, been selected as the Charity of the Year for the 2025 TCS London Marathon, a transformative opportunity for the cause.

We are hugely grateful to Eleanor for everything she has helped us to achieve.

David brings with him decades of experience in leadership roles across healthcare in the UK, as well as a personal motivation for transforming the future for people with pancreatic cancer after sadly losing his Mum to the disease in 1986 and his wife to a neuroendocrine tumour just 18 months ago.

We sat down with David to talk about his passion for the cause and his hopes and ambitions for the pancreatic cancer community.

What motivated you to join pancreatic Cancer UK?

The cause is very close to my heart because of personal experience. My mum died from pancreatic cancer when she was 44, that was back in 1986. At 17, I was the eldest of three teenagers – my youngest brother was only 13. We didn’t really know she had pancreatic cancer, or much about it, until very late in the day. It came as a real shock when she passed away.

My wife also passed away 18 months ago. She didn’t have pancreatic cancer,cancer; she had neuro endocrine tumours in her liver. But as many of our supporters will know, we support lots of patients and families for people who have Nets in their pancreas.

The second motivation comes from talking to Eleanor, current Chair of Trustees, and Diana, CEO, and other key people in the charity. I was really taken by the mission and what we’re trying to achieve. You can’t help but be struck by the impact such a late diagnosis, often in short timeframes, has on people. The investment we’re making into research to improve early detection, access to treatment, and support to help people through the most difficult of times is all so important.

What are the three things you’re most excited for over the next few years for pancreatic cancer?

Making breakthroughs in diagnosis and treatment. Those are hard won, and we will need other organisations to join us, but by funding and supporting worldclass research we can make a real difference. That’s definitely number one.

Being part of the innovative work the charity is doing to develop our support services. The quality of what we already offer is incredible, but I’m so excited by the ambition to reach even more people, with the type of support they want most in that moment.

Working with the NHS to implement really high-quality and consistent healthcare. That’s a big motivation from my point of view because that’s where I’ve come from and that’s where I spent my career, either working in that system or providing services for it.

What do you enjoy most about being a being a volunteer?

Bringing the skills that I’ve developed in a healthcare career and helping really important organisations like Pancreatic Cancer UK navigate the way the NHS operates because it can be world of its own, and that’s challenging.

I’ve worked in the public sector and commercial organisations, but to be part of something more agile, where everybody is so motivated to make a difference, and we can home in on making the most impact, that’s really exciting.

What does ‘More than Hope’ mean to you?

I’m a practical person. It means something can be done, and Pancreatic Cancer UK are 100% committed to being a crucial part of that change.

It will make a massive difference when we can more quickly detect people who may have the disease. It will make a massive difference when more people can have better, more effective treatments. Our support, information, new tools like the Family History Checker, they’re all fit under that banner. They’re part of the same mission.

We can improve early detection, we can find new, better treatments, we can embed best practice in the NHS. It will take time, it won’t happen overnight, but we can change the story.

What do you enjoy doing in your spare time?

Historic motor racing – lots of driving very fast round in circles! I do both traditional circuit racing and hill climbs.

Very different from that, I also enjoy time in nature and walking, and I spend a lot of time growing vegetables in my garden. All very practical things, I like getting my hands dirty!